Slightly More Complicated Than Checkers

I had been in Nairobi, Kenya for 10 days and the work portion of the trip was drawing to a close. For most of that time, we had been traveling throughout the Kiamumbi community and interacting with the people there: Christian and non-Christian alike. I was tired and really not interested in doing much work. For the entirety of the trip to that point, we had been walking the streets talking to people and after walking that much in that heat our endurance was quickly running out. That day wasn’t much different than the rest except that it was our last working day before heading to the game park where we were to end our trip with a two-day safari. Personally, I was looking forward to the safari and rather poorly focused on the task at hand. When we came to a street corner where a group was standing around, the decision was made to stop and disperse. Due to our out-of-place skin color and subsequent novelty, few were hesitant to talk with us. As I looked for someone to talk with, I noticed a couple of men sitting on boxes with something between them. As I drew near, it became apparent that they were playing chess but without traditional pieces. Instead, they had beer caps, writing up for one side and down for the other. For kings, they would just double up the pieces. Looking for some excuse to avoid anything too difficult, I asked the men if I could play one of them. Without hesitating, one man accepted my challenge and then proceeded to give me the toughest game of checkers I have ever played. To be honest, I was humbled by this uneducated and obviously impoverished man’s skill. Two games later, we were tied and mutually agreed to leave it at that. As I played a few more men, one man started to ask me questions about why we were there and what we were doing. I told him we were there to share the gospel and at that, he asked me what that meant. After I explained to him the meaning of our message, he said something I will never forget. “I know many people who on Sunday they go to the Baptist church or they go to the Catholic church or another one. They go and they sing their songs and praise their God and then the rest of the week, they drink and they beat their wives and they cheat people out of money you know. So what good does going to church do for them?” With that he summed up modern Christianity and the misinformation that accompanies it.

Allow me for a moment to explain my personal beliefs and the way I view Christianity. As a religion that has been around nearly 2000 years, Christianity has had more than enough time to allow for distortion. People often, as with any religion, use parts of Christian theology to serve their own purpose and twist others to their liking. Recently, the American church has tried to change the very basis of Christianity. Based on my personal study, I believe that Christianity is not about being a good person or being sure not to do anything too bad. Christ’s statement that “I am the way the truth and the light, no one comes to the father but through me,” says to me that simply being a good person is irrelevant. If it were enough, why would it have been necessary for him to die? The bible also says that many people will go come to judgment day saying that they did many good things for Christ but that he will say he never new them. It is amusing to me that many people who claim to be Christians will tell you that to get into heaven you have to live right or do good things.

Don’t get me wrong; I am not saying that Christians can just do whatever they want. In my opinion, when the bible talks about the way one should live, I think it is more advice than commands. Too many people confuse Old Testament law with our current situation. Before the birth of Christ, Jews were dependent on the law for their salvation. Essentially, they had a list of rules and as long as they did that and paid for any of their transgression with sacrifices, they were good to go for eternity. With the crucifixion of Christ however, that process was altered. Instead of having to pay the price in sacrificial animal blood, it was paid with his. From that point on, all that has been required is a relationship with Christ. Unfortunately, the modern church has done a terrible job of spreading this message. In the name of political correctness, the church has subtly shifted its message from one way and one god to the better-received attitude of acceptance and right living. Do not misunderstand me; I am not one of those bible-thumping idiots who think everyone else is a moron if they disagree. I think everyone comes to his or her own conclusions about the world and while I’m willing to share my opinion, I won’t try to force it on everyone.

The thing that angered me when the gentleman made his statement to me is the lack of maturity that seems to pervade the church throughout the world. Not only have we done an unacceptable job of explaining what it is we believe, but we seem to ignore the wealth of wisdom and advice available to us. Why are people claiming to be Christians drinking away the little money available to them or cheating? Why are they living in irresponsibility and stupidity? Simply reading the book of proverbs would provide most people with enough advice to focus on for the rest of their life. It is a huge discredit to the church that they live in such a way that they show others nothing worth pursuing. In my opinion, people ought to be drawn to the church because they respect and look up to the people who make it up. If Christians are to make a difference, they must first be respectable people.

My response the gentleman in Nairobi was that Christians, just like non-Christians lead terribly messed up lives. Unfortunately, for all the talk, no one has it all figured out and to be honest the church is probably just as screwed up as the rest of the world. I have personally seen my own church torn apart by conflict. What I told him was that we all suck at this thing called life but that as Christians we believe that we have forgiveness for our sins and that the condition of our hearts is more important that what we do. I challenged him to try give the church another shot realizing that the church is full of sinners some of whom are genuine and others who are nothing more than hypocrites. I have no idea what impact I left on his life, but I know that he left a sizeable one on me.

I would like to think that since that encounter, I’ve been changed. I don’t pretend to have it all together. On the contrary, I doubt I’m any better now at living right than I have ever been. What I believe has changed however is my maturity. Since then, I’ve been challenged to be someone other people will respect and want to emulate; not to bring glory to myself but to be a good ambassador of Christianity unlike so many others. I know that I screw up, and I am young enough to still be trying to figure out how I see some things. There are still a lot of issues I haven’t made up my mind about and some I’ve changed my mind on. In my opinion, what is most important is that I be honest, trustworthy, and humble that people might seek to find out what my secret is so that I can share it with them. I don’t believe that mass evangelism is terribly effective. Usually, it just offends or irritates people. I believe that people are most influenced by their friends. People that they trust and depend on. That is the kind of person I have sought to be since encountering that man at the checkers board in Nairobi, Kenya.