A run through Philippians-I don’t feel no different!! Part 1

A few days after my daughter’s 5^th birthday, I found myself in an intense conversation with her over (what I thought should be) age-appropriate responsibilities. So here I was arguing with a girl barely the height of my knee, eyes blazing at me and small hands sweeping the air in wide arcs to emphasize a point. It took all I had to keep from bursting out in laughter.

Me: “You are now 5 years old. Why is your food only half-eaten? A 5 year old is a big girl. You should be able to clear your plate without help!”

Her: Staring at me as if she had just discovered a new pimple on my face. “But ‘daad’, even mama Kial helps him finish his food.”

Me: “No, Kial is 4 years old!

Her: “But ‘daaad’, he is going to be 5 years next year and be just like me!

She then tilts her head in that funny way that girls do when they are about to say something incredulous but which they believe to be 100% okay.

Sensing danger, I cut her off.

Me: “And after you finish your food, get a table-clothe and wipe the table clean without being reminded again. That is what responsible 5 year olds do.

Her: “Yes dad.”

I can smell victory close by. This battle I have won. But as I begin to relish the moment, she spreads out her palms towards me. I look at her quizzically and even before she says what is on her mind, I know that my moment of sweet victory was short-lived.

She begins her statement like the little, lovely girl that I know but then finishes it off with a finality that I have only seen in grown women.

Her: “But ‘daaaaaaad!’ Outside I am five years old...” (She makes another dramatic gesture with those small hands). “But inside I don’t feel different”. She makes one of those Sunday school gestures to describe inside.

“You see dad, inside I am still 4 years old!”

At this point I have no rational response and the conversation dies off.

Later it set me thinking that this was funny only because I was dealing with a five year-old. However, are there times when Christians are no different from the five year old? Think about it. Isn’t it interesting that at certain moments many Christians are no different from my daughter? On the outside they are the peace-loving, gentle, praise-the-Lord types but inside they are a different animal. In some corners of their soul they hide habits and perceptions that are foul left-overs from the life they lived before becoming followers of Christ. When the right stimuli comes about they dig into these unbecoming heaps of carnal impulses  and the result is thoughts, views and words you may never have expected of them.

In Kenya, the stimulus that draws out the worst in Christians is the electoral cycle. And this season did not disappoint either. Political views have cast many good Christians on opposing sides-sometimes quite passionately. The open secret of course, is that many have taken their stand based on the tribe. On the back of heated political debates many friendships have been strained, people have retreated to ‘friendly’ churches and some small-group fellowships that have even been put on ‘ice’ until Kenya’s mad season of crass ethnicity passes.

The kind of negative ethnicity we see today is not new. In bible times there were certain men in Philippi who went about teaching that salvation was something that had to be earned. A first step was that one had to be circumcised.

 ^Phil.3:2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved.

However Paul’s writing in subsequent passages shows that there was much more involved. He gives an example of his former self and talks about the things he took pride in.

 ^Phil.3:4b-5. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

⁵ I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.

Let’s break this down.

1.     I was circumcised when I was eight days old.

Now, isn’t it interesting that from time to time matters of the foreskin dominate our national politics? Surely there is nothing new under the sun as the bible says (Eccl. 1:9). As it was in the days of Paul, so it is today. Circumcision talk plays into some of the conversations around our dinner tables when parents or relatives hint that their daughters should not marry from certain tribes. Where is the gospel in this kind of talk?

2.   I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one!

Skimming through social media, it is hard to miss out tribal influences underlying almost every argument.  Though many are not bold enough to publicly come out like Paul, they nevertheless harbour prejudices defined by their cultural backgrounds. Sample this.

At the height of recent political tensions, I met with ‘the boys’ to settle political scores. Amongst us were two Luos and a Kamba. The Kamba was incensed that one Luo did not bother to vote while the other Luo had voted against expectations to give the incumbent president (who is kikuyu) his support. The Kamba looked at his two Luo friends in disgust and declared rather seriously, “Shame on you both; I am more Luo than the two of you!”

Dr. Stanley Mukolwe recently posted on his facebook page;

“…Some of my Kenyan audience are ashamed when they realize how the just-concluded elections exposed the reservoir of anger within them – the elections are hardly the issue. The issue is within. When you squeeze a lemon, you get lemon juice).”

How true! The issue is not our politicians as many are wont to say; the issue is with what lies within us-the parts that have never been taken to the cross of Christ for crucifixion until declared dead! In other words dear brother, the fact that the embers of prejudice still glow secretly within you is an indication that you are still a worldly (or carnal) Christian. Paul dwells on this at length in the rest of chapter 3 but let me say this; if your choices, political or otherwise are still defined by your tribe then Christ is yet to achieve his full work of holiness in you. 

Picture Credits:
metro.co.uk
behappy.me