Religion should make us better people

Someone once said that Africans are notoriously religious and I am inclined to agree.

Take a journey with me through the world of a Nigerian film. There is a lot of melodrama, screaming, shouting etc. Maybe it is a story about a gang of criminals that has been terrorising residents of a certain area.

Somehow one escapes to Britain while the rest are either jailed or killed. But at the end of the movie, you will see the words, To God be the Glory. Yeah, notoriously religious.

Another example: One day, I was in a restaurant in Kampala when I overheard a Kenyan man, who had just finished speaking on the phone, converse with his Asian friend.

He told the Asian that his wife had reminded him to go to church and he had promised he would, and he wanted them to leave so as to keep his promise.

The Asian asked him whether he really needed to go to church and the Kenyan responded that people must go to church on Sunday on this side of the world. “We survive by the grace of God. So on Sunday we must go and tell God thank you for letting us see another week.”

Two hours later, the young man was still in the club, dancing and had seemingly forgotten about the promise he made to his wife, or even going to church.

I would not be wrong to say only one per sent or even less of the Kenyan population is atheist, meaning very many Kenyans subscribe to one religion or another.

But look around us and ask why we have sunk so low on the moral radar. I watched in disbelief as barrels of illicit brews were being poured and I asked myself who the brewers who were using toxic chemicals were. Don’t they care about their fellow human beings?

Our streets are full of sex perverts, the number of thieves and robbers is on the rise and hypocrisy is at an all time high.

Surely, for a country that calls itself religious, we are doing poorly and need to rethink our ways.

Maybe we should start by following the Ten Commandments. We should print them out and let them adorn our offices, dinner places, restaurants, hotels and our parents should start having those short sermons after dinners.

I believe we will make or break Kenya at the family level. If the family is at peace, the nation will be at peace. Let prayer be at the centre of your life. It may seem a tall order but nothing comes easy and if we are to consider ourselves a religious nation, then we better live out what that life entails.

Whatever you do, remember to worship God alone and do not make or worship idols. Do not use the Lord’s name in vain and remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Honour your father and mother and do not kill, commit adultery or steal. Never bear false witness against your neighbour and do not covet. I believe that if at least 20 million Kenyans observe these things, Kenya will indeed be a better place to live in.