CHRISTIANS OR CHURCH-GOERS.

              

Bottomline: Nowadays it’s very difficult to differentiate between Christians and church goers, church goers seem to have taken over thus the rise of Sunday Christians.

Sometime back a friend told me he had taken a sabbatical leave from Christianity since he was disappointed with Christians in general. When I enquired further why he took such a drastic measure on religion, critical matter considering he is a Christian by birth and upbringing. His answer was straight and bold, “Have you not seen the kinds of social injustices and immorality which are being perpetuated by the so called Christians from rampant runaway corruption to open looting of public taxes.” His sentiments made me to do a self-evaluation on Christians and church goers. Christianity has been on a steady decline recently making it difficult to differentiate between Christians and Church goers.We have 'Christians' who can comfortably sing Timmy T Dat- Inaweza Haiwezi song word by word but cant sing a praise and worship song even with the aid of a hymn book.

Patiently sitting on the “Hallelujah” bench, the front row bench in the church which is specifically designated mainly for politicians and other influential members of the society.  Patiently waiting for two or so hours of weekly Christianity to come to an end so that they can embark on their normal life unperturbed. The sermon seems to be wasting their time, constantly checking their phones to check if there are incoming texts messages from friends alerting them of a drinking spree which is already going down and they are missing out.  

When texts messages seem not to be coming through, switching on mobile data to check on current gossip going on in Kilimani Mums Facebook group which is the headquarters of gossip North of Limpopo and South of Sahara and those secretive member only Whatsapp and Telegram groups where ungodly matters are the major topics of discussion. All this is happening when the preacher is busy trying to win their souls for the Messiah which seem to be the least of their concerns.

Dressed in unusual long dresses, carrying all the dust along the way as opposed to the revealing type of attire they are accustomed to the whole week in an attempt to look decent in the house of the Lord. When you stumble upon them an hour after the church service you might think you have confused them for someone else. Those attires are specifically for going to church after which they are kept at the furthest corner of the wardrobe where they would be pulled out the following Sunday or another Sunday when they would feel like they have to go to church.

Christians at a church service,photo courtesy.

Struggling to fight Friday and Saturday hangovers; trying to remain awake after a two day drinking spree. The alcohol content in their system seem to be getting the better of them as they struggle to steady their heads and keep their eyes open throughout the better part service, only to wake up when they offertory hymn is being sang a clear indication that the service is about to come to an end. Despite sleeping for the better part of the sermon, they will wake up, find their way to the pulpit and receive the Holy Communion.  

Adopting a Holier than thou attitude during the service as they struggle to sing hymns which they haven’t done for a long time, even with the help of hymn books they find it difficult to catch up thus ending up escorting others as they survive amongst the congregation. Their humility is shouting as this is the only day, sorry time when the mightiest become humble only for this to change immediately they go past the church doors, they embark to their default settings, their normal personality for the whole week till the next church service. Speaking in tongues seems to be the specialty when praying something that should only be done when one has been filled by the Holy Spirit.

Difficulty in opening the bible verse even with the digital revolution where smartphones come with Bibles apps which are installed during the church service only to be deleted immediately after the service to create space for more ‘useful’ mobile apps. These clique of church goers can’t comfortable open the book of Habakkuk or Haggai, they don’t know the shortest Bible verse is John 11:35 “Jesus wept” and they can’t memorize the most popular memory verse John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Their memorable miracle remains when Jesus changed water into wine in the wedding at Cana. When you ask them what they have learnt at the sermon immediately after the sermon you won’t be surprised when they tell you they can’t remember a clear indication that they just went to the service to make a technical appearance nothing more. If you are a Christian or you claim to be one, ask yourself has your life as a Christian moved anyone? or does God only exist when we are in a fix, when all is well no one cares.......

MISTAKES GRADUATES MAKE;REALITY AND EXPECTATIONS.

       

Bottomline: Dear graduate avoid the city like your mother in law, the city is a jungle.

Graduating seems to be a big deal to many students, keeping in mind not everyone who gets admitted to the university accomplishes this fete. The undergraduate degree one acquires can either make you a better or it can frustrate you out here considering we live in a country where it takes an average graduate, with no tall relatives 3-4 years to get a stable job which might not be his or her preferred choice. Graduates often become frustrated since they aren’t able to bridge the perception gap between reality and expectations which makes them to make the following blunders:

Going to the city; Dear graduate do not attempt to come to the city without any plan, the city is a cruel place to be when you are unemployed, you don’t have any relative and you don’t have money. If by any chance you must come to the city and you don’t have a relative, look for 3 former colleagues rent a bedsitter close to the CBD where you won’t be struggling with fare as you go hustling out and about. If you don’t have a concrete plan in the city, avoid it like your mother in law, the city is a jungle. Staying in the village for too long also may limit your opportunities and open-mindedness. Only graduates who are teachers, social workers and community developers should stay for long in villages, their demand is very high there. 

Respect your less ‘literate’ supervisor; when I was in campus, Dr. Andrew Lang‘at gave me a book by Robert T. Kiyosaki “Why ‘A’ Students work for ‘C’ Students and ‘B’ Students work for the government.” From this book I managed to extract my own version of this book in relation to the Kenyan context “Why ‘A’ Students are in the private sector ‘B’ students work for the government ‘C’ students are in the Jua Kali Sector ‘D’ Students are the government and ‘E’ Students are government suppliers and tenderprenuers.”  When you land a job you are likely to work under a boss who can’t write a memo, report or letter. However, with all his or her brief education he or she remains your boss, you do the donkey work yet he takes away the lions share in terms of credit, salary and allowances. My friends respect that person he or she remains your boss despite the brief education. Raising your ‘head’ can lead to your dismissal just be polite as you earn a living.

Dropping job applications everywhere; moving from one organization or company to another like a mad man dropping copies of your curriculum vitae and academic certificates even when the company or organization hasn’t advertised for any vacancy. Printing outside here is very expensive unlike in campus. The worst thing about dropping your curriculum vitae and academic certificates is that they end up being shredded without even being opened; in short your application is dead on arrival.  If they are opened at the HR department they are used in training staff on how to write cover letters, resumes and CV. In short you are supplying the HR department with personnel training material for free.

Setting the Minimum Salary bar: How much do you expect as your salary? This is the first question you are asked in all job interviews. Outside here there are many graduates who came before you and there are many graduates who will come after you. Kenya is a capitalist state where employers pay you what they deem enough for you to survive not what is enough for you to live. So you should stop dreaming that you will get a starting salary of Ksh 50,000 if you are not a doctor. By the way employers don’t employ the best; they employ the person who can do the work at the lowest cost possible. Furthermore, they have a large pool of unemployed graduates to choose from. My friend when did you become a commissioner at the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to determine how much you should be paid for your work?

Following former colleagues online; Being online across all social media platforms 24/7 will only make you more frustrated. It’s only in social media where everyone is living a larger than life lifestyle, everyone is employed and doing well in life. Only login Facebook and Instagram when necessary, instead you should focus on LinkedIn where you may stumble across job opportunities and you email account where you might be lucky to have received an interview request from those random jobs you applied via those links sent on Whatsapp or LinkedIn. Stay on Twitter to get news updates and know what’s trending around you it might help during a job interview when you are asked about that question that doesn’t concern the job you applied but it’s an emerging current affairs topic. Employers nowadays prefer employees who are well informed in current affairs not the book type only employees.

Volunteering expecting employment; when you offer yourself as a volunteer in any organization kindly do so to gain experience and not expecting employment, if by any chance a vacancy comes up and you are employed well and good. I have seen former colleagues who have volunteered for more than 9 months awaiting employment only for them to be frustrated as the organization employs newbies who come out of nowhere when vacancies come up.  

Fitting in; don’t struggle to fit in when you can stand out. Live your life according to your bank statement don’t overstretch your wallet. Don’t start taking coffee at Java, Lunch at KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), dinner at Dominos and drinks at Sankara. My friend I also see these outlets on billboards and TV adverts, and hear their stories from friends of my friends.  

Having Safaricom as your only line; it might be the reliable option when you were using your parent or guardian’s money to buy airtime. However, when it comes to your own cash Airtel has the affordable call and mobile money rates and Telkom has the affordable mobile data. Outside here you forget reliability and convenience focus on affordability, when you will get enough cash you will focus on reliability and convenience. Have 3 lines Airtel for calls and Sending money, Telkom for Mobile Data Bundles and Safaricom for receiving money. If you can’t have the 3 just have the Airtel line alone it will serve you best.

Comparing self with former female colleagues; most ladies land jobs faster compared to their male colleagues after completing university, take a sample of your former colleagues you will realize that most of your male colleagues are doing everything in general and nothing in particular. We all have those female colleagues who were flower girls back in campus, those who used to copy paste your assignments word by word, full stop by full stop and comma by comma. They were never in campus when you were struggling with assignments instead they were on weekend getaways littering social media with photos of Johnie Walker black label and Famous Goose amongst other expensive liquor brands. They are employed, you are not. They make you to ‘see your life’ by inviting you for lunch at high end city restaurants where the cost of a plate is enough to push you through a whole week lunch at your usual dugout and still have pocket change you can use as a day’s fare. My friend don’t compare yourself with them just remind yourself that God’s time is the best.