Don't sell people an incomplete map and then blame them for getting lost. I've been sitting with that thought for weeks because the more I look around, the more I realize that many of the frustrations we carry as a society are not simply about unemployment, corruption, inequality or even money. They are about the stories we tell one another. From the time we are children, we are handed maps for how life is supposed to work. Study hard and life will work out. Get a degree and you'll find a good job. Work hard and success will follow. Save consistently and you'll become financially secure. Find your passion and the money will come. Marry the right person and everything else will fall into place. Believe in yourself. Think positively. Stay disciplined. None of these statements is entirely false. But none of them is entirely true either. The problem is rarely what they say. The problem is what they leave unsaid. Because what is omitted from a story is often just as powerful...
There is a dangerous gospel being preached across Kenya — not always from pulpits, but from the streets, the offices, and the minds of many who consider themselves devout Christians. It is a gospel that says: if you are wealthy, God must be pleased with you. If you are poor, you must be doing something wrong. If you’re struggling, you must lack faith. And if you’re rich, it’s because God is smiling down on your choices. This is the unholy reward — the lie that material wealth is a measure of spiritual approval. It is a pandemic of belief. You hear it in testimonies that focus less on transformation of character and more on bank balances. You see it in social media posts that equate Range Rovers with righteousness. You encounter it in churches where the wealthy sit in the front and the poor are advised to “sow seeds” they cannot afford — just to get God’s attention. “Blessed” — but What Does That Mean? In Kenya today, the word “blessed” is often synonymous with “rich.” A new car? “I...