By George Kimando
This last week, a couple of largely uneventful, but highly significant things, happened within our borders.
One, the highest court ruled that the much controversial LGBTQ adherents have a legal right to be registered as a non governmental organization, enjoying every right of assembly and association like any other Kenyan.
Two, the discussion on marriage and polygamy took quite some acres of space and airtime in our liberal social media platforms, courtesy of a renowned musician cum law enforcer and a renowned politician cum law maker.
The two may be unrelated in context and content, but the moral challenges they throw at us as a society, especially of believers, are profound.
First, there can be nothing right about gayism or lesbianism. Period.
We can accommodate adherents as human beings (they come from our families and communities), but ones that need help – professional, social and spiritual – to turn around. We must put a clear line between legal rights and moral uprightness as families and societies, and of essence intentionally seek to persuade them to normalcy.
Most importantly, we must not condemn them. Am convinced this is what Pope Francis meant when he recently said that they require our love, not condemnation or criminalization. Which is why some of us have an issue with a bill tabled in parliament in the same week to criminalize gayism.
All said and done though, there can be nothing right about it, and it must not be normalized.
Which leads me to the other issue of the law maker and law enforcer, and a ‘goat wife’ in between. I won’t go to the details, make google your friend here.
I have nothing against polygamy. Indeed, I believe it had (still has) its high pedestal of purpose in communities across historical ages and seasons. And no part of that purpose had to do with promiscuity. Again, I invite you to do a bit of reading about it.
I must make a disclaimer here though, na siyo kujitetea to whoever. Ahem!
I have never understood where men – even with all the resources and virility they could muster – get the emotional balance to get involved with more than one woman at any given time, especially in marriage. I mean, even one is more than energy enough required! The mess we see around with multi-pronged relationships is more than enough testimony about pretenders to the polygamous thrones.
For those who can manage it, they must carry it out with purpose, dignity and decorum. Wars of words, insults and altercations (sometimes physical, injurious and fatal) only demonstrate immaturity and juvenility.
There can be no middle ground about the sanctity of marriage and family. No amount of sanitization can transform promiscuity to routine normalcy. Period. Usherati ni usherati, whoever does it.
By the way, there are very many unwedded couples who are faithful to the core, and very many wedded ones to whom unfaithfulness is routine. Story we need to examine here, and the stand of the Church on this phenomenon.
Long story short, we must be men and women of spine enough to call out a spade by its very name, and not sanitize wrong in the name of modernity and progress.
In the words of the late Catholic Archbishop Ndingi mwana Nzeki, “wrong is wrong is wrong even if everybody is doing it, and right is right is right even if no one is doing it”.
There can be no middle ground about it.
Have an absolute conviction Sunday, and a great week ahead.
