Russia is enigmatic. Has eight time zones, deeply orthodoxy and fancies vodka. Formerly a bastion of communism, there was a time when on Mondays, office workers had to produce a letter stamped by a priest as proof that one had partaken in Holy Communion.
Hence, it didn’t come as a surprise when, two women were arrested for saying a prayer to Mother of God beseeching her to chase president Vladimir Putin from the Kremlin. Hmmm, and the ladies expected a state coronation?
Well, I doubt if God listens, let alone answers, entreaties seeking reprisal of those we disagree with just to sooth our ego.
And the self-anointed puritans have also slithered into the workplace. And here, they’re reciting Hail Mary’s seeking intersession to punish co-workers, who well, could be smarter firm and independent.
Sample this: a pal of mine muses from South Africa that in one of the big corporates, a clique of evangelicals sought divine punishment against their chief executive. This consortium hoped that under the guise of Christianity, all their wishes, mostly selfish and malevolent, would pass as gospel truth.
They also expected the CEO to tremble and kiss the grounds they walked on, after all, hallo, they are ‘holy men’ with powers to invoke the fear of God.
To their shock, the CEO was a man of letters with enviable mastery of the nuances of religion and philosophy; he was apathetic to cheap corporate machination. When this consortium realised that the CEO is not pliable to its whims, it concluded: “the company was under ruin.” And so retreats and fasting in the Drakensberg Mountains kicked off, and like the Russian Pussy Riot girls, sought God to “chase the CEO away.”
Yet in this clique, were icy hearts that tormented the souls of employees. Which connived for the downfall of colleagues, and who were corrupt to the marrow. Still, they had the temerity of riding high horses and seeking the demise of the CEO.
It is perhaps scenes like these, where, those who profess the word have their thoughts clouded by vindictive and unlaundered imagination, and actions that would make Judas Iscariot appear a saint, which prompted Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quote: “I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
It is such puritanical pretense so entrenched at the work place that are killing morale and soul silently. To me, the Drakensberg expedition was a waste of time, money and breath. If I were them, I’d go to a stylish restaurant for fine wine and hearty laughter.
The trouble with the practice of our Christianity is that those who seek to propagate Christ, twist facts, obfuscate the truth, and surf on the naivety of others, and at the end, because of their shallow conceptual understanding of doctrine, they produce and peddle a product that is cheaper than the shiny Chinese suits sold in downtown Nairobi.
Pretense of riding high moral horses yet the brethren next office is agonizing in your name is a bit disturbing. How do you expect the soul you harm, to trust the love of Christ, yet, you as the
We know God does act for judicial reasons through imprecatory prayers. But I doubt He will chase Putin, a CEO or a “sinner” out of town for our own whims.
Ambassadors
As a student of diplomacy, a key tenet of ambassadorial practice is to represent the image of your country. In fact, classically, an ambassador was a man of good looks and demeanor. This way, he charmed people towards his country. If an ambassador’s actions are contradictory of his rhetoric, his country becomes a hard sell.
Yet, here tomfooleries masquerading as Christ’s agents are bleeding hearts. They wear a smile, but in the cloak is stashed a dagger.
It’s this crop whose every atom is a chip from the legendary wolf. Dips fingers and lips in the till and quickly wipe out evidence, then come to the public to scream “hosannas.” They have this messianic pontification, yet, you just need a lapdog like that in the Wizard of OZ to unveil the very nakedness of their weaknesses and wickedness of spirit and flesh. Such acts of double-speak is nothing but apostasy albeit silently.