Are Religious Institutions The Bane of Our Existence?

A story is told that a middle aged man went to visit an old man in the village. He found a well cultivated land with everything that a man could want from a small farm. After greetings the man said “wow, I see God has been gracious to you; you have a very beautiful garden over here with everything a man could want.” The old man, knowing what this man was saying, replied “you should have seen this land ten years ago when I only had the grace of God.”

Reading a speech given by Dr. Wale Akinyemi in January 2009 on “Poverty Sells” got me inspired to voice my opinion on the issue of the church and the role it plays in exacerbating poverty among Africans. Religious institutions have the best distribution of infrastructure, the best communication avenues, and are well placed to program a community’s way of thinking.

So the question we should be asking ourselves is; have we been programed to fail by our religious institutions? Could it be that the people we have entrusted with our lives, our eternal lives, have been leading us astray? Is it possible? Before you answer the question, consider that almost 90 percent of Kenyans are religious people; further, 90 percent of them are poor. If God wants us to succeed, which I believe he does, why then is it that so many of those who believe in him are poor?

The only reasonable answer is that we have been taught the wrong things. We are not told how to “conquer” the world nor have we been taught how to “fill” it, which are the main aims of creating man.

The society we live in believes that questioning our beliefs is a sin. Looking back in history, even in the bible, the only thing that brought salvation to mankind was to question the current state of beliefs. Jesus, the greatest teacher, dared to question the way people were being led by religious leaders. The bible itself tries to change a belief system while introducing another.

So my question is, is questioning what we have been taught evil or is it something we are expected to do? I have studied the rich and the poor, and the biggest difference is in their beliefs. Beliefs about money, about success, and about winning.

So I still ask this question again, are our religious institutions the bane of our existence? Are these institutions misguiding us? Leading us to a promised heaven but condemning us to a life through hell?

Getting the Best Out of Yourself

Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Do you value life? Then waste not time, for that is the stuff of which life is made.”

 Measuring Your Worth

The value of anything that you obtain or accomplish can be determined by how much of your time, or your life, that you spent to acquire it.

 The amount of yourself that you use up in achieving the goals that are important to you is a critical factor to consider, even before you begin. 

Discover Your Strengths

Only by discovering your innate strengths and developing and exploiting them to their highest degree can you utilize yourself to get the greatest amount of satisfaction and enjoyment from everything you do.

Deciding what you want to do, what you can do well, and what can give you the highest rewards for your efforts is the starting point in getting the best out of yourself.

The Seven Step Process for Setting and Achieving Your Goals

We all want success in our lives. Whether is success in raising a family, financial success, or in sports. We want to succeed in everything we do. Here are seven steps you can take to get yourself on the road to success.

• First, decide exactly what you want in each area of your life. Be specific!
• Second, write it down, clearly and in detail.
• Third, set a specific deadline. If it is a large goal, break it down into sub-deadlines and write them down in order.
• Fourth, make a list of everything you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal. As you think of new items, add them to your list.
• Fifth, organize the items on your list into a plan by placing them in the proper sequence and priority.
• Sixth, take action immediately on the most important thing you can do on your plan. This is very important!
• Seventh, do something every day that moves you toward the attainment of one or more of your important goals. Maintain the momentum!

Only by discovering your innate strengths...by developing them...exploiting them to their highest degree--can you ever fully realize the greatest amount of satisfaction and enjoyment in everything you do.