The Human Soul

Several years ago God gave me a message as I read His word, as He always does. It concerned the value of a human soul and the scripture was Mark 5

God gave me several forums of sharing that message that I thought I had written it.

Recently, I shared what I thought was a summary on Facebook that I had shared through sms. It is when someone requested that I send him the complete message that I discovered I had just shared it elsewhere and not written it as I do many messages God gives me.

I will therefore briefly share it and expand it to include its implications/ applications for today.

There was one demoniac who was unwanted by society yet they could do nothing about it because he was too powerful that he even broke chains that they bound him with. They just left him to wander wherever he wished, which was among the dead.

Then Christ comes along.

Of course the demons knew Him and must have tried their best to hide their captive from this power. That is the first point I learnt.

No one and nothing can be able to block a heart that has decided on seeking God. The power that easily broke apart iron and steel could not block him from running to Jesus. They were powerful over everything else but completely powerless against his decision to seek deliverance from their domination (and this is not the drama we call deliverance nowadays).

Please notice that I am not also talking about positive thinking and declaration motivators (who conveniently call themselves pastors) dwell on as their ‘ministry’ and ‘prophetic unction’.

This demoniac chose to go to Jesus and they (six or so thousands of them) could do nothing about it.

They then plead with Jesus. Note also that they were not negotiating, far less conversing with Christ as exorcists pride themselves about as if it is a badge of honor to negotiate with the father of lies.

They plead and are allowed to go to a herd of swine (pigs for those who have been deceived that King James Bible is hard to understand), which then commit suicide after being demon possessed.

Now to the main lesson; Two thousand pigs got lost just like that.

Of course it caused quite some drama because that may have been the main occupation of that area. Those pigs may have been the source of meat for the ten cities the former demoniac was sent to share his testimony with.

When the villagers came around to see what was happening, they found their bothersome and uncontrollable character completely healed. But they found something else; their economic backbone not just broken but completely shattered.

They then plead with Jesus to just go away. The miracle was too costly for them. They just couldn’t envision another miracle from the same Jesus.

An average pig is about 10 000 shillings (US$ 100). Two thousand of them is 20 million (US$ 20 000). Now that is a lot of money for a village or two.

Yet Jesus had no problem pouring all that investment on a reject who sought Him.

This simply means that a human soul is of inestimable worth in God’s sight. That is why He sent His Son to die.

But let us look at some implications. The Decapolis lost their meat supply for that miracle to happen.

Again let us contextualize this miracle.

We have a company in Kenya that deals with pork and pork products. What could a miracle of that nature do to them? What would happen if 2000 pigs disappear just like that? What would happen to their supply chain?

Assuming they slaughter 100 pigs daily, we are looking at 20 days without their raw materials. It means they are selling nothing in those days. Their transporters have no work. Their shops are empty. Their feeds are unsold. The company will just need to file for bankruptcy and completely shut down. And this is because animals are not commodities that are made. They will take time to reproduce to the former stock levels.

How much suffering do you expect from the impact of that one miracle? How many people will lose their livelihoods? How many shops will close for lack of stock? How many people will have nothing to put on their tables? And how many people will crave something they can’t be able to access?

Let us go to something else as I know there are some who are saying that it served them well as they do not fancy pork.

In value, a pig will cost about three to four goats. We are now talking about seven or so thousand goat’s equivalent. Just walk with me.

There is an estate in Nairobi that revolves around goats and sheep as that is where the slaughter house is. What would the loss of 7000 goats impact that estate? Or we can make it 6000 because a legion was about 6000 soldiers, meaning that this character had over 6000 demons.

I assume between one and two hundred goats are slaughtered daily. How many days does it take to slaughter 6000 goats if 200 are slaughtered daily?

Imagine closing the slaughter houses for thirty days!

Again consider the supply chain; from the seller to the transporter to the keeper to the slaughterer to the skinner to the buyer to the butchery to the nyama choma den. How do they survive the thirty days without supply? How many livelihoods will be affected? That one month will simply crush that estate, among other places. And we are assuming there will be somewhere else they can access goats after that month, which is not possible as we are dealing with animals that must reproduce, a process that takes time.

Yet Jesus sees that as incomparable to saving one soul from hell.

Is that the way we look at people, especially those who have nothing to offer us? Is that the way a pastor sees those who come to take instead of giving offerings? Is that the way we see that drug addict, that harlot, that street family, that widow and orphan?

That is why Jesus never pleaded with anyone to follow Him. A sacrifice is the norm when one grasps the reality of God’s love for humanity. Selling everything one owns for the pursuit of that is not even a sacrifice; it is the normal response to seeing as God sees.

The disciples left thriving businesses to follow after that call. Matthew left an office, risking even his life for desertion when he received the call.

Fishing men is never a part time occupation because of what it entails. Responding to the call of the lost with God’s love will leave nothing on you; neither family nor profession, only a love for the lost.

Barnabas sold his land. Paul left everything and everyone. No wonder theologians speculate on whether he was married or single when he heard the call. And that was Christ’s expectation. What if his new call alienated his family from him?

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)

How close is that reality to your experience?