ZIMBABWE — HARARE - Have you ever been invited to one of those "Prayer for Zimbabwe" functions that are now ubiquitous nowadays? I always thought that the idea of giving a spiritual dimension to our situation was genuinely shared by all well meaning believers.

 

I was shocked recently to discover otherwise. Our Lord Jesus taught us to pray, saying that the father knows what we want even before we ask for it (Luke 11).

 

In Zimbabwe we don't know what we want from The Father.
 
I had occasion to make friends with one of the most dedicated worshippers, a distinguished lady of many talents.

 

We worshiped  together, so when I discovered that she was a daughter of a prominent politician, who is one of the central figures responsible for our present predicament, I was somewhat bemused.  

 

She voluntarily told me that we need the hand of God in our country, and we should pray for our leaders, to which I agreed.

 

I asked her, in the brethren spirit, what she as a person would want to see God do within our leadership. She said, with a straight face, that it is not up to us to tell God what to do, we should just pray and in His infinite wisdom He would know what to do.
 
I pointed out that our situation was created by man, and should we not at least start by admitting that to ourselves before approaching God?

 

No, she said, it is the devil. When one tells you that it's the devil responsible for printing money and causing untold poverty through inflation, you have to admit that this is now a spiritual argument and one has to suspend logic in order to engage.

 

An MDC activist happened upon us, trying to join the discussion like what all congregants do after a service. The sister carefully explained to this activist why she hates Morgan Tsvangirai, who is responsible for all our problems – lack of jobs, hunger, cholera, and so on.

 

The sister, Gucci shoed, manicured and leather jacketed, quickly excused herself, she wanted to go and buy some farm implements for her new plot! Amen.
 
I suppose when given a chance to be honest about God, who we don't see, and a farm 30km from your house, it is logical to be honest about the farm instead.

 

I am not saying my sister here was wrong, or right, but delivering such a verdict after we had prayed for so long together made me realise we were praying for different things. No wonder we don't seem to be answered yet. Teach us to pray again, Dear Lord.
 
Try the church for solace, and you will be equally dumbfounded! An Adventist friend said most Christians are hypocrites and sinners who fail to observe even the simplest rule – the Sabbath day, and choose to worship on Sunday instead.

 

I reasoned that just like we celebrate Christmas in December when history points out that Jesus should actually have been born around October (when shepherds are out grazing their flocks), the modern calendar week and the Jewish calendar used then, are not exactly congruent.

 

For all we know the Sabbath day then may be what we are now calling a Wednesday. Is separating a day of the week for worship not good enough, or do we really have to make it a day that rhymes with Sabbath? I was labelled an atheist, a self serving modern unbeliever masquerading as a Christian, who questions the authenticity of the bible, and this ended a very promising friendship inside a minute!
 
This is one thing I hate about religion. Did you see the Mapostori ekwaMarange fighting over a shrine a few years back? Do you remember the ZAOGA squabbles in the 90s when one irate defector said Ezekiel Guti's name gets mentioned a number of times more than Jesus' name in a service?

 

I am sure we still remember a bishop something who decided to be a businessman and opened a nightclub in Chivhu a few years back, and there was a national outcry! How does one pray effectively, and heal Zimbabwe, amidst such confusion? I can at least understand Muslims, who all go to the mosque. How come Christians, who pray through the same Jesus, believe in the same God and use the same bible ended up with so many churches?

 

Why else would a disgruntled church member decide to start his or her own church instead of facing the congregation and explain why some things should be changed? How does it become different from politics where Simba Makoni leaves Zanu PF? Not just that, but they point fingers at each other as well, basing their arguments on the same bible? And we all want to pray for Zimbabwe! Religion, my brethren, has destroyed faith!
 
 A church, I content, is an organisation. It may be voluntary or non-profit, but an organisation all the same, with people, leaders, rules, regulations, resources, and it forms part of a society. No matter how we may try to run away from it, it is also about influence, and influence is about power. Who has the largest number of followers is somehow more powerful than the rest.

 

And when it comes to power and resources, we are discussing human nature. And that's what religion boils down to. You have to think, see, dress and believe in a certain way, and not question some things for you to be accepted in a particular religion, and in Christianity – in a particular denomination.

 

It's like joining your local club, where all the prerequisites – passport sized photo, home address and bank statement have to be met. Christianity as a religion seems to thrive on exclusion and identity. In the end, is God not bigger than all these small compartments we try to fit Him in? You want me to pray for Zimbabwe? I am too confused.
 
I don't know how Jesus feels about us as believers, but as one blasphemous rock star put it, Jesus was ok, but his followers are too simple. We are. Remember a group of men of the cloth in 2000 saying a new constitution should declare Zimbabwe a Christian nation?

 

We have had bloody elections where people lost lives, and eight months after the elections we have no government and starvation and cholera are killing people. These men of the cloth's silence is deafening!! I suppose this is the Christian nation they were talking about.

 

The last time I heard they went to present a document called "The Zimbabwe We Want" at state house! At a time when King Ahab was living in luxury and worshipping false gods, while his subjects suffered, imagine the prophet Elijah going to the king's palace with a document titled the "The Israel We Want"? Luckily he gave the king a better message (1 Kings 18 v18).

 

Are these not the same shepherds who are asking their impoverished followers to tithe in whatever currency they have – Pula, US$, Rand and the Pound? Don't ask me where they convert that forex, after all, we are a Christian nation. Give to Caeser….
 
When a nation has so many spiritual leaders and so many churches, how come we still produce the kind of characters we have in our political leadership? Zimbabwe arguably has the best pastor/reverend to worshipper ratio in the world, outside Nigeria. But sometimes one hesitates to pray for Zimbabwe amidst all these spiritual resources.

 

I often wonder how our political leaders think. One would think that there is an element of decency, of conscience inside every human being that will make him choose good over bad. That will make you ashamed when people die of cholera that you caused.

 

That will make you feel remorseful when hunger kills people when you know you could have avoided it. What else has to happen before we see reason? All the 13million people have to die first? Then who will you lead? The elephants and donkeys and cows left? Assuming there are any. Praying for Zimbabwe? No, I am too ashamed.
 
What particularly disappoints me about the talks is that if you listen to the arguments, you would think Zimbabwe is some kind of trophy in a cabinet somewhere. These politicians are in a winner take all contest. You would think they own us, the citizens. Don't the 13 million people of Zimbabwe have feelings?

 

Don't they have lives and choices? Should the ego of a few individuals be more important than the welfare of these people? Should the political offices of a few dozen people be so important that everyone has to die for them to have it?

 

How does a human being personally feel when he knows that twenty lives were sacrificed so that he can be called minister so and so? If the bullet is mightier than the pen, I find it difficult to pray for Zimbabwe, I am too depressed.
 
 Is power so important, so satisfying and so sweet that the world has to die for one to get it? I mean, when Patrick Chinamasa calls Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of an elected political party that holds a majority in parliament, 'a Savimbi', does he genuinely feel better as a person after saying that, given he was not elected himself?

 

When Rugare Gumbo tells the nations that having wild fruits for dinner is a normal traditional way of life, does he become happier as a human being? When Welshman Ncube leaves home to go for the SADC talks and comes back without a deal, what does his neighbour say? 'Lo ngumngane wami weqiniso?'

 

When Morgan Tsvangirai snubs talks in Swaziland, what does Mrs Tsvangiral say? 'Well done honey, that's why I love you?' and when Tobaiwa Mudede refuses to give Tsvangirai a passport? What does his daughter think of him? 'You are my personal hero daddy?'

 

When Nathaniel Manheru calls Tendai Biti unprintable names, does it make his mother proud of him – 'mwana wangu iyeye?' As human beings who come from families where we have spouses, parents, children and relatives, does each one of us' personal contribution to our political mess improve our lives?

 

And what do these families have to say about our actions? Does your spouse love you more? Will your children respect you more? Will your relatives admire you more?
 
Where are the nurturing women of our country who stand by and watch their husbands play lotto with our lives? Is it so difficult to say, on the pillow,' Baba wemwana vanhu vari kufa, madii masiyana nazvo'.

 

And the children of this nation? When you go abroad and have your decent education when everyone else has to do with five lessons a term, is there no element of humanity in you that can say 'Asi daddy munonyatsofunga kuti munosvikepi muchitambudza vanhu zvakadai?' 

 

The answer is NO. As long as they have enough, the world can go to hell. Is it human nature, is it the devil or it is pure greed? I cannot pray for Zimbabwe. I am too hungry and too angry.

And when we join hands in prayer with the same people, all dressed up and smelling expensive? What should we say – thank you Jesus? That should not surprise me. Even the architects of apartheid in South Africa prayed to God, they built 'white only churches' for good measure. I don't know what race God is. 

 

My sister friend I mentioned earlier is praying for a change in the country, but only a change that does not affect her material possessions. A change in our inflation rate, in our service delivery and in our income. But this change has to leave her dad in his job, it has to leave her with her farm and it does not have to change her party's office term.

 

Why call it change then? The 'evil' imperialists have just concluded an election in the US. No dead body, no violence, nobody disputed the results. They have even voted a black man into office. Is this not what God wants of us? Are we not ashamed of seeking his grace then? I would have loved to pray for Zimbabwe, but no, I am too disturbed.
 
 
History records only one indispensable man – Adam. So why are mortal human beings among us behaving as if they not only own us the citizens of this country, but also as if they are going to be alive and ruling us for the next five hundred years?

 

Does the bible not say that every man born of a woman will go back to earth? Surrounded by such shallowness, I am not going to pray for Zimbabwe, and I will tell you why. As long as these men think they are indispensable, as long as their families embrace their arrogance, as long as we stand and watch, as long as we bury our cowardice in churches and expect Jesus to do a miracle we don't even deserve, I cannot pray for Zimbabwe?

 

As long as we think power is more important than life, as long as we think our bank balances give us more happiness than helping our society, as long as we believe our egos, and not reason, should rule a country, what exactly do you expect me to ask of God?

 

I will not pray for Zimbabwe. But at the end of the day, what can we really do without the same God? Paul says God won't try us using something we can't handle (1 Corinthians 10 v13). God's soldiers fight best on their knees. Let us pray for Zimbabwe:
 
"Heavenly father, we come before thee to seek a purpose in this gift of life you gave us. We live in a society where man has killed man, and rejoiced in the outcome. We tremble under the leaders you gave us Dear Lord, we don't know peace. They have starved us so they can have titles. We have to depend on our neighbours' fields for food, so they can call themselves heroes.

 

Many in our midst have faced death, so that the men you let lead us can prove their invincibility
 Search us Dear Lord, and remove the sinful, self gratifying evil spirit that has gripped our conscience. That we may feel shame, when we let Your people suffer because of our actions.

 

That we may feel compassion, as children die of hunger when we drive Mercs and Prados. That we may appreciate reason, when Your people cry for days on end as they burden under our heavy yoke of repression.

Every living soul on this earth is testament that You are alive and You love us, yet we have taken every opportunity to burden these souls with our earth found aloofness. We have failed to understand that You and only You owns life, as we beat and maim each other for power.

 

Before we face You on the day of judgment Dear Lord, we pray that You grant us the common sense to acknowledge that the only power worth dying for is Yours.
 
We are sinners dear Lord, who have failed to reciprocate Your love and honour Your commandments. We do not deserve the blessings we seek from You and we are ashamed of our stupidity in ignoring Your will. But allow us dear Lord to come here and thank You. We want to thank you today, right now.

We are not going to wait until our dollar has appreciated, or our inflation has gone down. We will not wait until bank queues disappear, or until our salaries can buy food. We want to thank you today, right now.

We will not wait until the rains have given us a harvest, or until there is food in our houses. We will not wait to have electricity in our homes or water in our taps. We will not wait until cholera goes away; we want to thank you today, right now.

We will not wait until our politicians become more human, or less oppressive. We will not wait until election violence comes to an end as we kill each other for earthly offices.

 

We will not wait until Zanu PF and MDC put people before their ambitions, or until our politicians discover that there are human beings who are suffering in this nation. We want to thank you today, right now.

We want to thank you because You are the same God who has loved us all this time. You loved us as we sinned and disrespected You.

 

You loved as when we chose barbarism over reason when our neighbours tried to help us. You never abandoned us as we stole from each other in the name of democracy.

 

You forgave us as we fanned racism in the name of correcting history. You still cared for us as we starved each other in the name of fighting imperialism.

 

As we cross borders to seek food and peace, You never gave up on us. Today, as we overcharge each other for profit and as we believe in our money instead of Your mercy, You still love us.

Even now, as you extend to us the forgiveness we don't deserve, we look up to your face, for fulfilment and for reason, for shelter and for sense, for humanity and for love, for guidance and for hope. We look up to You Dear Lord, for direction and for purpose.
 
Zimbabwe needs You today, Dear Lord, more than anything else.
 
In Jesus' name, Amen.
 
Davy Saruchera is an ordinary Zimbabwean citizen who can be contacted on sarches@writeme.com

 

 

JOKE OF THE DAY - This is a true story happened in Kadoma a few months ago.

 

A man was hitch hiking on a very dark night, in the middle of a storm. The night was rolling by and  there was hardly a car on the road.

 

The storm was so strong that he could hardly see his feet in front of him. Suddenly a car came towards him and stopped. Without thinking, he got in and closed the door, just to realise that there was nobody behind the steering wheel.

 

The car moved off slowly. He looked ahead and saw a curve in the road. Scared, he started praying, begging for his life. He was terrified. Just before hitting the curve, a hand appeared through the window and turned the steering wheel.

 

The man, now paralysed with fear, watched how the hand kept appearing everytime they got to a curve. Gathering all his courage, he jumped out and ran to the nearest lights he could see. Wet and in shock, he went into a bar and asked for a Castle.

 

After drinking it, he told everyone of the horrible experience he had just had. Everyone was silent when they realised he was crying. About half an hour later, two men came into the bar and on seeing the terrified man, one of them said to the other, 'Moyo ndizvo, that's the idiot who got into the car when we were pushing!!!!!!

 

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