WANTED: GIANT KILLERS #3

It’s impossible to tell the story of David without telling that of Jonathan. As seen in giantkiller#2 Jonathan was a selfless leader, a rare model of what it means to be humble. He lives the words of his mentor David who would later say, “my heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quietened my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.”(Psa. 131:1-2).

David began to model sound character early in life. When he killed Goliath everybody termed him a hero but he knew where to put all those ululations, all the thumb ups, the attention and the fame. The victory over Goliath placed him on a pedestal but after he was done with it, he climbed all the way down to servant-hood and faithfulness. He knew he had began a long winding road to his destiny and the battles ahead were greater far more complicated than the giant who now lay dead. As Proverbs attests, the crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives (Prov. 27:21).

When Saul tried to get him to marry his daughter David proved that he had passed this test. He said, “Do you think it’s a small matter to become the kings son in-law? I’m only a poor man and little known” (1Sam 18:23). Really David? Did you just say you are, little known? What about those women who raised their voices to give you a hero’s welcome? Did you gather them to welcome you so you could make a political statement, as any clever, cunning politician would do? Did they not gather on their own volition? Did they not compose that song and sung it anyway although it rubbed some people the wrong way?

But you were not a cheap politician. You were different. You had the spirit of a giant killer. You were focused, determined, fearless, selfless, hardworking, humble and godly. You understood leadership is the game of the mature, of the temperate, those that can handle heat without boiling and exploding to the detriment of their followers. Leadership to you was the preserve of those who would never misuse their influence for personal gain. Even when your life was threatened, you did not take the law in your own hands and destroy your enemies before they destroyed you. Like Abraham Lincoln, you knew and perfected the art of destroying your enemies by making them your friends, as wisdom would dictate.

When the rendition, “Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands,” rend the air, it never occurred to you that an old man in the name of a prophet had visited your home and poured oil on you and had said you would be king over Israel. You were a perfect interpreter of times.  Except that the blood of the tribe of Judah ran through your veins, you could have passed for a son of Issachar, men who understood the times and who knew what Israel should do. No wonder they too identified with you and came to help you when you needed it most (1Chron 12:32).

Rejection and suffering never made you bitter but better, and for this reason like a magnet you attracted all those who were distressed, in debt and discontented. If you lived in our time, leadership consultants would have told you, you goofed by picking the wrong men! They would have told you that these men will ruin your prospects. But you were different. You received them and did not turn them into a butch of hooligans. No, you passed them through the crucible of your leadership training and produced warriors, men of valor, giant killers like you. You taught them the hard lesson of respect for authority because you reckoned that the same prophet who anointed you with oil had anointed you predecessor.

You are a true giant killer not an imposter. The picture circulated on social and mainstream media of you stepping on Goliath and cutting off his head was not the work of a computer wiz. It was not the power of photo-shop as we see it today. You were real, and you engaged real giants, floored them all and raised a generation of giant killers.

 In our time may we find people like you, Real leaders not opportunists, men of honor, giant killers that Kenya terribly needs and we shall fearlessly forge forward to destiny.

WANTED: GIANT KILLERS 2

The former Vice President, the late Kijana Wamalwa said, “A good idea should give way for a better one.”

There are leaders who get this truth and others who don’t and the difference between the two categories is the condition of their hearts. In 1 Samuel 18, Jonathan the son of Saul stands as an excellent example on how to give way for a better idea when it has come. He saw David step in and face Goliath when all fainted in fear at the battlefront. What David did that day inspired everyone; the army recovered its lost morale and identity and pursued the rest of the Philistines army, securing a great victory that day.

Optimism filled the air, it was almost tangible, True, Goliath lay dead and a son of Israel had done it singlehandedly. The women raised their voices and shouted, “David has slain his tens of thousands” and that shout could not be erased from the history books in Israel. From that day, Jonathan knew things would never be the same again in Israel.  As an aspiring leader and he knew he had to make a tough choice, either to become an antagonist, or a supporter of the new kid in the block. He chose the latter. He acknowledged that David was a better leader than himself and he loved him as himself. Through his actions he said, “You are a better leader than I am and I will support you and make sure you realize your potential even if that means relinquishing my right as an heir in this Kingdom.” He took his robe along with his tunic and symbolically handed them over to David and made a covenant with him.

His father did the direct opposite. In response to David’s rising fame, anger, jealousy and fear gripped his heart. He saw David as a threat not a strong supporter of his vision for the common good of Israel. He therefore began to hatch diabolic schemes to eliminate David. What a sad day! What a pathetic leader! A leader who is poor in compassion and vision, a leader who would use and abuse people. Even his own daughter whose only crime was to admire David became a tool to be used for the king  to advance his power game plan. He arranges a marriage of convenience between David and Merab his daughter and asks for the unthinkable—hundred foreskins of the philistines—as his dowry to expose David and get him killed by the Philistines.

Most leaders fail because when they get to power, they forget the big picture, which is service to the people. By their own design or of those that surround them they begin to hatch survival tactics to build an enduring throne while service delivery is relegated to the fridge or completely forgotten. What they fail to understand is that leadership cannot survive if it doesn’t take people from point A to B. If indeed it does survive then it is the toxic kind and it will impact people negatively. They say, “you can fool some people sometimes but you cannot fool all people all the time. Soon followers of such leaders begin to see that the leader doesn’t have their interests at heart. The Bible says, “the people loved David because he led them in their campaigns.” (1 Sam 18:16) He did not lead the people to fight his own battles; he led them to fight their battles. This means whenever victory came, it was never his victory, it was theirs and they loved him for that.

My prayer is that we will get this kind of leaders who are selfless and who are not always constantly posturing to build for themselves an enduring kingdom. Leaders who when they open their mouths inspire confidence but not instill fear. The events of the last two weeks speak volumes on the kind of leaders we have. Suddenly social and mainstream media was abuzz with messages of fear reminding us of our weaknesses and failures in 2007/2008. Instead of being inspired to face the future together with confidence we were left confused by what we saw and heard. I was particularly disappointed by what went on in parliament, the house of our representatives.

Why are we not allowing better ideas to take root in this country? It’s a bad idea to think selfishly, to be ethnically motivated, and worse still to advocate selfish and tribal values in Kenya. Nepotism, tribalism, clanism and religious fundamentalism have no place in our new Kenya. Lets refuse to join hands with those who want to use us to fight their own battles. We know what our battles are and will join however leads and inspires us to win at those fronts. Let the women diminish their ululations to the selfish, corrupt, inept leaders but let us from the rooftops cheer our champions who engage the real enemy. Lets raise our voices and shout to the David’s of our times, “he has slain his tens of thousands!!!!”

We saw it 2002, when we were voted the most optimistic people in the world and then we allowed a few people to hijack our ship and take us where we didn’t want to go. We arrived at the destination in 2007/2008 and we didn’t like it. Lest we waste our pain, let us begin to choose carefully the captains of our destiny. Let us affirm only those that lead us in our campaigns but not theirs.

Like our other Vice President, the late Professor George Saitoti, “There comes a time, when the welfare of the nation is more important than an individual.”

People who affirm and practice this truth are our true heroes, others are just pretenders, wolves in sheep skins, schemers, peddlers of lies whose ideas have no place in the Kenya we aspire to build.

Oh God of all creation

bless this our land and nation

justice be our shield and defender

may we dwell in unity, peace and liberty

plenty be found within our borders

WANTED: GIANT KILLERS

For those of you wondering whats happening in our beloved country, please rest assured that even in the midst of this darkness God's light will arise, especially for the upright (psalm112:4).

We certainly face great giants that threaten our very livelihood. Like Goliath, a dragon as been breathing fire in defiance against us. But when our wits fail, God steps in with a better answer. He anticipates our challenges and has a ready answer at the most appropriate time. 

For forty days, Goliath spoke with impunity but God had prepared and anointed a shepherd boy for this moment. Indeed professional soldiers and the King failed miserably  but David executed God's mandate perfectly and in record time.

I have a feeling that the political machinery will deliver no solution that this nation needs. The solution lies with you and me, the ordinary folks who have sensed a stirring from above and are willing to confront the giants that face us. The most prominent of the giants being tribalism  and negative ethnicity.

Whereas there are those that have stared this monster in the eyes and have completely lost confidence or have been ensnared by its  lie  'if you cannot beat them join them," and have thus become accomplices with it to make use of its huge size to scare their fellow citizens, there is emerging a different generation that have a different spirit.

By instilling fear and propagating lies the giant has escaped the sword of our fathers. Yes it has continued to intimidate and ravish our nation robbing us the energy and will to face and destroy other giants that attack us.

For this matter I have been on my knees, praying that God will raise a generation that sees differently. A generation that refuses to buy the lie that the giant is too big to confront or can be used to their tribal advantage.

A generation who like David are indignant when they see the plight of its people, living in caves as though they had no homes of their own. A generation that inspires confidence in us to arise and united realize our potential and reach our destiny. A generation that is innovative, willing to abandon that which did not work yesterday for our fathers and forge foward with what they have tested and proven reliable in their day. A generation that attributes victory to God and does not let success get into their head and dishonor their fathers inspite of their shortcomings. A generation of giant killers.

That's the Kenya I am praying for. A nation that will be known for slaying giants. A country where poverty, ignorance, disease, corruption, tribalism and terror lies bleeding, slain by the sword of a people that have caught the vision of where the nation needs to go.

I have picked up my five smooth stones, have you? Get ready, shoot!!

Tribalism falls and so does poverty, ignorance,  disease and corruption