ABABUFI
Ababufi bakwata ululimi ulwalowa – ukucila na Sugar yaku Nakambala! They say things they don’t mean and do things they don’t say. This is the way the key leadership of this government is behaving.
And this behaviour of theirs is well explained in Matthew 23:1-12.
“Why don’t you practice what you preach?” Have you ever said those words? Maybe someone has said them to you. Hypocrites are people who pretend to be something they are not. They may say one thing and then do the opposite. They may act one way in a certain setting and then act another way in a different setting. It is very important that as Christians, we follow the example of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter where we are or who we are with. The words we speak and the things we do should always reflect our faith. Sometimes we are good at telling other people what they should do and how they should live, but we fail to follow our own instructions. We need to, as the saying goes, “walk the walk, not just talk the talk.”
In Matthew 23, Jesus tells the crowds and his disciples to do what the Pharisees and the scribes teach them to do, “but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach” (Matthew 23:3). In other words, the leaders talk the talk, but they don’t walk the walk. Why is it important to practice what we preach? The most basic reason is the integrity of our faith.
In Matthew 5:14, Jesus tells us, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.” People should be attracted by the light of the way we live and the words we speak. Whether we like it or not, people are watching us and seeing how we respond to the ups and downs of everyday life.
What evidence do we offer of our profession of faith? Are our responses any different from those of persons who don’t profess to know Christ? How do we practice what we preach? One way is to be careful about the words we speak. You can tell a lot about a person by the words they use. James tells us the tongue is very dangerous. It can set a great forest ablaze. We can tame all kinds of animals, but we cannot tame the tongue (James 3:3-6).
People are listening to the words we speak. The words we speak should match the person we claim to be. What you see is what you get. Political ideas are worthless if they aren’t inspired by noble, selfless sentiments. Likewise, noble sentiments are worthless if they are not based on correct, fair ideas.
Fred M’membe