Why church leaders should stay out of politics
Just over a week ago, President Uhuru Kenyatta hosted a section of church leaders at State House, Nairobi where he explained to them reasons for his disagreement with his deputy William Ruto.
He also explained to them why he decided to back the Raila Odinga/Martha Karua bid to succeed him. The church leaders prayed for he Head of State and showed their backing for his choice.
On the same day, some 200 kilometres away at Ngata Farm in Nakuru County, Dr Ruto was also addressing a group of clerics where he promised to work closely with the church if elected the next president. In return, the men of the cloth assured him of their support, saying he was a safe pair of hands for the Church.
I am assuming that both factions of religious leaders who were addressed by the two leaders, were led by the spirit of God to say what they were saying at the two meetings.
Which brings me to the question, can God act in two different ways on the same matter?
Better acquainted
Of course the church leaders are better acquainted with things of God than me but the little I know is that God has never and will never contradict Himself over a matter under discussion.
When church leaders take political stand, they scatter the flock, as a church member, I am sure I am speaking for many of us on this.
Around Easter holiday, I was at an event at the Christ is the Answer Ministries (CITAM) Valley Road, where one of the attendees (also a man of God) challenged Christians to support and vote for a candidate; one of their own.
In answering the gentleman, the head of CITAM Bishop Calisto Odede who was presiding at the event, told us that as a church, CITAM does not have a preferred candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections.
According to Bishop Odede, CITAM leadership was well aware that it has members of different political persuasions and as such, it expects each member to prayerfully consider the best candidate to vote for.
Just as it should be. At a personal level, I am opposed to the idea of church leaders ganging up and offering support to a particular candidate.
I am yet to hear of a clear cut prophecy that God has anointed either Mr Odinga or Dr Ruto as the next Commander-in-Chief. As such, I will go with Bishop Odede’s wise counsel that each believer, should prayerfully consider who to vote for.
We have seen in the past situations where some candidates, not necessarily presidential, have been painted as anti-Church and only a step away from being a candidate of the devil himself. There is the present danger that when this happens, some members in the pews are left wounded both emotionally and spiritually.
Big goof
The big goof by the evangelicals in the United States in the last elections, should have served as a warning to their Kenyan counterparts.
In those polls in the land of Uncle Sam, this group excitedly propped up Republican candidate President Donald Trump as God’s choice while vilifying his Democrat opponent Joe Biden in any platform the church leaders got.
In my own personal opinion, if the two men were weighed on morality scale, then Biden would have tilted the balance. I still wonder how the smooth talking Trump who had serious moral shortcomings managed to con his way into the hearts of church leaders.
The action of his supporters storming Capitol Hill was a confirmation of what the man really stands for. The ramifications from that event are still unfolding.
Back to our own situation, my appeal is that the men and women who God has appointed to be our spiritual leaders, should back off from politics. I am doing this well aware of the Bible warning of ‘touch not my anointed’.
But I am also doing this as a stakeholder in our spiritual space and from a clean heart. A heart that wants the best for both our church leaders and the body of Christ in general.
Give wise counsel to your flock. Tell them of the characteristics of a good leader. Remind them of what God demands from them as believers. Then encourage them to pray then head to the polls with the assurance that they are doing what is right.
That way, whichever way the polls go, the church of Christ in Kenya will have maintained its integrity and reputation. Then it can claim its rightful place as the voice of God in our land. God bless Kenya. BY DAILY NATION
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