Of Roots and Fruit

I want us to look at what is happening to the world to help us appreciate the fact that leaves do not determine the fruit produced.

Remember Jesus cursing a fig tree? And why?

The leaves were broadcasting the fact that there was fruit on the tree when the reality was otherwise.

We will therefore be in error if we expected to learn fruitfulness from leaves when it is the roots that have that responsibility.

Remove all the leaves from a tree and they will sprout again. Mess with the roots and you can be assured of withering.

But today I want us to look at people and what their roots make them. Why are some people honest?

Some are so because of their motivations. They either fear being found out or like it is said, what goes around comes around. In short they fear the repercussions of being found out or paid back.

Though that is not a bad motivation, it has so many limitations.

Would you still be honest if you are in a position that would neutralize any consequences? For example, would you still be honest if there is nobody questioning your dishonesty?

That is simply integrity managed by the leaves.

A faulty root system is the reason we get perplexed when someone who was the epitome of integrity becomes otherwise when they get into positions of authority. They simply lost the motivation of pursuing honesty since they think they have overshot any repercussions. We are shocked because we had thought that their integrity proceeded from the roots.

That is why a couple that was the personification of faithfulness and great marriage become whoremongers when they strike success.

Did they stop loving each other? Of course not. They simply got through the fear of what unfaithfulness could inflict.

It is the reason a lady who had been dressing conservatively starts dressing immodestly when she gets into money or fame.

In short, many do right because they fear the consequences of doing wrong or are in pursuit of the rewards of doing right.

Yet honesty should be operated from the roots for it to have any lasting impact.

By this I mean being honest because you can’t be otherwise. It is in your nature and you do not care or even mind whether anyone even notices. Repercussions are never in your mind as you perceive and pursue honesty. And you do not become devastated when your good is taken advantage of or abused because you can’t be otherwise.

And it is the same with all the other virtues like generosity and fairness.

Or haven’t you seen people who exploit their servants and employees being very generous when cameras are around? Others give because their religion insists, yet they have no motivation of decently paying their employees or treating their juniors with respect. Leaf generosity!

And this virus ought to expose some of these charlatans.

How does a leader who has refused to address the flooding that is a perennial problem in parts of this country respond to the same with food donations? Why should you pursue applause when the right thing would be a long term solution to something that repeats almost every year?

The foundation is wrong. The roots are rotten and therefore give poisoned sap.

Sadly, it is not much different in the faith dimension.

Most worship God for what He has to offer or for fear of how He can punish us? But the leaves attract attention.

No wonder the prosperity ungospel is so attractive. Its motivations are so leafy. That is why the rupture and purgatory are so attractive. They offer a second chance when we misbehave. They are offering hope to the leaves instead of challenging the roots to fruitfulness.

That is why people will fast and pray to get a job and stop attending church when they get it. That is why a young person will be sold out to church before getting married yet stop attending church when they get a spouse.

That is a leafy religion.

And that is true of every aspect of our lives.

When we look at this virus, we have been exposed to a lot of leafy concern and rooty oppression.

The virus has been able to release the sap that good sailing had hidden all these years.

Could I be allowed to become a conspiracy theorist for once?

I suspect that the virus was not the reason churches were closed in Kenya. It was just the excuse politicians needed.

Why do I say that?

Why did they not close bars until there was uproar? And why have they opened bars again by calling them eateries?

You see, a nyama choma joint is really not a restaurant. At least that is not why it is started. Incidentally that is why they are hidden far from where we live.

They represent everything we are ashamed of being caught doing, from prostitution to drunkenness.

We thus cannot expect any moral positive from them. And since they are established to help sinners escape consequences, we do not expect them to fall in line with government directives.

Churches were closed by the leafy generosity and worship.

You see, they attend church and give generously when they are looking for votes or applause.

Sadly for them, the threat to their political ambition is always attending church and giving, which going by their root system is interpreted as campaigning for an election that is years away.

Their generosity in campaigns drains them terribly as it proceeds from leaves. How can one be always giving and not get drained? How can one be always be attending church without tiring and not appear to be campaigning like they always do when they attend church? How can someone be so shrewd in their campaign?

They therefore close churches to bring equality in giving and worship. They then think they have evened the playing ground as they have closed the campaign of their opponent.

They forget that a giver is always giving and a worshipper is always worshipping. He therefore does not require a location as his sap is always flowing. I will not be surprised if I found out that their generosity and worship has breached many other obstacles.

You see, a tank of water might appear to contain more water than a spring. But you cannot depend on the tank in the long run since it is just storage. A well may drip a few drops per second. But it will be dripping all the time. And that could be the clearest explanation of the difference between leaf and root givers and/ or worshippers.

To this day I do not think there is any reason for closing churches, especially as markets are still overflowing with humanity. They and the slums are still making a joke of government guidelines about distancing. But I won’t repeat what I have written elsewhere.

But they still can’t afford to open churches as their ‘caged’ enemy could then be released with renewed vigor. Then their greatest energy at caging would come to a cropper so badly.

That is why the church needs to pray that God does something to change the situation. Or we will wait for permission to open churches for a very long time.

Yet this challenge of leaf goodness is not the preserve of the politicians. It is only that they are the most visible at this time.

In the spiritual it is worse. Imagine a leafy pastor or evangelist! And this is why we have shady preaching that is more motivational and entertaining than prophetic and Biblical.

But I will not be an effective minister if I just point out at the problem. I must give the solution.

It starts with knowing where we come from; a God who created us perfect and without the stain of sin. We must therefore seek to know God at a very personal level because only then will we be able to know how we ought to be.

We can only do that by delving into His word. Only then can we know His expectation.

But second is that we will be able to make the connection to enable us link up with Him to enable us to change our root system to become as He is.

This is because only He has the power to make us align to how He created us. Then our roots will start producing health.

For starters can you read Psalm 19?