KUNU WATER

Hello there!

How you dey? Here's hoping you're doing fine and that God continues to be with you.   

A while, and I mean a really long while, ago I heard someone make this statement "I come in peace, but I'm ready for war" and as I thought of this gist, those were the exact words that came to my mind. I've struggled quite a bit with the thought of this gist, for a while actually, but some things happened recently that have made me realize that this gist needs to be had. Normally, I for say "I'm sorry if this offends you" but actually I realize that I'm not sorry if what I'm about to say offends you, not because I do not care about how you feel, but because this is a conversation that needs to be had and I'm going to be having it with you in the most nonviolent way possible. 

That being said, welcome to today's gist. 

When I was young, there was this friend of my elder sister that we used to call "Aunty Kunu water" and honestly I could not tell you the reason why we used to call her that, I just knew that was what we called her. It was until last month when she came visiting that she told me the reason why she was called that. Turns out when I was small, I really used to like Kunu, nothing has changed there by the way. So when I'd have drunk so much and my parents would say it was enough, I'll begin to beg for "kunu water", diluted kunu, just to still have the taste, real or imagined, of the kunu –no matter how little. So Aunty Kunu water used to always now call me "Kunu water" and so she too became "Aunty Kunu water". 

I've realized in recent times how majority of us Christians purport to give God "Kunu" while we are actually giving him "Kunu water". The Christianity that is really popular in the world we live in today is so watered down it's not even funny anymore. It just seems like we have decided that we would put whatever it is that we want, and can, into our lives and it will be alright provided we find a way to somehow 'throw' Jesus into the mix as well. And that's a really terrible mentality to live by. So now there's really no difference between the Church and the world, almost everything you see in the world seems to be obtainable in the church also and we're fine with it because "God sees our heart" but we forget that a spring cannot bring forth both fresh and salt water (James 3:11), you cannot be carrying God and carrying the world too, one must give. If you will serve God, serve God; if you go follow the world, follow am. 

It's really appalling to go online and see people who are supposedly Christians, carrying "God girl", "Proverbs 31 woman", "Child of the Most High God", "Christian" or even like I saw recently "I strongly recommend Jesus Christ" on their bio and then you mistakenly happen upon their content and you're asking yourself, "how does someone who has this serious 'Jesus stuff' on their bio have all of this content?" 

I had a conversation sometime ago with someone who told me that the Church has to be accepting of people from the world and that the Church should be in such a way that the world can relate and become interested in the Church. This logic is flawed, to say the absolute least! We are not called to please the world, we are not called to appeal to the sensibilities of the world. NO! We are set apart from the world! Why should someone look at you, a bible believing, tongue speaking, firebrand Christain, and not be able to differentiate you from someone who does not profess Jesus Christ? Why should we be similar in any way?

The bible tells us that we have been chosen out of the world (John 15:19). We are not supposed to look like what God has called us from. This mentality of trying to get the world to accept you is really unchristian, here's what Paul says about that: ‭‭"Now do you think I am trying to make people accept me? No, God is the one I am trying to please. Am I trying to please people? If I wanted to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10, ERV). You cannot claim to want to follow God yet be doing things that the world loves, that's not the aim of a Christian! As a Christain, the only goal is to please Christ, nothing else! The very term 'Christian' is a derivative of the Greek word 'Christainos' meaning 'follower of Christ'. Now what does it mean to be a follower of Christ? The Merriam Webster Online Dictionary defines follow as "to engage in as a calling or a way of life", so if you are following Jesus, your calling and way of life must be Jesus! It should not be Jesus with a lirru sprinkle of the world, it must be Jesus and Him alone. So everything about your life; your words, your thoughts, your actions, your dress sense, your music taste, your conversations, your relationships, your general preferences, your views on purity and sexuality… everything must follow Jesus, there should be nothing left!

I know it's easy to say that it's really no one's business how you leave your life, but here's the great disadvantage of mixing Jesus and the world: you make the budding believer think that's the correct way to go. They say when in Rome, behave like the Romans, but what happens when the Rome way of life is identical to my way of life, I go continue with my way of life normal. That's what happens when someone comes into the fold and realizes that the 'older' and 'mature' Christians are behaving the way they who are just coming from the world behaved while in the world, na to continue business as usual be dat na! And I believe very strongly that this is what has led us to where we are now; as more people came into the faith and so no need to conform to the standard of Christ, they became the yardstick others coming behind used and with continued influx of water into God's Kunu, the whole thing has become so diluted now that you can enter a church and not know the difference between the Church and a Club. I've recently seen increased number of Churches with male Pastors braiding their hair, wearing earrings, wearing crazed trousers, female Pastors exposing their thighs and cleavages… all the whole standing before God's people to preach! If I enter that kind of church and I'm just coming from the world where that's how I've been dressing, you no go too blame me for assuming that if these things are alright, then sex, alcoholism, smoking and the likes are also not a problem after all, "God sees my heart". Or of Gospel artists now braiding their hair, keeping dreadlocks, dying their hair all sorts of colours, sagging their trousers, exposing their body parts... doing the very things secular musicians are doing so wetin come be the difference? You put God name for your song? So when we see this high level of moral and spiritual decay in the world, let us realize that the Church had a role to play, and let us do better. No matter what we think and say and how we attempt to rationalize this matter, the truth, like my sister would always say, is that God's standards will never change! So let us not fall into the devil's deception of thinking that we can explain away our bad behaviour in a way that'll make God say "oh! She was in their midst, she couldn't have done differently so I will no longer hold her to the standard I'm holding Esther to", na lie! The standard is sure and settled, no be you go cause make God change am, honestly, and I say this with utmost respect to your person, you no reach!

The instruction Paul has given ‭‭remains true and applicable today: Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect (Romans 12:2, GNT). We must hold on to God's standard and let the world see what God desires, the world must never assume that God's standards have now reduced to become like the world's.

Before you think say me ma don get am all together, I'm still a work in progress too oo so may God help us to go back to Him and ask Him to really show us His will, may our hearts be willing to conform and obey especially when He begins to tell us the things we must let go and change. 

Till we meet next week. 

Love,

Achenyo. 

PS. It's my dearest friend Israel's birthday today, whenever you read this, please say a word of prayer for him, thanks.