Avoid unhealthy political debates, save that relationship!

I as a Kenyan and as a friend would greatly urge Kenyans to put aside unhealthy political debates. By unhealthy I mean those debates that end up in a fight or one going quiet on the other or say, shut the other up in a bad word.

I have seen several end like this. I have also been in situations where I get overly vexed that I go silent or rudely end the debate. Not that I want to be rude but there just doesn’t seem to be another way to end it. Calling it off politely will just end it for a while only to have it back again.

One thing with such conversations is that they tend to be very tempting. You will always want to say something after the other person gives a point. When you call it off, the other one makes a statement that awakens another one in you… and it goes on and on. Simply put, they are complicated to end.

Another thing is, you always think you have the better point or put, you know more. They are just so annoying at some point! You quickly rub off the others’ points terming them void-which in most instances you didn't even listen to understand. We listen to nullify the other person's point and not necessarily to understand it. It becomes even worse if an informed fellow debates with one who is ignorant with information. You will not like the way they argue things out. No matter how researched and true your point is, they will trash it as though it was a bad joke.

I don’t have a problem with people sharing their different opinions on matters concerning politics. Am just worried of how it leaves relationships. I once had to declare to a close friend of mine that we are never to have a political debate in our encounters as it never ended well especially because we shared different stands on presidential candidates.

The moment you realize you have different sentiments and stands on political matters or any other debatable matter, I say you respect that. Listen to each others take and respectively/politely nullify it (if you have to). Else, consider each others sentiments as opinions which all people are entitled to, you will not hate me for my opinion right? After all, it’s my take that makes me different from you and difference brings variety and new ideas.

Let the debates be the least in your frequent conversations. Unless triggered by an unavoidable situation, keep them few and secondary. If all they do is start a fight between you, I say you officially keep them out of your relationship and find other topics to discus.After all,what matters most to you,the friendship or some political guy you 'tetea' so strongly?

Uta acha mbachao kwa msala upitaoo??
Shall you loose/fracture a relationship for a political guy you only know from afar?

Sellah!

Arise and cause to rise…

Cause to rise oh God, cause to rise
A chosen people in this generation
A remnant of this time
Cause to rise oh God, cause to rise.

Breathe and life fill these bones,
Array Your army,
They that You train to war,
Empower and cause to rise a holy army.

Consider not the wrongs of the chosen ones,
Forgive and cause to rise they called by Your name,
A people that bear your name,
Let Your presence fall and be with them.

To uproot, tear down, destroy and to overthrow all works of darkness,
To build and to plant the purposes of God on earth,
Arise oh God in the midst of your people,
Let your wonders follow them wherever they take your message.

Such a time oh God, such a time to release your army,
That you continually train, equip and empower,
Full of and guided by the spirit of God,
Release and cause to rise the army to establish Your name and purposes down here.

They that fear nothing else but You,
Out for one course, the purpose of their Father,
United they are in spirit, guided by Your holy word
Before them is You as a fire,
Above them is You as a cloud cover,
Surrounding them is Your Holy presence,
A people, an army led of the Lord

How you look at it from your eyes...

You think so? Well, it depends with how you look at it. You think it’s good? Well, that’s you looking at it from your eyes.

Realize how different we are though we all human. Different people will look at the same thing yet give different versions of it. Take for example a glass with water half way. One will see a glass half-full while the other will see a glass half empty. They are all right but it’s interesting how different they view it. I call it taking pictures from different angles!!

Note, I don’t disapprove of diversity of views, rather I appreciate it. It makes one look at things all around and not just from one side. This is helpful especially when dealing with a given situation that affects more than just you. Though not all views may be right, atleast you get something out of them.

I think how we see things we look at is determined by some factors. Take for example gender. Picture this-a billboard besides the road advertising some body lotion and besides the lotion is beautiful lady. What a guy will see on the board is totally different from what a girl will see. Not that the girl is jealous of the beautiful girl in the ad but then the product being advertised will get much of the attention. Some critics of course will follow of the ad girl-she too dark, that smile isn’t so good…and so on. The guy on the other side dint even notice the body lotion which is the reason for the ad in the first place. His eyes are quick to rush over the product only to get stuck on the pretty ad girl. It must be the hair, the skin, the outfit or rather the beauty that gets his attention. This can result to some differences somewhere…

According to my religion, it’s wrong to do something say like, worshiping an idle. In some others, it’s not wrong. They do it and believe it’s the right thing to do. Either parties think that the others are wrong and mistaken in what they do or believe. They sin!

Further in religion, it depends with what corner or Christianity you stand. For the Protestants, they believe in the Holy Spirit while the Catholics don’t. The Catholics think you are nuts when you speak in tongues whereas the protestants will appreciate if they could do the same.

If we were to be judged by what we believe, different judgments would be ruled out for the different parties or say followers.

When it comes to cultures and traditions, different people do things differently. I tend to think that this is the other most influential thing to men besides religion. Some meals/foods we eat are as a result of the culture we were brought up in. Every tribe-with its own unique culture, has a specific type of food they are associated with. Githeri for the Kikuyu, Fish for the Luo, muthokoi for the Kamba and so on.

You will dress in a skin and not leaves depending with your culture. The piercing of the body also differs from tribe to tribe.

Traditions to some extent dictate also our believes. One will believe in Ngai as their source while another believes that they erupted from a mans knee. It all depends with what your culture brought down from the fore fathers. A man will marry ten wives because his culture allows while another will marry one.

All these people are in the same world but do things differently depending on what influences the choices they make and how they do what they do. One will ask, where does all this diversity come from now that we all live in the same planet,we’er all human and are under the same bracket of needs-food, shelter and clothing.

Our beliefs somehow come to merge at some point-there is a supernatural being. But still we look at and do things differently. We possibly won’t come an agreement at this life time but at the end of it all, we shall all go back to where we came from and there shall we be accorded our rightful ‘prize’.

The days are the Lord’s….

 Of what shall make of a man?
Of what shall become of him that stands not on faith?
 He that trusts and relies on his own strength, He that brags of the days yet he holds them not,
Shall he stand? He that stands not on faith? 

What dreams does he dream he that relies on his own understanding?
Shall he plan for a day and how to do what to do in that day?
What grip has he on the day?
Does it not belong to the Lord?
To He that holds the heavens from the earth, does it not belong to him?

 The days are the Lords,
And He is the Lord of the day(s)
 He that put light in the day and dark in the night,
 He stands as the distinction between them,
He owns the days and calculates the times.