One of the easiest things in the world is to mistake an outcome for a story. A beautiful home. A thriving business. A failed marriage. A child in an expensive school. A forty-year-old with no savings. Someone who seems to have it all. Someone who appears to have fallen behind. We see the destination and instinctively begin filling in the journey. Hardworking. Lazy. Disciplined. Irresponsible. Lucky. Entitled. Deserving. Wasteful. Perhaps the most dangerous thing about human beings is not that we judge one another. It is how quickly we become certain that our judgment is correct. Because every life has invisible expenses. Not just financial ones. The kind that never appear on a bank statement or a résumé. Some are chosen. Some are imposed. Some are wise. Some are costly mistakes. Most are a complicated mixture of both. One person reaches middle age with very little savings because they spent years paying school fees for younger siblings. Another because they repeatedly made poor financi...
In Kenya today, there is a deep and growing tendency to interpret every experience, setback, or societal issue through a spiritual lens. From personal misfortunes to national problems, we are often quick to declare, “It is spiritual.” But what happens when this worldview becomes the dominant, default lens through which life is understood? When does spirituality stop offering comfort and start becoming a barrier to change, reason, or healing? What Is Spiritualization? Spiritualization is the process of interpreting ordinary life events or challenges as being caused or governed by spiritual forces. In Kenya, this could mean attributing financial struggles to curses, job losses to spiritual attacks, or national corruption to demonic strongholds. While faith and spirituality can offer hope, purpose, and community, over-spiritualization denies the need for personal responsibility, rational thinking, or practical action. Over-spiritualization is not about having faith—it’s about outsourcing ...