The Enemy Deceives Us
Bill Graham
Many jokes are made about the devil, but the devil is no joke. If a short time ago I had talked about Satan to university students, they would have made light of him, but no longer. Students today want to know about the devil, about witchcraft, about the occult. Many people do not know they are turning to Satan.
They are being deluded because, according to Jesus Christ, Satan is the father of lies and the greatest liar of all times. He is called a deceiver. In order to accomplish his purpose, the devil blds people to their need of Christ. Two forces are at work in our world—the forces of Christ and the forces of the devil—and you are asked to choose
Christ Is Our Confidence
Joyce Meyer
For we [Christians] are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit and by the Spirit of God and exult and glory and pride ourselves in Jesus Christ, and put no confidence or dependence [on what we are] in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external appearances. —Philippians 3:3
God is merciful toward us and wants to bless and prosper us. He sees our heart attitude and our faith in Jesus. When we have confidence in God and His love and kindness, we can progress to living confidently and enjoying the life He wants for us.
Note that I said confidence in God, not in ourselves. Usually, people think of confidence as self-confidence, such as TV self-help gurus or [what] athletes promote when urging us to “Believe in yourself!”
I beg to differ. I want to make it clear, right from the start, that our confidence must be in Christ alone, not in ourselves, not in other people, not in the world or its systems. The Bible states that we are sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency (Philippians 4:13), so we might also say that we are confident through Christ’s confidence. Or another way to say it would be, “We have self-confidence only because He lives in us, and it is His confidence that we draw on.”
Joyce Meyer
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Tofauti Ya Zaka Na Dhabihu
Mwl Christopher Mwakasege
Kutokutoa zaka na dhabihu ni kumwibia Mungu. Mtu aliye mkristo asipotoa zaka na dhabihu anaitwa mwizi. Kuna wakristo ambao ni wezi lakini wao hawajui yakuwa ni wezi. Wamemwibia Mungu zaka na dhabihu. Mungu anasema hivi:
“Je! mwanadamu atamwibia Mungu? Lakini ninyi mnaniibia mimi. Lakini ninyi mwasema, tumekuibia kwa namna gani? Mmeniibia ZAKA na DHABIHU” (Malaki 3:8)
Kati ya amri tulizopewa na Mungu ni kwamba tusiibe. Kuiba ni dhambi. Na dhambi ina adhabu yake. Popote palipo na dhambi, laana hutokeza. Kwa wale wanaomwibia Mungu kwa kutokutoa zaka na dhabihu, wamefunikwa na laana. Ndiyo maana Mungu alisema hivi:
“….. Mmeniibia Zaka na Dhabihu. Ninyi mmelaaniwa kwa laana; maana mnaniibia mimi, naam, taifa hili lote (Malaki 3:8b, 9).
Laana maana yake ni kutokufanikiwa, kutofaulu, kutokustawi, kukosa furaha, kukosa amani, na kukosa mwelekeo sahihi. Ni wazi kuwa wakristo wengi hawana furaha, hawana amani na hawafanikiwi katika maisha yao ya kila siku, kwa sababu hawamtolei Mungu zaka na dhabihu.
Unapokosa kumtolea Mungu ili ujenzi wa nyumba yake – kanisa uendelee, Hagai 1:6 anatuambia Mungu anasema hivi;
“Mmepanda mbegu nyingi mkavuna kidogo; mnakula lakini hamshibi; mnakunywa lakini hamkujazwa na vinywaji; mnajivika nguo lakini hapana aonaye moto; na yeye apataye mshahara apata mshahara ili kuutia katika mfuko uliotoboka-toboka”.
Zaka ni kitu gani?
Zaka ni fungu la kumi la pato lako. Hebu isome na kuitafakari mistari ifuatayo;
“Tena zaka yote ya nchi, kama ni mbegu ya nchi, au kama ni matunda ya nchi, ni ya Bwana, ni takatifu kwa Bwana ….Tena zaka yote ya ng’ombe, au ya kondoo, kila apitaye chini ya fimbo; SEHEMU YA KUMI watakuwa ni watakatifu kwa Bwana” (Mambo ya Walawi 27:30 –32).
“…Toa fungu la kumi lote la maongeo yako ya mwaka huo, uliweke ndani ya malango yako; na Mlawi kwa kuwa hana fungu wala urithi pamoja nawe, na mgeni, na yatima, na mjane aliyefiliwa na mumewe, walio ndani ya malango yako, na waje wale na kushiba; ili kwamba Bwana, Mungu wako, akubarikie katika kazi yote ya mkono wako uifanyayo”(Kumbukumbu la Torati 14:28-29).
Zaka ni fungu la kumi la pato toka mshahara wako ofisini, shambani au kwenye mifugo. Tena zaka hii ni ya Bwana na ni Takatifu.
Mtu asipoitoa zaka hii anamwibia Mungu. Zaka si yako hustahili kukaa nayo wala kuitumia nje ya utaratibu wa Mungu.
Lakini Malaki 3:10a anasema; “Leteni zaka KAMILI ….” Maana yake nini maneno haya? Maana yake ni hii; ikiwa kwa mfano mshahara wako kwa mwezi ni shilingi 2,000/= ( kabla ya makato) – fungu la kumi au zaka unayotakiwa kutoa ni shilingi 200/= ambayo ndiyo zaka kamili ya mshahara wako. Ukileta pungufu yake hiyo si zaka kamili.
Tena kwa mfano umevuna magunia 10 ya mahindi toka shambani mwako – zaka kamili unayotakiwa kutoa ni gunia moja bila kupungua. Kumbuka mzaliwa wa kwanza wa mifugo yako ni wa Bwana.
Unaweza ukasema habari za kutoa zaka ni za agano la kale na siyo za agano jipya.
Waebrania 7:5-10 inatuambia wazi ya kuwa Ibrahimu alitoa fungu la kumi. Kama Ibrahimu alitoa sehemu ya kumi, Je! si zaidi sana kwetu sisi tulio uzao wake kwa imani ndani yake Kristo? Maana imeandikwa hivi;
“Na kama ninyi ni wa Kristo, basi, mmekuwa uzao wa Ibrahimu na warithi sawasawa na ahadi” (Wagalitia 3:29). Soma pia Wagalitia 3:13,14).
Dhabihu ni kitu gani?
Dhabihu ni matoleo yanayotolewa baada ya kutoa sehemu ya kumi ya pato lako. Kwa mfano, kama mshahara wako kwa mwezi ni shilingi 2,000/=, basi sehemu ya kumi (zaka) ni shilingi 200/=. Kiasi cho chote utakachotoa ju ya shilingi 200/= ndiyo matoleo yako. Kwa mfano ukitoa shilingi 210/= toka kwenye mshahara wako wa shilingi 2000/=, Basi, shilingi 200/= ni zaka; na shilingi 10/= ni dhabihu au matoleo au sadaka ya kawaida.
Kiasi utakachotoa katika dhabihu/matoleo, ndicho kitakachokuwa kipimo kitakachoweka kiwango chako cha kupokea. Imeandikwa hivi:
“Lakini nasema neno hili, APANDAYE HABA ATAVUNA HABA; APANDAYE KWA UKARIMU ATAVUNA KWA UKARIMU. Kila mtu na atende kama alivyokusudia moyoni mwake, si kwa huzuni, wala si kwa lazima; maana Mungu humpenda yeye atoaye kwa moyo wa ukunjufu. Na Mungu aweza kuwajaza kila neema kwa wingi, ili ninyi, MKIWA NA RIZIKI ZA KILA NAMNASIKUZOTE,mpatekuzidisanakatikakilatendojema;kamailivyoandikwa, Ametapanya, amewapa maskini, haki yake yakaa milele. Na yeye ampaye mbegu mwenye kupanda, na mkate uwe chakula, atawapa mbegu za kupanda na kuzizidisha, naye ATAYAONGEZA MAZAO YA HAKI YENU, MKITAJIRISHWA KATIKA VITU VYOTE MPATE KUWA NA UKARIMU WOTE; umpatiao Mungu shukrani kwa kazi yetu.
Maana utumishi wa huduma hii HAUWATIMIZII WATAKATIFU RIZIKI WALIZOPUNGUKIWA TU, Bali huzidi sana kuwa na faida kwa shukrani nyingi apewazo Mungu; kwa kuwa mkijaribiwa kwa utumishi huo, WANAMTUKUZA MUNGU kwa ajili ya utii wenu katika kuikiri Injili ya Kristo, na kwa ajili ya ukarimu wenu mliowashirikisha wao na watu wote” (2Wakorintho 9:6-13)
Soma tena mistari hiyo hapo juu, lakini sasa tafakari zaidi maneno niliyoyaandika kwa herufi kubwa. Utaona kuwa usipokuwa mwaminifu katika utoaji, wewe mwenyewe unakosa kufanikiwa, na pia unamkosesha Mungu shukrani na utukufu ambao angepata kwa utoaji wako.
Zaka na dhabihu zitolewe wapi?
Hili jambo linahitaji uongozi wa Roho Mtakatifu, ili upate ufahamu Mungu anataka upeleke wapi zaka na matoleo uliyo nayo.
Hili ni muhimu kwa kuwa Biblia inazungumza juu ya kupeleka kanisani (Malaki 3:10-11), kwa watakatifu (2Wakorintho 9:12), kwa maskini (2Wakorintho 9:8-9), kwa watumishi wa Mungu (1Wafalme 17:10-24; 1Wakorintho 9:7-14); kwa wajane, - na kadhalika.
Muombe Mungu akuongoze mahali pa kupeleka. Amani ya Kristo na iamue moyoni mwako.
Baraka Tele!
Kuna baraka tele za mafanikio kwa mkristo aliye mwaminifu katika kumtolea Mungu zaka na matoleo.
Katika Malaki 3:10 imeandikwa hivi; “Leteni zaka kamili ghalani, ili kiwemo chakula katika nyumba yangu, mkanijaribu kwa njia hiyo (YA UTOAJI) asema Bwana wa Majeshi; mjue kama sitawafungulia madirisha ya mbinguni, na KUWAMWAGIENI BARAKA, HATA ISIWEPO NAFASI YA KUTOSHA AU LA”
.
Je! umewahi kukutana na mkristo ambaye anashuhudia kuwa Mungu amempa baraka nyingi hata HANA MAHALI PA KUZIWEKA? Ni wazi kuwa ahadi hii haijatimia kwa kuwa hatujawa watendaji na Neno kikamilifu katika utoaji.
Soma mistari hii hapa chini uone baraka zingine zinazotokana na utoaji; “Azaria Kuhani Mkuu, wa nyumba ya Sadoki, akamjibu, akasema, Tangu watu walipoanza kuleta matoleo nyumbani kwa Bwana, tumekula na KUSHIBA NA KUSAZA TELE; kwa kuwa Bwana amewabariki watu wake; na kilichosalia ndiyo akiba hii kubwa. Ndiko Hezekia akaamuru kutengeneza vyumba nyumbani mwa Bwana; wakavitengeneza. Wakayaingiza MATOLEO na ZAKA na vitu vilivyowekwa wakfu, kwa uaminifu ….” (2Mambo ya Nyakati 31:10-12).
Kwa nini wakristo wengine wanapungukiwa vyakula, wakati tuna nafasi ya kumruhusu Mungu kutubariki kwa vyakula tele? Mpe Mungu nafasi ya kukubariki kwa kumtolea zaka na matoleo!
Anza Sasa!
Nakushauri ya kuwa kama ulikuwa hutoi sehemu ya kumi au zaka pamoja na matoleo ya kutosha – anza sasa.
Jambo la kwanza, kumbuka kutubu kwa Mungu katika Jina la Yesu Kristo kwa kuwa ulimwibia zaka na dhabihu kwa kutokumtolea.
Halafu mwombe Mungu akuwezeshe kusimama katika uaminifu wa kumtolea zaka na dhabihu ili apate nafasi ya kukubariki zaidi kama tulivyoona, na kama alivyoahidi.
Mwl Christopher Mwakasege.
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Outstanding Success Is My Birthright
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KWA NINI MUNGU ANATAKA TUENENDE KWA ROHO?
Ukisoma katika warumi 8:14 Biblia inasema “kwa kuwa wote wanaoongozwa na Roho wa Mungu, hao ndio wana wa Mungu” na pia Paulo kwa wagalatia anasema” Basi nasema Enendeni kwa Roho,wala hamtazitimiza kamwe tamaa za mwili Wagalatia 5:16.
Hapa tunaona jinsi Paulo anavyosisitiza kwa makanisa ya Rumi na korinto kuhusu suala zima la kuongozwa na Roho Mtakatifu. Anawaambia warumi kwa kuwa wote wanaongozwa na Roho wa Mungu, hao ndio wana wa Mungu maana yake haijalishi ana umri gani, ni wa dhehebu gani, jinsia gani maadamu anaongozwa na Roho wa Mungu huyo ni mwana wa Mungu na bado anawaagiza wagalatia akisema Basi nasema enendeni kwa Roho………….. anaposema enendeni maana yake mkiongozwa na Roho, au mkimfuata Roho katika yale anayowaagiza.
Maneno haya yanaonyesha zipo sababu za msingi kwa nini tunatakiwa kuongozwa na Roho sasa hapa sizungumzii kazi za Roho mtakatifu najua zipo kazi nyingi anazozifanya Roho Mtakatifu lakini mimi nazumgumzia sababu za kuongozwa na Roho Mtakatifu, ambaye ndio agano jipya la Mungu kwetu (Yeremia 31:31) katika hiyo Yeremia Neno linasema “Angalia siku zinakuja asema Bwana nitakapofanya agano jipya na nyumba ya Israel. Sasa ukiendelea kusoma mistari inayofuata utaona anazungumzia habari za kutia sheria yake katika mioyo ya watu.
Sasa hili ndilo agano jipya la Mungu pamoja na wanadamu. Sasa usipojua kwa nini unatakiwa kuongozwa na Roho na siyo akili zako, au mazoea, au taratibu za kwako n.k. hautajua umuhimu wa kuongozwa na Roho Mtakatifu na pili hautaona sababu za kuongoza na Roho Mtakatifu. Sasa lengo la ujumbe huu ni kukufundisha sababu za msingi za kwa nini unatakiwa kuongozwa na Roho Mtakatifu na siyo akili zako au mawazo yako. Sasa baada ya utangulizi huo mfupi na tuangalie sababu hizo za msingi.
Moja,
Ili tusizitimize tamaa za mwili wagalatia 5:16
“Basi nasema enendeni kwa Roho , wala hamtazitimiza kamwe tamaa za mwili.Tunatakiwa tuenende kwa Roho ili tusizitimize tamaa za mwili. Siku zote mwili na Roho ni maadui nia ya mwili ni mauti na nia ya Roho ni uzima na amani (Warumi 8:7). Maana yake siku zote mwili utakuongoza kufanya mambo ambayo mwisho wake ni mauti ya kiroho na hata kimwili pia.
Utakuongoza katika tamaa zake, sasa usipoongozwa na Roho huwezi kujizuia kutekeleza tamaa za mwili na kwa sababu hiyo wewe si mwana wa Mungu na mtu wa namna hii hataingia mbinguni kamwe. Katika 1Wakorinto 6:9-10 anasema “Au hamjui ya kuwa wadhalimu hawataurithi ufalme wa Mungu? Msidanyanyike, waasherati hawataurithi ufalme wa Mungu, wala waabudu sanamu, wala wazinzi, wala wafiraji, wala walawiti, wala walevi, wala watamanio, wala walevi wala watukanaji, wala wanyang’anyi.Sasa utakapoongozwa na Roho Mtakatifu utaratibu wake utakuacha huru mbali na hayo mambo ya mwili au nia ya mwili na utakuongoza katika uzima na amani na kulitenda tunda la Roho ambalo ni upendo, furaha, amani, uvumilivu utu wema , fadhii, uaminifu, upole na kiasi “Wagalatia 5:22-23”.
Mbili,
Ili tupate kuyaelewa mafumbo ya Mungu na kuyafasiri mambo ya Rohoni kwa maneno ya Rohoni.
1Wakorinto 2:10 inasema “ Lakini Mungu ametufunulia sisi kwa Roho, maana Roho huchunguza yote hasa mafumbo ya Mungu” na ule mstari wa 13 unasema “ Nayo twayanena , si kwa maneno yanayofundishwa kwa hekima ya kibinadamu, bali yanayofundishwa na Roho, tukiyafasiri mambo ya Rohoni kwa maneno ya Rohoni. Hapa najua walio wachungaji, walimu wa neno la Mungu au viongozi wa vikundi mbalimbali vya kiroho watanielewa zaidi.
sikiliza Roho Mtakatifu ndiye mwenye uwezo wa kuchunguza kilichopo kwenye ufahamu wa Mungu kuhusu wewe, ndoa yako, kanisa lako, biashara yako, masomo yako, nchi yako n.k. sasa akishachunguza ndiyo anakujulisha maana wewe ulikuwa hujui. Pia Roho Mtakatifu ndiye anayekusaidia kuyanena, kuyafundisha au kuyafafanua maneno ya Mungu kwa watu wake, anaposema kuyafasiri maana yake kuyafundisha mambo ya Rohoni kwa jinsi / namna ya Rohoni.
Hivyo kama wewe ni kiongozi au mwalimu wa neno la Mungu, ukiongozwa na Roho, yeye atakuongoza / atakusaidia kuwafundisha hao watu neno la Mungu kwa jinsi ya Rohoni yaani kwa mfumo wa Rohoni kulingana na watu ulio nao, maana yeye ndio mtunzi wa hilo Neno,soma mwenyewe 2Petro 2:21” maana unabii haukuletwa popote kwa mapenzi ya mwanadamu, bali wanadamu walinena yaliyotoka kwa Mungu, wakiongozwa na Roho Mtakatifu.
Na; Patrick Sanga.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS (MASOMO MBALIMBALI)
JOHN SHABANI
Kuabudu Katika Roho (Worship In
Spirit )
Yule
mwanamke akamwambia [Yesu], ‘Bwana, naona ya kuwa u nabii. Baba zetu waliabudu
katika mlima huu, nanyi husema ya kwamba huko Yerusalemu ni mahali patupasapo
kuabudia.’ Yesu akamwambia, ‘Mama, unisadiki. Saa inakuja ambayo hamtamwabudu
Baba katika mlima huu wala kule Yerusalemu. … Lakini saa inakuja, nayo sasa
ipo, ambayo waabuduo halisi watamwabudu Baba katika roho na kweli. Kwa maana,
Baba awatafuta watu kama hao wamwabudu. Mungu
ni Roho, nao wamwabuduo yeye imewapasa kumwabudu katika roho na kweli’ (Yohana
4:19-24).
Maneno
hayo kutoka kinywa cha Yesu yanaweka msingi wa sisi kuelewa juu ya mambo muhimu
sana katika
kuabudu. Yeye alizungumzia juu ya “waabuduo halisi” na kueleza sifa zao. Hii
huonyeha kwamba wapo watu wanaoabudu, lakini si waabuduji wa kweli.
Wanaweza kudhani kwamba wanamwabudu Mungu lakini ukweli si hivyo maana
hawatimizi masharti Yake.
Yesu
alitangaza alama za waabuduji wa kweli – wao huabudu “katika roho na kweli.”
Basi, kinyume chake ni kwamba, waabuduji wasio wa kweli ni wale wenye kuabudu
“katika mwili na uongo. Kimwili, waabuduji wasio wa kweli wanawea kufanya
matendo yote ya kuabudu, lakini ni maonyesho tu maana hayatoki katika moyo
unaompenda Mungu.
Ibada
ya kweli kwa Mungu inatoka katika moyo unaompenda Mungu tu. Basi, kuabudu si kitu
tunachofanya wakati tunapokutanika kanisani, bali ni kitu tunachofanya kila
dakika ya maisha yetu, tunapotii amri za Kristo. Inashangaza kwamba yule
mwanamke aliyekuwa anazungumza na Yesu alikuwa ameolewa mara tano, na wakati
huo alikuwa anaishi na mwanamume, na bado alitaka kuhojiana na Yesu kuhusu
mahali panapofaa kumwabudu Mungu! Yeye ni mfano wa watu wengi sana
wenye dini, wanaohudhuria ibada huku wakiishi maisha yao kila siku katika kumwasi Mungu. Hao si
waabuduji wa kweli.
Wakati
fulani Yesu aliwakemea Mafarisayo na waandishi kwa sababu ya ibada yao ya uongo, isiyotoka
moyoni.
Enyi
wanafiki! Ni vema alivyotabiri Isaya kwa habari zenu, akisema, ‘Watu hawa
huniheshimu kwa midomo; ila mioyo yao
iko mbali nami. Nao waniabudu bure, wakifundisha mafundisho yaliyo maagizo
ya wanadamu’ (Mathayo 15:7-9. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Ingawa
Wayahudi na Wasamaria katika siku za Yesu walitilia mkazo sana
kuhusu mahali pa watu kuabudia, Yesu alisema kwamba mahali hapakuwa na maana sana. Cha muhimu ni hali
ya moyo wa kila mtu, na jinsi anavyomheshimu Mungu. Hayo ndiyo yanaamua jinsi
ibada yake ilivyo.
“Ibada”
nyingi katika makanisa siku hizi ni taratibu tu zilizokufa, zinazotendwa na
waabuduji waliokufa pia. Watu wanarudia maneno ya mtu mwingine kuhusu Mungu,
bila hata kuyafikiri, wanapoimba “nyimbo za kuabudu.” Kuabudu kwao ni bure,
maana maisha yao yanaonyesha kilicho halisi
katika mioyo yao.
Mungu
angetamani hata kuambiwa “Nakupenda” rahisi tu itokayo moyoni kutoka kwa mtoto
wake mmoja mtiifu, kuliko kuvumilia kelele zisizotoka moyoni za maelfu ya
Wakristo wa Jumapili asubuhi, wakiimba “Jinsi Wewe Ulivyo Mkuu.”
Kuabudu Katika Roho
Kuna
wanaosema kwamba kuabudu “katika Roho” ni kuomba na kuimba kwa lugha zingine.
Hiyo ni tafsiri ngumu kukubali, ukitazama maneno ya Yesu. Yeye alsiema kwamba
“saa inakuja, na sasa ipo, ambayo waabuduji wa kweli watamwabudu Baba
katika roho na kweli,” kuonyesha kwamba tayari walikuwepo watu
waliotimiza masharti ya kuabudu “katika Roho” alipotoa tamko hilo. Ni kweli kwamba hakuna yeyote aliyenena
kwa lugha mpaka Siku ya Pentekoste. Basi, aaminiye yeyote, awe ananena kwa
lugha au hapana, anaweza kumwabudu Mungu katika roho na kweli. Kuomba na kuimba
kwa lugha zingine hakika huwa ni msaada kwa mwabuduji katika kuabudu kwake,
lakini hata kunena kwa lugha kunaweza kuwa utaratibu usiotoka moyoni.
Picha
ya kusisimua kuhusu ibada ya kanisa la kwanza inapatikmana katika Matendo 13:1,
2.
Na
huko Antiokia katika kanisa lililokuwako palikuwa na manabii na waalimu, nao ni
Barnaba, na Simeoni aitwaye Nigeri, na Lukio Mkirene, na Manaeni aliyekuwa
ndugu wa kunyonya wa mfalme Herode, na Sauli. Basi hawa walipokuwa wakimfanya
Bwana ibada na kufunga, Roho Mtakatifu akasema, ‘Nitengeeni Barnaba na
Sauli kwa kazi ile niliyowaitia’ (Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Ona
fungu hili linavyosema: “walipokuwa wakimfanyia Bwana ibada.” Basi tunajifunza
hapo kwamba ibada ya kweli humhudumia Bwana. Ila, ni hivyo wakati Bwana
anapokuwa ndiyo lengo la upendo wetu.
Njia Za Kuabudu
Kitabu
cha Zaburi ambacho tunaweza kusema ni kitabu cha nyimbo cha Israeli, kinatushauri
kumwabudu Mungu katika njia nyingi tofauti tofauti. Kwa mfano: Katika Zaburi ya
32 tunasoma hivi:
Pigeni
vigelegele
vya furaha; ninyi nyote mlio wanyofu wa moyo (Zaburi 32:11b. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Japo
kuabudu kimya, kwa utaratibu na heshima kuna nafasi yake, pia kuna nafasi ya
kupiga kelele za shangwe.
Mpigieni
Bwana vigelegele, enyi
wenye haki, kusifu kunawapasa wanyofu wa moyo. Mshukuruni BWANA kwa kinubi, kwa
kinanda cha nyuzi kumi mwimbieni sifa. Mwimbieni wimbo mpya, pigeni kwa ustadi
kwa sauti ya shangwe (Zaburi 33:1-3. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Tunapaswa
kumwimbia Bwana katika kuabudu, lakini kuimba kwetu kuwa kwa furaha, ambalo
ni onyesho lingine la nje kuhusu undani wa moyo wa mtu. Pia tunaweza kuimba kwa
furaha tukitumia vyombo mbalimbali vya muziki. Ila, katika mikutano mingi ya
kanisa, vyombo vya muziki vinakuwa na sauti ya juu kiasi cha kwamba vinafunika
kabisa sauti ya uumbaji. Ni vizuri vipunguzwe sauti au vizimwe. Ukisoma zaburi,
tatizo hilo
halikuwepo!
Ndivyo
nitakavyokubariki maadamu ni hai. Kwa jina Lako nitaiinua mikono yangu
(Zaburi 63:4. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Tunaweza
kuinua mikono yetu juu kwa Mungu kama ishara ya kujitolea Kwake na kumheshimu.
Mpigie
Mungu kelele za shangwe nchi yote; imbeni utukufu wa jina lake; tukuzeni sifa
zake. Mwambieni Mungu, ‘Matendo Yako yatisha kama
nini! Kwa ajili ya wingi wa nguvu zako, adui zako watakuja kunyenyekea
mbele zako. Nchi yote itakusujudia na kukuimbia, naam, italiimbia jina lako’
(Zaburi 66:1-4. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Tunatakiwa
kumwambia Bwana jinsi alivyo mkuu na kumsifu kwa jinsi alivyo wa ajabu. Zaburi
ni mahali pazuri sana
pa kupa ta maneno yafaayo ya kumsifu Mungu. Tunahitaji kwenda zaidi ya kurudia
rudia maneno haya: “Nakusifu, Bwana!” Kuna mengi sana ya kumwambia.
Njooni
tuabudu, tusujudu, tupige magoti mbele za BWANA aliyetuumba (Zaburi
95:6).
Hata
jinsi tulivyo ni onyesho la ibada: iwe ni kusimama, kupiga magoti au kusujudu.
Watauwa
na waushangilie utukufu, waimbe kwa sauti kuu vitandani mwao (Zaburi
149:5. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Si
lazima tuwe tumesimama au kupiga magoti ili kuabudu – tunaweza hata kuwa
tumelala kitandani.
Ingieni
malangoni mwake kwa kushukuru, nyuani mwake kwa kusifu. Mshukuruni, lihimidini
jina lake (Zaburi 100:4. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Hakika,
kushukuru kuwe sehemu ya kuabudu kwetu.
Na
walisifu jina lake
kwa kucheza
(Zaburi 149:3. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Tunaweza
hata kumsifu Bwana kwa kucheza. Lakini kucheza kwenyewe kusiwe kwa kimwili,
kwenye kuamsha ashiki, au kwa ajili ya kustarehesha watu.
Msifuni
kwa mvumo wa baragumu; msifuni kwa kinanda na kinubi. Msifuni kwa matari na
kucheza; msifuni kwa zeze na filimbi. Msifuni kwa matoazi yaliayo; msifuni kwa
matoazi yavumayo sana.
Kila mwenye pumzi na amsifu BWANA. Haleluya (Zaburi 150:3-6).
Mungu
ashukuriwe kwa walio na vipawa vya muziki. Vipawa vyao vinaweza kutumika
kumtukuza Mungu kama watavipiga kwa moyo wa
upendo.
Nyimbo Za Kiroho
Mwimbieni
BWANA wimbo mpya,
kwa maana ametenda mambo ya ajabu (Zaburi 98:1a. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Hakuna
kosa lolote kuimba wimbo wa zamani, mpaka inapokuwa mazoea. Hapo ndipo
tunahitaji wimbo mpya utokao mioyoni mwetu. Katika Agano Jipya, tunajifunza
kwamba Roho Mtakatifu atatusaidia kutunga nyimbo mpya. Tunaambiwa hivi:
Neno
la Kristo na likae kwa wingi ndani yenu katika hekima yote, mkifundishana na
kuonyana kwa zaburi, na nyimbo, na tenzi za rohoni; huku mkimwimbia Mungu kwa
neema mioyoni mwenu (Wakolosai 3:16).
Tena
msilewe kwa mvinyo ambamo mna ufisadi; bali mjazwe Roho; mkisemezana kwa zaburi
na tenzi na nyimbo za rohoni, huku mkiimba na kumshangilia Bwana mioyoni mwenu;
na kumshukuru Mungu Baba siku zote kwa mambo yote, katika jina lake Bwana wetu
Yesu Kristo (Waefeso 5:18-20).
Paulo
aliandika kwamba tunapaswa kuwa tunaimbiana “zaburi, na tenzi na nyimbo za
rohoni”. Basi, hizo tatu zina tofauti. Uchunguzi wa lugha ya Kiyunani hautoi
msaada wowote, ila pengine “zaburi” maana yake ni kuimba zaburi kama zilivyo katika Biblia, pamoja na vyombo. Pengine
“tenzi” ni nyimbo mbalimbali za shukrani zilizokuwa zimetungwa na waamini
katika makanisa. “Nyimbo za rohoni” labda zilikuwa nyimbo za papo kwa papo
kutoka kwa Roho Mtakatifu, ambazo ni sawa na ile karama ya unabii, ila, zenyewe
ziliimbwa.
Kusifu
na kuabudu vinapaswa kuwa sehemu ya maisha yetu ya kila siku – si kitu fulani
tunachofanya wakati wa kukutanika kanisani. Mchana kutwa tunaweza kumhudumia
Bwana na kufanikiwa kujisikia ushirika wa karibu na Yeye.
Sifa Ni Imani Ikitenda Kazi
Kusifu
na kuabudu ni madhihirisho ya kawaida kabisa ya imani yetu kwa Mungu. Kama kweli tunaamini ahadi za Neno la Mungu, basi
tutakuwa watu wenye furaha, waliojaa sifa kwa Mungu. Yoshua na Waisraeli
walitakiwa kupiga kelele kwanza, ndipo kuta zikaanguka. Biblia
inatushauri hivi: “Furahini katika Bwana sikuzote” (Wafilipi 4:4), na
“Shukuruni kwa kila jambo” (1Wathes. 5:18a).
Mfano
mmoja wa hali ya juu sana
kuhusu nguvu za sifa unapatikana katika 2Nyakati sura ya 20, wakati taifa la
Yuda lilipovamiwa na majeshi ya Moabu na Amoni. Akijibu maombi ya Mfalme
Yehoshafati, Mungu aliwaagiza Israeli hivi:
Msiogope
wala msifadhaike kwa ajili ya jeshi kubwa hili kwani vita si yenu bali ni ya
Mungu. Kesho shukeni juu yao
… Hamtahitaji kupigana vita, jipangeni, simameni, mkauone wokovu wa BWANA ulio
pamoja nanyi, enyi Yuda na Yerusalemu (2Nyakati 20:15b – 17).
Kisa
kinaendelea, hivi:
Wakaamka
asubuhi na mapema, wakaenda nje katika jangwa la Tekoa; nao walipokuwa
wakitoka, Yehoshafati akasimama akasema, ‘Nisikieni enyi Yuda nanyi wenyeji wa
Yerusalemu; mwaminini BWANA Mungu wenu, ndivyo mtakavyothibitika; waaminini
manabii wake, ndivyo mtakavyofanikiwa.’ Naye alipokwisha kufanya shauri na
watu, akawaweka wale watakaomwimbia BWANA, na kumsifu katika uzuri wa
utakatifu, wakitoka mbele ya jeshi, na kusema, Mshukuruni BWANA; kwa maana
fadhili zake ni za milele. Nao walipoanza kuimba na kusifu, BWANA akaweka
waviziao juu ya wana wa Amoni, na Moabu, na wa mlima Seiri, waliokuja juu ya
Yuda; nao wakapigwa. Kwani wana wa Amoni na wa Moabu waliwaondokea wenyeji
wa mlima Seiri kuwaulia mbali na kuwaharibu; nao walipokwisha kuwakomesha hao
wakaao Seiri, wakajitia kuharibu kila mtu mwenziwe. Hata Yuda walipofika mnara
wa kulindia wa jangwani, wakalitazama hilo
jeshi; nao angalia, walikuwa maiti walioanguka nchi, wala hapana aliyeokoka.
Nao Yehoshafati na watu wake walipokuja kuchukua nyara zao, wakaona kati yao
wingi wa mali, na mavazi, na johari za thamani, walivyojivulia, zaidi kuliko
wawezavyo kuchukua; wakawa siku tatu katika kuteka nyara, maana zilikuwa nyingi
sana (2Nyakati 20:20-25. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Sifa
iliyojaa imani huleta kulindwa na husababisha utoaji wa Mungu!
Kwa
maelezo zaidi kuhusu mada hiyo ya nguvu za sifa, ona Wafilipi 4:6-7 (sifa
huleta amani), 2Nyakati 5:1-14 (sifa huleta uwepo wa Mungu), Matendo 13:1, 2
(sifa hudhihirisha makusudi na mipango ya Mungu), na Matendo 16:22-26 (sifa
huleta kuhifadhiwa na Mungu, na kufunguliwa kutoka gerezani).
Worship In Spirit
The woman said to him [Jesus], "Lord, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. ' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me. The hour is coming in which will you worship the Father on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ... But the hour cometh, and now is, that true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth "(John 4:19-24).Words from the mouth of Jesus makes us understand the basis of the most important things in worship. He spoke of a "true worshipers" and describe their characteristics. This showed that there are people who worship, but not the true buduji. They may think that they are worshiping God but the reality is not so because they fulfill His requirements.
Jesus announced to mark buduji true - they worshiped "in spirit and in truth." And, conversely, is that the non-real buduji are those who worship "in the body and lies. Physically, the buduji non genuine concern to all acts of worship, but it just shows it does not come from the heart that loves God.
True worship comes from the heart, for God is love God only. Therefore, worship is not something we can do when we come together in church, but it is something we do every minute of our lives, we are obeying the commandments of Christ. It is surprising that the woman who was speaking to him had been married five times, and at that time she was living with a man, and yet he wanted to argue with him about the proper place to worship God! He is typical of many people who are religious, attending worship as they live their lives every day in rebellion against God. These are not the true buduji.
At one point Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and scribes because of their false worship, except the heart.
You hypocrites! It is well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, 'This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. They worship in vain, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men "(Matthew 15:7-9. Emphasis added).
Although Jews and Samaritans in Jesus' day were very stressed about the place of worship, he said that the place was no significance. The most important is the heart of each person, and how they honor God. Such is his devotion determine how it is.
"Worship" in many churches these days are only slowly dead, and the buduji zinazotendwa dead too. People are repeating someone else's words about God, without these things, they sing "songs of worship." Worship them is useless, because their lives show what is real in their hearts.
God would want to be told "I love you" just simple from the heart from one of his children submissive, rather than endure the noise zisizotoka the heart of thousands of Christians on Sunday morning, singing "How Great Thou accordingly."
Worship In Spirit
There are those who say that worship "in spirit" is to pray and sing in other languages. That is the interpretation difficult to accept, if you see the words of Jesus. He said in that "the hour cometh, and now is, that the true buduji will worship the Father in spirit and truth," indicating that there were already people who meet the conditions of worship "in spirit" when he made the statement. It is true that no one speaking in tongues until the Day of Pentecost. Therefore, any believer, whether speaking or not, he can worship God in spirit and in truth. Praying and singing in other languages certainly is a help for mwabuduji in worship Him, but even speaking in tongues may be a mechanism not comes from the heart.Photo of exciting the worship of the early church in Acts 13:1 inapatikmana 2.
And in Antioch in the church which was in the prophets and teachers, among whom was Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaeni former foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. Now these were made Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them' (emphasis added).
View this passage suggests, "were ministering to the Lord worship." So we learned then that true worship is serving the Lord. Rather, it is that when the Lord was the goal of our love.
Ways of Worship
The Book of Psalms which we can say is the book of the songs of Israel, kinatushauri worship God in many different ways. For example: In Psalm 32 we read:Blow shoutings joy all you upright in heart (Psalm 32:11 b. Emphasis added).
Though silent worship, in order to respect his position there, there is also the chance to shout for joy.
Mpigieni shoutings Lord, ye righteous, sincere praise kunawapasa. Give thanks to the Lord with the harp, with the harp of ten strings sing praise. Sing a new song, skillfully blow with the sound of rejoicing (Psalm 33:1-3. Emphasis added).
We sing the Lord in worship, but to sing for joy to us, which is another demonstration outside the depth of one's heart. Also we may sing for joy when we use various musical instruments. But, in many meetings of the church, musical instruments and sound pose a high volume of sound that are overshadowing all of creation. It is well vipunguzwe sound or smut. Reads the Psalms, the problem has fallen off!
So I will praise You as long as I live. In Your name I will lift up my hands (Psalm 63:4. Emphasis added).
We lift our hands up to God as a sign of commitment to Him and honor Him.
Call God shouted for joy all the earth: sing the glory of his name; glorify His praise. Say to God, 'What if your actions are terrible! Because of the abundance of your strength, your enemies will come humbly before you. All Countries itakusujudia and kukuimbia, even italiimbia your name "(Psalm 66:1-4. Emphasis added).
We should tell the Lord how he is praising how great and wonderful he is. Psalm is a very good place pa ta give suitable words of praise. We need to go beyond repeating these words: "praise the Lord!" There is so much to tell.
Come, let us worship and tusujudu, let us kneel before the LORD who made us (Psalm 95:6).
Even as we are a show of devotion: it is standing, kneeling or prostrating.
Let the saints be joyful in glory, sing aloud upon their beds (Psalm 149:5. Emphasis added).
Not necessarily have to be standing or kneeling to worship - we can even have slept in bed.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name (Psalm 100:4. Emphasis added).
Indeed, thanksgiving should be part of our worship.
Let them praise his name with dancing (Psalm 149:3. Emphasis added).
We can even praise the Lord with dance. But the play itself not in the flesh, to stimulate arousal, or comfortable for people.
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet, praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with lyre and pipe. Praise Him with cymbals yaliayo, praise with resounding cymbals. All the breath and amsifu Lord. Hallelujah (Psalm 150:3-6).
Thank God for those who have the gift of music. Their gifts can be used to glorify God as they fought with the heart of love.
Spiritual Songs
Sing unto the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things (Psalm 98:1 a. Emphasis added).There is nothing wrong with singing the song of the past, to when practices. Then we need a new song from our hearts. In the New Testament, we learn that the Holy Spirit will help us to create new songs. We are told that:
The word of Christ dwell in you abundantly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another you in psalms, and songs, and hymns and spiritual singing with grace in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16).
Re not drunk with wine wherein is no error, but be filled with the Spirit, ye one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and kumshangilia Lord in your hearts, and give thanks to God the Father always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5 :18-20).
Paul wrote that we should be sing together "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs." So those three are different. Case of Greek language does not provide any help, but maybe "psalm" means singing psalms as they are in the Bible, along with the instruments. Perhaps the "hymns" are different songs that were Made thanksgiving by the faithful in churches. "Spiritual songs" were probably instant songs from the Holy Spirit, which is the same as the gift of prophecy, but, ziliimbwa themselves.
Praise and worship should be a part of our everyday lives - not something we do when the church held. All day long we can minister to the Lord and feel successful close fellowship with Him.
Praise is Faith at work
Praise and worship is the most common manifestation of our faith in God. If we truly believe in the promises of God's Word, then we would be happy people, full of praise to God. Joshua and the Israelites were supposed to scream first, then the walls fell. The Bible admonishes us thus: "Rejoice in the Lord always" (Philippians 4:4), and "Give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thes 5:18 a).One example of a very high state of the power of praise is found in 2 Chronicles chapter 20, when the nation of Judah lilipovamiwa and armies of Moab and Ammon. Responding to requests for King Jehoshaphat, God commanded Israel this:
Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them ... Hamtahitaji battle: set yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 20:15 b - 17).
The story continues, this:
And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper." And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD, for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah, and they were smitten. Did the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the tower of kulindia the wilderness, they looked the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none who escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, they vyojivulia, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in the spoil, it was so much (2 Chronicles 20:20-25 . emphasis added).
Qualifications full faith brings protection and provision of God leads!
For more information about the topic of the power of praise, see Philippians 4:6-7 (praise brings peace), 2 Chronicles 5:1-14 (praise brings the presence of God), Acts 13:1, 2 (reputation manifests deliberate and planned of God), and Acts 16:22-26 (praise God brings stored and opened from prison).
Familia Ya Kikristo 
Ni dhahiri kwamba Mungu ndiye aliyeleta wazo la familia. Basi, ni halali
kutazamia kwamba atatupa maelekezo jinsi familia zinavyotakiwa kuishi na
kutuonya juu ya matatizo yanayoweza kuangamiza au kuharibu familia. Bwana
ametupa kanuni nyingi sana katika Neno Lake
kuhusu jinsi familia inavyotakiwa kuwa, na wajibu wa kila mshirika katika
familia. Maagizo hayo ya KiBiblia yanapofuatwa, familia zitapata baraka zote
ambazo Mungu alikusudia wazifurahie. Zinapovunjwa, matokeo yake ni maumivu
makali moyoni, na vurugu.Nafasi Ya Mume Na Mke
Mungu amepanga kwamba familia ya Kikristo iwe katika mfumo fulani. Kwa sababu mfumo huo unaleta uthabiti katika maisha ya familia, Shetani hufanya kazi sana kupotosha mpango aliokusudia Mungu.Kwanza kabisa ni kwamba, Mungu amepanga mume awe kichwa cha familia. Hii haimpi mume ruhusa ya kutawala mke wake na watoto katika ubinafsi. Mungu amewaita waume kupenda, kulinda, kutimiza mahitaji na kuongoza familia zao kama kichwa. Pia, Mungu alikusudia wake wawe watiifu kwa uongozi wa waume zao. Hili ni wazi, kama Maandiko yanavyosema.
Enyi wake, watiini waume zenu kama kumtii Bwana wetu. Kwa maana mume ni kichwa cha mkewe, kama Kristo naye ni kichwa cha Kanisa; naye ni mwokozi wa mwili. Lakini kama vile Kanisa limtiivyo Kristo, vivyo hivyo wake nao wawatii waume zao katika kila jambo (Waefeso 5:22-24).
Mume si kichwa wa mkewe kiroho – Yesu ndiye mwenye nafasi hiyo. Yesu ni kichwa wa kanisa kiroho, na mke wa Kikristo ni mshirika wa kanisa sawa na mume wake ambaye ni Mkristo pia. Ila, katika familia, mume Mkristo ndiye kichwa wa mke wake na watoto, nao wanapaswa kutii na kunyenyekea mamlaka yake hayo aliyopewa na Mungu.
Je, mke anapaswa kumtii mumewe kwa kiwango gani? Kama Paulo anavyosema, ni katika kila jambo. Wakati pekee anaporuhusiwa kuvunja sheria hiyo ni kama mume wake anamtaka kuvunja Neno la Mungu au kufanya kitu ambacho kinapinganana dhamiri yake. Ni wazi kwamba hakuna mume Mkristo atakayemtaka mke wake kufanya chochote kinachovunja Neno la Mungu au kwenda kinyume na dhamiri yake. Mume si Bwana kwa mkewe – Yesu tu ndiye mwenye nafasi hiyo maishani mwake. Kama itafikia uchaguzi kuhusu nani wa kumtii, anapaswa kuchagua kumtii Yesu.
Waume wanapaswa kukumbuka kwamba Mungu hayuko upande wao mara zote. Kuna wakati ambapo Mungu alimwambia Ibrahimu afanye kama alivyoambiwa na Sara mkewe (ona Mwanzo 21:10-12). Maandiko pia yanataja jinsi Abigaili alivyoacha kumtii Nabali mumewe, aliyekuwa mpumbavu, na kwa kufanya hivyo aliepusha tatizo (ona 1Samweli 25:2 – 38).
Neno La Mungu Kwa Waume
Mungu anawaambia hivi waume:Enyi waume, wapendeni wake zetu kama Kristo naye alivyolipenda Kanisa, akajitoa kwa ajili yake… Vivyo hivyo imewapasa waume nao kuwapenda wake zao kama miili yao wenyewe. Ampendaye mkewe hujipenda mwenyewe, maana hakuna mtu anayeuchukia mwili wake popote; bali huulisha na kuutunza kama Kristo naye anavyolitendea Kanisa. Kwa kuwa tu viungo vya mwili wake. … Lakini kila mtu ampende mke wake kama nafsi yake mwenyewe; wala mke asikose kumstahi mumewe (Waefeso 5:25, 28-30, 33).
Waume wanaagizwa kuwapenda wake zao kama Kristo anavyolipenda Kanisa. Si wajibu mdogo huo! Mke yeyote atajinyenyekeza kwa furaha kabisa kwa mtu anayempenda kama Yesu – aliyetoa uhai Wake kwa sababu ya upendo wa kujitoa. Sawa na jinsi Kristo anavyoupenda mwili Wake – yaani Kanisa – ndivyo na waume wanavyotakiwa kumpenda mwanamke ambaye ni “mwili mmoja” nao (Waefeso 5:31). Kama mume Mkristo anampenda mkewe kama anavyopaswa, atamtimizia mahitaji yake, atamtunza, atamheshimu, atamsaidia, atamtia moyo, na atatumia muda kuwa naye. Akishindwa katika wajibu wake kumpenda mkewe, mume huyo yuko hatarini kuzuia majibu ya maombi yake mwenyewe.
Kadhalika ninyi waume, kaeni na wake zenu kwa akili; na kumpa mke heshima kama chombo kisicho na nguvu na kama warithi pamoja wa neema ya uzima, kusudi kuomba kwenu kusizuiliwe (1Petro 3:7. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Kihalisi ni kwamba hapajawahi kuwepo na ndoa isiyokuwa na kutokuelewana na shida mbalimbali. Ila, kwa kujitoa na kukuza tunda la Roho katika maisha yetu, waume na wake wanaweza kujifunza kuishi kwa maelewano na amani, na kufikia mahali pa kutambua baraka zinazozidi kuongezeka za ndoa ya Kikristo. Kila mwenzi anaweza kukua na kufikia ukomavu mkubwa katika kufanana na Kristo kutokana na matatizo yasiyoepukika yanayotokea katika ndoa zote.
Kwa maelezo zaidi juu ya wajibu na majukumu ya waume na wake, tazama Mwanzo 2:15-25; Mithali 19:13; 21:9, 19; 27:15, 16; 31:10-31; 1Wakor. 11:3; 13:1-8; Wakolosai 3:18, 19; 1Timo. 3:4, 5; Tito 2:3-5; 1Petro 3:1-7.
Tendo La Ndoa
Mungu ndiye mwanzilishi wa tendo la ndoa, na ni dhahiri kwamba aliliumba ili kustarehesha na kusaidia katika uumbaji. Pamoja na hayo, Biblia inatamka wazi kwamba tendo la ndoa ni la kufurahiwa na wale walioungana pamoja katika agano la ndoa, la kudumu.Kukutana kimwili nje ya mipaka ya ndoa huitwa zinaa au uasherati. Mtume Paulo alisema kwamba wale watendao mambo kama hayo hawataurithi ufalme wa Mungu (ona 1Wakor. 6:9-11). Ingawa Mkristo anaweza kujaribiwa na pengine kufikia kuanguka katika tendo la uzinzi au uasherati, atajisikia hatia kubwa sana rohoni mwake, itakayompelekea kutubu.
Paulo pia alitoa mafundisho wazi kabisa kuhusu majukumu ya mume na mke kwa mwenzake, kuhusu tendo la ndoa.
Lakini kwa sababu ya zinaa, kila mwanamume na awe na mke wake mwenyewe, na kila mwanamke na awe na mume wake mwenyewe. Mume na ampe mkewe haki yake, na vivyo hivyo mke na ampe mumewe haki yake. Mke hana amri juu ya mwili wake, bali mumewe. Vivyo hivyo, mume hana amari juu ya mwili wake, bali mkewe. Msinyimane isipokuwa mmepatana kwa muda, ili mpate faragha kwa kusali; mkajiane tena, Shetani asije akawajaribu kwa kutokuwa na kiasi kwenu (1Wakor. 7:2-5).
Mistari hii inaweka wazi kabisa kwamba tendo la ndoa lisitumiwe kama “zawadi” na mume au mke, maana hakuna mwenye mamlaka juuya mwili wake mwenyewe.
Tena, tendo la ndoa ni zawadi kutoka kwa Mungu. Si dhambi wala najisi inapokuwa katika ndoa. Paulo aliwatia moyo Wakristo wenye ndoa kushirikiana kimwili. Tena, tunapata ushauri huu kwa waume Wakristo katika kitabu cha Mithali:
Chemchemi yako ibarikiwe; nawe umfurahie mke wa ujana wako. Ni ayala apendaye na paa apendezaye; maziwa yake ytakutoshe siku zote; na kwa upendo wake ushangilie daima (Mithali 5:18, 19).
Kama wanandoa Wakristo wanataka kufurahia mahusiano kimwili yenye kutosheleza, waume na wake wanahitaji kuelewa kwamba kuna tofauti kubwa sana kati ya wanaume na wanawake kwa habari ya kushirikiana kimwili. Kiasili, mwanamume ni mtu wa kimwili sana kwa habari ya kukutana kimwili. Asili ya mwanamke kwa habari ya kukutana kimwili ni kitu cha hisia. Wanaume husisimka na kuwa tayari kukutana kimwili na mwanamke kwa kuona tu (ona Mathayo 5:28). Wanawake wao husisimka na kuwa tayari kukutana kimwili kwa mahusiano ya karibu sana, na kwa kuguswa na kushikwa-shikwa (ona 1Wakor. 7:1). Wanaume huvutiwa na wanawake wanaowapendeza macho; ila wanawake huvutiwa na wanaume wanaowapendeza kwa sababu zaidi ya kuvutia kimwili. Hivyo, wanawake wenye busara hupendeza ili kuwavutia waume zao wakati wote. Na waume wenye hekima huonyesha upendo wao kwa wake zao kutwa nzima kwa kuwakumbatia na kuwatendea mambo ya ukarimu, badala ya kuwatazamia wake zao “kuwa tayari” kwa ghafula wakati wa usiku.
Kiwango cha ashiki ya mwanamume kukutana kimwili na mwenzake huongezeka kulingana na kuongezeka kwa mbegu za uzazi katika mwili wake. Kiwango cha ashiki ya mwanamke huongezeka au kupungua kutegemeana na siku zake za mwezi. Wanaume wana uwezo wa kusisimka na kuwa tayari kukutana kimwili na mwanamke, na kufikia kilele cha tendo la ndoa baada ya muda mfupi sana – nukta chache tu au dakika, ila wanawake huchukua muda mrefu. Ingawa mwanamume yuko tayari kimwili kukutana na mwanamke upesi sana, mwili wa mwanamke unaweza usiwe tayari, mpaka baada ya nusu saa au zaidi. Basi, waume wenye hekima huchukua muda katika kuanza kuwasisimua wenzao kwa kuwapapasa, kuwabusu na kuwashika-shika sehemu za mwili ambazo zinasisimua, ili kumsababisha mwanamke kuwa tayari kukutana kimwili. Ikiwa hajui sehemu zinazohusika, amwulize. Tena, anapaswa kujua kwamba, japo yeye anaweza kufikia kilele cha tendo la ndoa mara moja tu, mwenzake anaweza kufikia kilele cha tendo la ndoa mara nyingi. Mume anapaswa kuhakikisha kwamba mwenzake anapokea anachotaka.
Ni muhimu sana kwa waume Wakristo na wake zao kuzungumza kuhusu mahitaji yao kwa uwazi, na kujifunza juu ya tofauti zao kiasi wanachoweza. Mahusiano kimwili kati ya waume na wake yanaweza kuwa baraka inayozidi kuongezeka kutokana na mawasiliano ya miezi mingi na miaka, na kugunduana na kuzoeana.
Watoto Wa Familia Ya Kikristo
Watoto wanapaswa kufundishwa jinsi ya kunyenyekea na kutii kabisa wazazi wao Wakristo. Wakifanya hivyo, wameahidiwa maisha marefu na baraka zao.Enyi watoto, watiini wazazi wenu katika Bwana, maana hii ndiyo haki. Waheshimu baba yako na mama yako; amri hii ndiyo amri ya kwanza yenye ahadi, Upate heri, ukae siku nyingi katika dunia (Waefeso 6:1-3).
Akina baba Wakristo kama vichwa wa familia zao, wanapewa wajibu wa msingi kabisa kwa ajili ya kuwafundisha watoto wao, hivi:
Nanyi akina baba, msiwachokoze watoto wenu; bali waleeni katika adabu na maonyo ya Bwana (Waefeso 6:4).
Ona kwamba wajibu wa baba ni wa namna mbili: kuwalea watoto wake katika adabu na maonyo ya Bwana. Hebu tuanze kwa kutazama haja ya kuwafundisha watoto adabu.
Nidhamu Ya Watoto
Mtoto asiyetiwa nidhamu atakapokuwa mtu mzima atakuwa mbinafsi na muasi kwa mamlaka. Watoto wanapaswa kutiwa nidhamu wakati wowote wanapoacha kwa makusudi kutii sheria halali zilizowekwa na wazazi wao. Watoto wasiadhibiwe kwa makosa au kutowajibika kwa sababu ya utoto. Lakini, watakiwe kukabiliana na matokeo ya makosa yao na kutowajibika kwao, na kwa njia hiyo kuwasaidia kujiandaa kwa ajili ya uhalisi wa maisha ya utu uzima.Watoto wadogo wanapaswa kuadhibiwa kwa kiboko, kama Neno la Mungu linavyofundisha. Lakini watoto wachanga wasipigwe viboko. Hii haina maana kwamba watoto wachanga waruhusiwe kufanya wanachotaka. Inatakiwa tangu wanapozaliwa wajue kwamba mama na baba ndiyo wenye mamlaka. Wanaweza kufundishwa wakiwa wadogo sana maana ya neno “hapana” kuwakuwakataza tu kufanya kitu wanachofanya, au wanachotaka kufanya. Wakianza kuelewa maana ya neno “hapana”, wanaweza kuchapwa kofi dogo tu matakoni ili kuwasaidia kuelewa vizuri zaidi wanapoendelea kufanya kile ambacho wazazi wanasema kisifanywe. Kama hayo yatafanyika kwa utaratibu na mara kwa mara, watoto watajifunza kuwa watiifu tangu umri mdogo sana.
Pia, wazazi wanaweza kuonyesha mamlaka yao kwa kutounga mkono tabia zisizotakiwa za watoto wao. Mfano ni kuwapa mara moja kitu wanachotaka, wakilia. Kufanya hivyo ni kuwafundisha watoto walie ili wapate matakwa yao. Au, kama wazazi watakubaliana na madai ya watoto wao kila mara wanaponuna au kukasirika ni kwamba wanawatia moyo kuendelea na tabia hiyo isiyotakiwa. Wazazi wenye hekima huunga mkono tabia nzuri tu katika watoto wao.
Kuchapa kiboko kusilete madhara kimwili, ila kusababishe maumivu ya kutosha kumfanya mtoto yule asiyetii kulia kwa muda kidogo. Kwa njia hiyo, mtoto atajifunza kuunganisha uchungu na kutokutii. Hata Biblia inaunga mkono hilo.
Yeye asiyetumia fimbo yake humchukia mwanawe; bali yeye ampendaye humrudi mapema. … Ujinga umefungwa ndani ya moyo wa mtoto; lakini fimbo ya adhabu itaufukuzia mbali. … Usimnyime mtoto wako mapigo; maana ukimpiga kwa fimbo hatakufa. Utampiga kwa fimbo, na kumwokoa nafasi yake na Kuzimu. … Fimbo na maonyo hutia hekima; bali mwana aliyeachiliwa humwaibisha mamaye (Mithali 13:24; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15).
Wazazi wanaposimamia sheria zao, hawana haja ya kuwatisha watoto ili kuwafanya watii Mtoto anapoacha kutii kwa makusudi, achapwe fimbo. Ikiwa mzazi atatishia tu kumchapa mtoto wake ambaye si mtii, anachofanya ni kuunga mkono uasi wa mtoto wake. Matokeo ni kwamba mtoto anajifunza kutokujali utii mpaka vitisho vya wazazi wake vya maneno vinapofikia kiwango fulani cha sauti.
Baada ya kiboko, mtoto anapaswa kukumbatiwa na kuhakikishiwa upendo wa mzazi aliyemchapa.
Mlee Mtoto
Wazazi Wakristo wanapaswa kutambua kwamba wana wajibu wa kuwafundisha na kuwalea watoto wao, kama tunavyosoma katika Mithali 22:6, kwamba: “Mlee mtoto katika njia impasayo, naye hataiacha, hata atakapokuwa mzee” (maneno mepesi kukazia).Kulea (au kufundisha) si kuadhibu tu mtoto anapoacha kutii, bali ni kumpongeza pia wakati anapofanya vizuri. Watoto kila wakati wanahitaji kusifiwa na wazazi wao ili kuunga mkono tabia zao njema, na mambo mazuri wanayofanya. Watoto wanahitaji kuhakikishiwa mara kwa mara kwamba wanapenda, wanakubalika na kufurahiwa na wazazi wao. Wazazi wanaweza kuonyesha upendo wao kwa kusifu, kuwakumbatia na kuwabusu watoto, na kwa kutumia muda mwingi nao.
“Kulea” maana yake “kufanya atii.” Basi, wazazi Wakristo wasiwape watoto wao uchaguzi kama watakwenda kanisani au kuomba kila siku au hapana. Watoto hawana ufahamu wa kutosha kujua kinachowafaa, au kilicho bora. Ndiyo sababu Mungu aliwapa wazazi. Wazazi watakaofanya bidii na kuweka juhudi na nguvu zao kuhakikisha kwamba watoto wao wanalelewa vizuri, wana ahadi kutoka kwa Mungu kwamba watoto wao hawataacha njia iliyo sawa hata wakiwa wakubwa, kama tulivyosoma katika Mithali 22:6.
Pia, watoto wanapaswa kuongezewa majukumu wanavyozidi kukua. Lengo la mzazi mwenye kufanikiwa ni kumwandaa mtoto hatua kwa hatua ili kuwajibika kabisa akiwa mtu mzima. Mtoto anapozidi kukua, apewe uhuru zaidi wa kujiamulia mambo yake mwenyewe. Tena, yule kijana mkubwa anapaswa kuelewa kwamba daima akubali wajibu utokanao na maamuzi yake, na kwamba wazazi wake hawatakuwepo siku zote “kumwokoa” katika matatizo.
Wajibu Wa Wazazi Kufundisha
Kama tusomavyo katika Waefeso 6:4, akina baba si tu kwamba wanawajibika kuwafundisha adabu watoto wao, bali pia wanatazamiwa kuwafundisha katika Bwana. Si wajibu wa kanisa kumpa mtoto mafundisho kuhusu maadili ya KiBiblia, tabia za Kikristo au theolojia – ni kazi ya baba. Wazazi wanaoachia wajibu wote kwa mwalimu wa Shule ya Jumapili awafundishe watoto wao kuhusu Mungu wanakosea sana. Mungu aliwaamuru Waisraeli hivi, kwa njia ya Musa:Na maneno haya ninayokuamuru leo yatakuwa katika moyo wako; nawe uwafundishe watoto wako kwa bidii na kuyanena uketipo katika nyumba yako, na utembeapo njiani, na ulalapo, na uondokapo (Kumbu. 6:6, 7. Maneno mepesi kukazia).
Wazazi Wakristo wawafundishe watoto wao kuhusu Mungu tangu wakiwa wadogo, wakiwaambia Yeye ni nani na anawapenda kiasi gani. Watoto wadogo wafundishe habari za kuzaliwa kwa Yesu, maisha Yake, kifo na kufufuka Kwake. Watoto wengi wanaweza kuelewa ujumbe wa Injili wanapokuwa na umri wa miaka mitano au sita, na wanaweza kufanya uamuzi wa kumfuata Kristo. Baada ya hivyo (wakiwa na miaka sita au saba, na wakati mwingine hata wakiwa wadogo zaidi), wanaweza kupokea ubatizo wa Roho Mtakatifu na kunena kwa lugha kama ishara kwamba wamejazwa. Pamoja na hayo, hatuwezi kuweka sheria kuhusu jambo hili kwa sababu kila mtoto yuko tofauti. Ila hoja ni kwamba, wazazi Wakristo wanapaswa kutoa nafasi ya kwanza kwenye kuwafundisha watoto wao mambo ya kiroho.
Amri Kumi Za Kuwapenda Watoto Wako
1). Usiwatie watoto wako mahali pagumu (ona Waefeso 6:4). Watoto wasitazamiwe kutenda kama watu wazima. Ukitazamia mengi kupita kiasi kutoka kwa watoto wako, wataacha kujitahidi kukupendeza maana wanajua haiwezekani.2). Usilinganishe watoto wako na watoto wengine. Wajulishe jinsi unavyofurahia sifa zao za kipekee na karama au vipaji vyao kutoka kwa Mungu. Wakubali wao kama wao.
3). Wape majukumu nyumbani, ili wajue kwamba wao ni sehemu muhimu sana ya familia hiyo. Kufanikiwa ni matofali yanayojenga kujiamini katika maisha ya mtu.
4). Tumia muda kuwa na watoto wako. Hiyo inawajulisha kwamba wao ni wa maana kwako. Kuwapa vitu haichukui nafasi ya wewe kujitoa kwao. Tena, watoto hushawishiwa zaidi na wale wanaokaa nao muda mwingi.
5). Ikibidi useme kitu kibaya, jaribu kukisema kwa uzuri. Mimi sikuwahi kuwaambia watoto wangu kwamba ni “wabaya” walipoacha kunitii. Badala yake, nilikuwa namwambia hivi kijana wangu, “Wewe ni mtoto mzuri, na watoto wazuri hawafanyi ulichofanya!” (Kisha nilikuwa namchapa kiboko.)
6). Tambua kwamba, neno “hapana” linamaanisha “ninakujali”. Watoto wanaporuhusiwa mambo yao kila wakati wanatambua kwama hujali kiasi cha kutosha kuwakataza chochote wakati wowote.
7). Tazamia watoto wako kukuiga wewe. Watoto hujifunza kwa mifano ya wazazi wao. Mzazi mwenye busara hawezi kumwambia mtoto wake, “Fanya ninavyokwambia. Usifanye kama ninavyofanya mimi.”
8). Usiwaokoe watoto wako na matatizo yao yote. Ondoa mawe yanayoweza kuwakwaza tu; acha mawe ya kukanyagia yabakie mbele yao.
9). Mtumikie (na kumfuata) Mungu kwa moyo wako wote. Nimeona kwamba watoto wa wazazi waliopoa kiroho huwa hawamfuati Mungu wakiwa watu wazima. Watoto Wakristo wa wazazi ambao hawajaokoka, na watoto wa wazazi Wakristo waliojitoa kabisa kwa Mungu huendelea na wokovu hata “wakiondoka kwenye kiota” – nyumbani.
10). Wafundishe watoto wako Neno la Mungu. Mara nyingi wazazi hutoa nafasi ya kwanza kwa elimu ya watoto wao, na kushindwa kuwapa elimu ya muhimu zaidi wanayoweza kupata – elimu ya Biblia.
Nafasi Ya Huduma, Ndoa Na Familia
Pengine kosa kubwa la kawaida kabisa lifanywalo na viongozi wa Kikristo ni kutokujali ndoa zao na familia zao kwa sababu ya kujitoa kwenye huduma. Wanajihesabia haki kwa kusema kwamba kujitoa kwao “ni kwa ajili ya kazi ya Bwana.”Kosa hili hurekebika wakati mtumishi anayefanya wengine kuwa wanafunzi anapotambua kwamba utii wake halisi na kujitoa kwake kwa Mungu huonekana kwa mahusiano yake na mke wake na watoto. Mtumishi hawezi kudai kwamba amejitoa kwa Mungu ikiwa hampendi mke wake kama Kristo anavyolipenda kanisa, au kama atapuuzia kutumia muda unaotakiwa na watoto wake, ili kuwalea na kuwakuza katika kicho na kumcha Bwana.
Tena, kumpuuza mwenzi na watoto kwa sababu ya “huduma” ni ishara ya huduma ya kimwili kabisa, inayofanywa kwa nguvu za mtu binafsi. Wachungaji wengi wenye makanisa wanaobeba mizigo mizito ni mfano wa hili, maana wanajichosha ili kuhakikisha kwamba kila utaratibu wa kanisa unakwenda vizuri.
Yesu aliahidi kwamba mzigo Wake ni mwepesi na nira Yake ni laini (ona Mathayo 11:30). Hamwiti mtumishi yeyote kuonyesha anavyopenda dunia au anavyolipenda kanisa kwa kutowapenda watu wa familia yake. Sifa mojawapo ya mzee ni kwamba, “awe mwenye kuisimamia nyumba yake vema” (1Timo. 3:4). Mahusiano yake na familia yake ni kipimo cha uwezo wake kufanya huduma.
Wale walioitwa kufanya huduma za kusafiri na ambao inawabidi kuwa nje ya nyumbani mara kwa mara lazima watumie muda wa ziada kufikiri kuhusu familia zao wanapokuwa nyumbani. Washirika wengine katika mwili wa Kristo wafanye kinachowezekana ili kufanikisha hilo. Mtumishi anayefanya wengine kuwa wanafunzi anatambua kwamba watoto wake mwenyewe ndiyo wanafunzi wake wa kwanza. Akishindwa hapo, hana haki ya kujaribu kuwafundisha wengine walio nje ya nyumbani mwake kuwa wanafunzi.
Swala La Talaka Na Kuoa Tena
Jambo la talaka na kuoa tena baada ya talaka hujadiliwa sana miongoni mwa Wakristo wa kweli. Yapo
maswali mawili ambayo ndiyo msingi wa mjadala huo. (1) Ni wakati gani – kama upo – ambapo talaka inaruhusiwa machoni pa Mungu? Na
(2) Ni wakati gani – kama upo – ambapo kuoa
tena kunaruhusiwa machoni pa Mungu? Madhehebu mengi na makanisa binafsi yana
msimamo rasmi kimafundisho kuhusu kinachoruhusiwa na kisichoruhusiwa, kutokana
na tafsiri yao
ya Maandiko. Tunapaswa kuwaheshimu wote kw akuwa na misimamo na kuishi
kulingana nayo – ikiwa misimamo hiyo inasukumwa na kumpenda Mungu kwao. Hakika
ingekuwa vizuri kama sisi wote tungekuwa na
misimamo ambayo inaungwa mkono na Maandiko mia kwa mia. Mchungaji anayefanya
wengine kuwa wanafunzi hataki kufundisha kitu kinachopungua kwenye kusudi la
Mungu. Wala hataki kuweka mizigo juu ya watu, ambayo Mungu hakukusudia wao
waibebe. Basi, hayo yakiwa hivyo, hebu nijitahidi kufasiri Maandiko
yanayohusiana na mada hii tata, na kukuacha wewe uamue kama
unakubaliana na tafsiri hiyo au hapana.Nianze kwa kusema kwamba mimi – kama wewe – nahuzunishwa sana na ukweli kwamba talaka imezidi sana duniani siku hizi. Kibaya zaidi ni kwamba kuna Wakristo wengi wanaoachana na wenzao, hata walio katika huduma. Hili ni janga kubwa sana. Tunahitaji kufanya kila kinachowezekana ili kuzuia hayo kuongezeka, na ufumbuzi mzuri zaidi wa tatizo la talaka ni kuhubiri Injili na kuwaita watu kutubu. Wakati watu wawili wenye ndoa wanapokuwa wamezaliwa tena kweli kweli na wote wanamfuata Kristo, hawataachana. Mtumishi anayefanya wengine kuwa wanafunzi atafanya kila anachoweza kuimarisha ndoa yake, akijua kwamba mfano wa maisha yake ndiyo mwalimu mkuu.
Niseme pia kwamba mimi nina ndoa yenye furaha sana ya miaka zaidi ya ishirini na tano, na sijawahi kuoa kabla ya ndoa hii. Siwezi kufikiri kwamba tutakuja kuachana. Kwa hiyo, sina kusudi lolote la kurahisisha maandiko magumu yanayohusu kuachana kwa faida yangu mwenyewe. Ila, ninawahurumia sana watu walioachana, nikijua kwamba hata mimi nilipokuwa kijana ningeweza kufanya uamuzi mbaya kirahisi tu, na kuingia kwenye ndoa na mtu ambaye baadaye ningejaribiwa sana kumwacha, au mtu ambaye asingeweza kuchukuliana nami kama huyu niliye na ndoa naye. Yaani, ningeishia kwenye talaka, lakini haijawa hivyo kwa sababu ya neema ya Mungu. Nadhani watu wengi wenye ndoa wanaelewa ninachosema. Basi, tunahitaji kujizuia tusitupe mawe kwa watu walioachana. Kwani sisi ni nani, wenye ndoa zisizo na matatizo sana, kuwahukumu walioachana, bila ya kujua wamepitia nini? Mungu anaweza kuwahesabu kuwa wenye haki kuliko sisi, maana anajua kwamba sisi, kama tungekuwa katika hali kama hizo, pengine tungevunja ndoa mapema zaidi.
Hakuna anayeoa akitazamia kuvunja ndoa, na sidhani kama kuna wanaochukia kuachana kama waliokwisha achana. Kwa hiyo, tujaribu kuwasaidia watu wenye ndoa kuendelea kuwa katika ndoa, na tuwasaidie walioachana kupata neema yoyote ile ambayo Mungu anaitoa kwa watu kama wao. Ninaandika ninayoandika kwa misingi hiyo.
Nitajitahidi sana kuruhusu maandiko yafafanue mengine. Nimeona kwamba mistari inayohusu mada hii mara nyingi hutafsiriwa kwa njia kwamba inapingana na Maandiko mengine, ambayo ni ishara kwamba haijaeleweka vizuri kwa sehemu.
Msingi
Hebu tuanze kwa kweli ya msingi ambayo sote tutakubaliana nayo. Ni hivi: Maandiko yanasema wazi kwamba Mungu hapendi kuachana kwa ujumla. Katika kipindi ambapo wanaume fulani wa KiIsraeli walikuwa wanatalakiana na wake zao, alitamka hivi kupitia nabii wake aitwaye Malaki:Maana mimi nakuchukia kuachana … naye aifunikizaye nguo yake kwa udhalimu namchukia … Basi jihadharini roho zenu, msije mkatenda kwa hiana (Malaki 2:16).
Hilo si jambo la kushangaza kwa mtu yeyote ajuaye tabia ya Mungu ya upendo na haki, au mtu anayejua jinsi kuachana kunavyoharibu waume, wake na watoto. Mtu anayekubaliana na talaka kwa ujumla tungehoji tabia yake. Mungu ni upendo (ona 1Yohana 4:8), na kwa sababu hiyo anachukia talaka.
Kuna wakati fulani ambapo baadhi ya Mafarisayo walimwuliza Yesu swali kuhusu uhalali wa talaka “kwa sababu yoyote” (TLR). Jibu lake linaonyesha jinsi asivyokubali talaka. Tena, talaka halikuwa kusudi Lake kwa yeyote yule.
Basi Mafarisayo wakamwendea wakamjaribu wakimwambia, ‘Je! Ni halali mtu kumwacha mkewe kwa kila sababu?’ Akajibu akawaambia, ‘Hamkusoma ya kwamba yeye aliyewaumba mwanzo, aliwaumba mtu mume na mtu mke, akasema, Kwa sababu hiyo mtu atamwacha babaye na mamaye, ataambatana na mkewe, na hao wawili watakuwa mwili mmoja? Hata wamekuwa si wawili tena, bali mwili mmoja. Basi aliowaunganisha Mungu, mwanadamu asiwatenganishe’ (Mathayo 19:3-6).
Tunajua kihistoria kwamba yalikuwepo makundi mawili yaliyokuwa na mitazamo tofauti katika vongozi wa kidini wa Kiyahudi wakati wa Yesu. Tutatazama mitazamo ya makundi hayo mawili kwa upana zaidi baadaye, lakini kwa sasa inatosha tu kusema kwamba kundi moja lilikuwa na msimamo mkali na lingine msimamo mwepesi. Wenye msimamo mkali waliamini kwamba mwanamume aliruhusiwa kumwacha mkewe kwa sababu nzito sana kiadili. Wale wenye msimamo mwepesi waliamini kwamba mwanamume aliruhusiwa kumwacha mkewe kwa sababu yoyote ile, hata kama amempata mwanamke mrembo zaidi. Mitazamo hiyo miwili tofauti ndiyo ilisababisha swali la Mafarisayo kwa Yesu.
Yesu akarejea kwenye mistari ya Maandiko kutoka kurasa za kwanza kabisa za kitabu cha Mwanzo, yenye kuonyesha jinsi ambavyo mpango wa kwanza wa Mungu ulikuwa kuwaunganisha wanaume na wanawake pamoja daima, si kwa muda tu. Musa alisema kwamba Mungu aliumba jinsia hizo mbili akilenga ndoa, na kwamba ndoa ni uhusiano wa maana sana kiasi cha kwamba ndiyo wa msingi – au, ndiyo wa kwanza kabisa. Ukiisha undwa, ni wa hali ya juu kuliko mahusiano ya mtu na wazazi wake. Wanaume wanaachana na wazazi wao ili kuambatana na wake zao.
Tena, muungano wa kimwil katika tendo la ndoa baina ya mwanamume na mkewe huonyesha mpango wa Mungu kwao kwamba wawe mwili mmoja. Ni dhahiri kwamba uhusiano wa aina hiyo – ambao unasababisha kuzaa – haukukusudiwa na Mungu uwe wa muda, bali wa kudumu. Jinsi Yesu alivyojibu swali la Mafarisayo lilionyesha kuvunjwa moyo Kwake kwamba wamediriki kuuliza hata swali la aina hiyo. Hakika Mungu hakukusudia kwamba wanaume waachane na wake zao “kwa sababu yoyote.”
Mungu hakukusudia kwamba yeyote atende dhambi kwa namna yoyote ile, lakini wote tumefanya dhambi. Kwa rehema zake, Mungua liweka mpango wakutuokoa kutokana na utumwa wetu wa dhambi. Tena, ana mambo ya kutuambia baada ya kufanya yale ambayo hakutaka tuyafanye. Vivyo hivyo, Mungu hakukusudia mtu yeyote aachane na mwenzake, lakini talaka ikawa haiepukiki kwa watu wasiojitoa kwa Mungu. Mungu hakushangazwa na talaka ya kwanza, wala zile zilizofuata kwa mamilioni. Basi, hasemi tu kwamba anachukia kuachana, lakini pia ana mambo ya kuwaambia watu baada ya kuachana.
Hapo Mwanzo
Baada ya kuweka msingi, tunaweza sasa kuendelea kuchunguza zaidi mambo ambayo Mungu amesema kuhusu talaka na kuoa tena. Kwa kuwa maneno mengi yenye kuleta utata kuhusu talaka na kuoa tena ni yale ambayo Yesu aliwaambia Waisraeli, itatusiadia kwanza kuona Mungu alichosema miaka mia nyingi kabla, juu ya jambo hilo hilo kwa Waisraeli wa zamani. Tukikuta kwamba alichosema Mungu kwa njia ya Musa na alichosema Mungu kwa njia ya Yesu vinapingana, basi tujue kwamba sheria ya Mungu ilibadilika au kwamba sisi tumetafsiri isivyo kitu fulani kilichosemwa na Musa au na Yesu. Basi, tuanze kwa kutazama yale ambayo Mungu alifunua hapo mwanzo kuhusu talaka na kuoa tena baada ya talaka.Tayari nimekwisha taja Maandiko ya Mwanzo 2 ambayo kulingana na Yesu, yana umuhimu kwa mada ya talaka. Hebu sasa tuyaone moja kwa moja kutoka Mwanzo kwenyewe.
Na ule ubavu alioutwaa katika Adamu BWANA Mungu akaufanya mwanamke, akamleta kwa Adamu. Adamu akasema, ‘Sasa huyu ni mfupa katika mifupa yangu, na nyama katika nyama yangu, basi ataitwa mwanamke, kwa maana ametwaliwa katika mwanamume. Kw ahiyo mwanamume atamwacha baba yake na mama yake naye ataambatana na mkewe, nao watakuwa mwili mmoja (mwanzo 2:22-24).
Basi huo ndiyo mwanzo wa ndoa. Mungu alimfanya mwanamke wa kwanza kutoka kwa mwanamume wa kwanza, na kwa ajili ya mwanamume wa kwanza, kisha Yeye Mwenyewe binafsi akamleta kwa Adamu. Yesu anaeleza hilo hivi, “Mungu … aliwaunganisha [pamoja]” (Mathayo 19:6, maneno mepesi kutilia mkazo). Hii ndoa ya kwanza iliyopangwa na Mungu ikatoa mfano kwa ajili ya ndoa zingine zote zilizofuata. Mungu huumba wanawake wa kutosha wanaume, Naye huwaumba ili kila mmoja avutiwe na mwenzake. Tunaweza kusema kwamba Mungu bado anapanga ndoa za watu kwa hali ya juu sana (japo siku hizi kuna wanaoweza kuwa wenzi wengi zaidi kwa kila mtu kuliko ilivyokuwa kwa Adamu na Hawa). Basi, kama Yesu alivyosema, mwanadamu yeyote asitenganishe wale ambao Mungu amewaunganisha. Halikuwa kusudi la Mungu kwamba wale wana ndoa wa kwanza waishi maisha binafsi kila mmoja, bali kwamba wapate baraka katika kuishi pamoja kwa hali ya kutegemeana. Kuhalifu mapenzi ya Mungu yaliyo dhahiri ni dhambi. Basi, kutoka katika sura ya pili ya Biblia, ukweli ni kwamba talaka haikuwa kusudi la Mungu kwa ndoa yoyote ile.
Sheria Za Mungu Kuandikwa Mioyoni
Pia niseme kwamba hata wale ambao hawajawahi kusoma sura ya pili ya Mwanzo wanajua ndani yao kwamba talaka ni kosa, kwa sababu agano la ndoa za maisha ni kawaida katika tamaduni nyingi tu za kipagani, ambapo hakuna maarifa yoyote ya Biblia. Kama alivyoandika Paulo katika barua yake kwa Warumi:Kwa maana watu wa Mataifa wasio na sheria wafanyapo kwa tabia zao yaliyo ndani ya torati, hao wasio na sheria wamekuwa sheria kwa nafsi zao wenyewe. Hao wakionyesha kazi ya torati iliyoandikwa mioyoni mwao, dhamiri yao ikiwashuhudia, na mawazo yao yenyewe kwa yenyewe, yakiwashtaki au kuwatetea (Warumi 2:14-15).
Taratibu za Mungu za maadili zimeandikwa katika moyo wa kila mwanadamu. Ukweli ni kwamba kanuni hiyo ya maadili inayozungumza kupitia dhamiri ndiyo sheria pekee ambayo Mungu aliwahi kumpa yeyote, isipokuwa Waisraeli, tangu Adamu mpaka wakati wa Yesu. Yeyote anayefikiri talaka atagundua kwamba kuna dhamiri ya kushughulika nayo. Na njia ya pekee ya kuishinda dhamiri yake ni kutafuta haki nzuri kwa ajili ya talaka. Akiendelea na talaka bila ya haki nzuri, dhamiri yake itamshtaki, hata kama atajaribu kuigandamiza.
Kwa kadiri tunavyofahamu, tangu Adamu mpaka wakati wa kutolewa Torati ya Musa kwa Waisraeli mwaka wa 1440 KK, sheria ya dhamiri ndiyo ufunuo pekee ambao Mungu alitoa kwa yeyote kwa vizazi 27 hivi – hata kwa Waisraeli – kuhusiana na talaka na kuoa tena. Na Mungu alihesabu kwamba hiyo inatosha. (Kumbuka tu kwamba Musa hakuandika habari za uumbaji katika Mwanzo 2 mpaka wakati wa Kutoka Misri.) Basi, ni halali kabisa kufikiri kwamba katika kipindi cha vizazi hivyo 27 kabla ya Torati ya Musa – ambapo ni pamoja na kipindi cha gharika ya Nuhu – kiasi fulani cha ndoa katika zile milioni nyingi za miaka mia nyingi zilimalizika kwa kuachana. Pia inaonekana ni sawa kusema kwamba, Mungu asiyebadilika, alikuwa tayari kuwasamehe wale waliopatikana na hatia ya talaka kama walitubu na kuacha dhambi yao. Tuna hakika kwamba watu walikuwa wanaokoka au kutangazwa kuwa wenye haki na Mungu kabla ya Torati ya Musa kutolewa, kama ilivyokuwa kwa Ibrahimu kwa imani yake (ona Warumi 4:1-12). Kama watu waliweza kutangazwa kuwa wenye haki kwa njia ya imani yao – tokea Adamu hadi kwa Musa – maana yake ni kwamba wangeweza kusamehewa chochote, pamoja na dhambi ya talaka. Basi, tunapoanza kuchunguza swala la talaka na kuoa tena baada ya talaka, kuna swali hapa: Je, watu waliopatikana na dhambi katika talaka zao kabla ya Torati ya Musa, waliosamehewa na Mungu, waliweza kuhukumiwa na dhamiri zao na kupata hatia kama wangeoa tena? (Maana haikuwepo sheria iliyoandikwa.) Ni swali la kufikiri.
Vipi kuhusu wahanga wa talaka ambao hawakuwa na dhambi – yaani, walioachwa kwa kosa lisilokuwa lao, bali kwa sababu ya wenzi wenye ubinafsi? Je, dhamiri zao zingewazuia kuoa tena? Nadhani si hivyo. Kama mwanamume alimwacha mke wake kwa sababu ya mwanamke mwingine, nini kingemwongoza huyo mwanamke aliyeachwa kufikia uamuzi kwamba hana haki ya kuolewa tena? Maana, aliachwa, lakini si kosa lake.
Torati Ya Musa
Hatusomi habari za talaka na kuoa tena baada ya talaka mpaka tunapofikia kitabu cha tatu cha Biblia. Katika Torati ya Musa kulikuwa na agizo la kuwakataza makuhani kuona wanawake walioachwa.Wasimwoe mwanamke aliye kahab, au huyo aliye mwenye unajisi; wala wasimwoe mwanamke aliyeachwa na mumewe; kwa kuwa yeye kuhani ni mtakatifu kwa Mungu wake (Walawi 21:7).
Hakuna popote katika Torati ya Musa penye katazo la namna hiyo kwa wanaume wengine wa Israeli kwa ujumla. Tena, andiko hilo linabeba yafuatayo: (1) Walikuwepo wanawake waliokuwa wameachika katika Israeli, na (2) Kusingekuwepo kosa lolote kwa wanaume Waisraeli ambao si makuhani kuoa wanawake waliokuwa wameachika. Sheria inayotajwa katika mstari huo inawahusu makuhani tu na wanawake walioachika, wanaotaka kuolewa na makuhani. Hapakuwa na ubaya wowote katika Torati ya Musa kwa mwanamke yeyote aliyeachika kuolewa tena, mradi tu hakuolewa na kuhani. Na hakukuwa na kosa lolote kwa mwanamume, kuoa mwanamke aliyeachika, mradi si kuhani.
Kuhani mkuu (pengine kwa sababu ni mfano wa Kristo) alitakiwa kuishi kwa viwango vya juu zaidi kuliko hata makuhani wa kawaida. Yeye hakuruhusiwa hata kuoa mjane. Mistari kadhaa baadaye tunasoma hivi katika Walawi:
Asitwae mjane, wala mwanamke aliyeachwa na mumewe, wala mwanamke mwenye unajisi, wala kahaba; lakini atamwoa mwanamwali katika watu wake mwenyewe (Walawi 21:14).
Je, andiko hili linathibitisha kwamba ilikuwa dhambi kwa wajane wote wa Israeli kuolewa tena, au kwamba ilikuwa dhambi kwa wanaume wote wa Israeli kuoa wajane? Hapana! Mstari huu unasema – tena kwa nguvu sana – kwamba isingekuwa dhambi kwa mjane yeyote kuolewa na mwanamume yeyote, mradi si kuhani mkuu. Tena unasema mwanamume mwingine yeyote alikuwa huru kuoa mjane, mradi si kuhani mkuu. Maandiko mengine yanathibitisha uhalali wa wajane kuolewa tena (ona Warumi 7:2-3; 1Timo. 5:14).
Mstari huo vile vile unaonyesha kwamba kusingekuwa na kosa lolote kwa mwanamume yeyote Mwisraeli kuoa mwanamke aliyeachika, au hata mwanamke ambaye hakuwa bikira – “aliyenajisika katika ukahaba” – mradi si kuhani au kuhani mkuu. Hoja hiyo inaungwa mkono na Walawi 21:7 pia. Tena, unasema kwamba katika Torati ya Musa, hapakuwa na kosa lolote kwa mwanamke aliyeachika kuolewa tena, au mwanamke “aliyenajisika katika ukahaba” kuolewa, mradi tu asiolewe na kuhani. Kwa neema sana, Mungu aliwapa wazinzi na walioachika nafasi nyingine, japo alikuwa kinyume kabisa na uzinzi na talaka.
Katazo La Pili Lililo Dhahiri Kinyume Cha Kuoa Tena
Je, Mungu alitoa “nafasi nyingine” ngapi kwa wanawake walioachika? Je, tuamue kwamba Mungu aliwapa wanawake walioachika nafasi moja zaidi katika Torati ya Musa, akiwaruhusu kuolewa tena mara moja tu? Huo ni uamuzi usio sahihi. Tunasoma hivi baadaye katika Torati ya Musa,Mtu akiisha kutwaa mke kwa kumwoa, asipopata kibali machoni mwake kwa kuwa ameona neno ovu kwake, na amwandikie hati ya kumwacha, akamtilie mkononi mwake na kumtoa katika nyumba yake. Naye akiisha kuondoka katika nyumba yake, ana ruhusa kwenda akawa mke wa mtu mwingine. Na huyo mumewe wa sasa akimchukia, na kumwandikia hati ya kumwacha na kumpa mkononi mwake na kumtoa katika nyumba yake; au akifa yeye mumewe wa sasa aliyemtwaa kuwa mkewe; yule wa kwanza aliyemwacha asimtwae kuwa mkewe tena, akiisha kutiwa unajisi; kwa kuwa haya ni machukizo mbele za BWANA; kwa hiyo usiitie dhambini nchi, akupayo BWANA Mungu wako, iwe urithi (Kumbu. 24:1-4).
Ona kwamba katika mistari hii, kitu kinachokatazwa peke yake ni yule mwanamke aliyeachika mara mbili (au aliyeachika mara moja na kuwa mjane mara moja) kuolewa tena na mumewe wa kwanza. Hakuna kinachosemwa kwamba ana hatia kwa sababu ameolewa mara ya pili. Na baada ya kuachika mara ya pili (au kuwa mjane kwa mume wake w apili), alichokatazwa tu ni kumrudia mumewe wa kwanza. Ni kwamba, angekuwa huru kuolewa na mwanamume mwingine yeyote (ambaye yuko tayari kujaribu bahati yake!). Ingekuwa ni dhambi kwake kuolewa na mtu mwingine yeyote, kusingekuwepo haja kwa Mungu kutoa maagizo hayo ambayo ni wazi kabisa. Kitu cha pekee ambacho Mungu angesema ni hiki: “Watu walioachika hawaruhusiwi kuoa au kuolewa tena.”
Tena – Kama Mungu alimruhusu mwanamke aina hii kuolewa mara ya pili, basi yule mwanamume aliyemwoa baada ya kuachika mara ya kwanza asingekuwa na hatia yoyote. Na kama aliruhusiwa kuolewa mara ya tatu, basi mwanamume yeyote ambaye angemwoa baada ya kuachika mara mbili asingekuwa na dhambi (isipokuwa kama alikuwa ndiye mumewe wa kwanza). Basi – Mungu anayechukia talaka anawapenda watu walioachika, na kwa rehema aliwapa nafasi nyingine.
Hitimisho
Hebu kwa muhtasari tuone yale ambayo tumejifunza mpaka hapa. Hata ingawa Mungu alitangaza kwamba anachukia t alaka, hakuonyesha kabla au wakati wa agano la kale kwamba kuoa na kuolewa tena ni dhambi, isipokuwa katika haya mawili yafuatayo: (1) mwanamke aliyeachika mara mbili – au aliyeachika mara moja na kufiwa na mume wa pili – kuolewa na mumewe wa kwanza, na (2) mwanamke aliyeachika kuolewa na kuhani. Tena, Mungu hakuonyesha kwamba kumwoa aliyeachika ni dhambi kwa yeyote, isipokuwa makuhani.Hayo yanaonekana kupingana na yale Yesu aliyosema juu ya watu walioachika wanao-oa tena, na wale wenye kuoa walioachika. Yesu alisema watu kama hao wanazini (ona Mathayo 5:32). Basi, yaonekana tumemwelewa vibaya Yesu au Musa, au pengine Mungu alibadilisha sheria Yake. Mimi nadhani tunaweza kuwa tunatafsiri vibaya yale aliyofundisha Yesu, kwa sababu ni ajabu kwa Mungu kutangaza ghafula kitu kuwa dhambi kiadili, kilichokuwa kinakubalika kwa miaka elfu na mia tano katika Torati ambayo Yeye aliitoa kwa Israeli.
Kabla ya kukabiliana na hili kwa upana zaidi, hebu pia tuone kwamba ruhusa ya Mungu kwa watu kuoa tena katika agano la kale haikuwa na masharti yoyote yaliyotokanana sababu za talaka ya mtu, au kiwango cha hatia ambacho mtu alipata kwa sababu ya talaka husika. Mungu hakusema kwamba watu fulani walioachika hawaruhusiwi kuoa au kuolewa kwa sababu talaka yao haikuwa halali. Hakusema kwamba kuna watu fulani wanaoruhusiwa kuona kwa sababu ya uhalali wa talaka zao. Lakini mara nyingi wachungaji wa siku hizi wanajaribu kufanya maamuzi hivyo, kutokana na ushuhuda wa mtu mmoja. Kwa mfano: Mwanamke aliyeachika anajaribu kumshawishi mchungaji wake kwamba anastahili kuruhusiwa kuolewa kwa sababu yeye ni mwathirika wa talaka. Mume wake wa kwanza ndiye alimwacha – si yeye. Lakini, kama huyo mchungaji atapewa nafasi ya kusikiliza upande wa mume naye, anaweza kumhurumia kwa namna fulani. Pengine huyo mama alikuwa mkorofi na anastahili lawama kiasi fulani.
Mimi najua mume na mke ambao wote wawili walijitahidi kukorofishana ili mmoja atoe talaka, kusudi waepukane na hatia kwamba ndio walioanzisha talaka. Wote walitaka waweze kusema baada ya kuachana kwamba, ni yule mwingine ndiye aliyeanzisha, na kwa njia hiyo, kuhalalisha ndoa zao za pili. Twaweza kuwadanganya watu, lakini hatuwezi kumdanganya Mungu. Kwa mfano: Mungu anamwonaje mwanamke ambaye anamnyima mumewe huduma za kitandani kila wakati, kisha anamwacha kwa sababu amekosa uaminifu kwake? Je, hahusiki na hiyo talaka kwa sehemu?
Lile jambo la mwanamke aliyeachika mara mbili katika Kumbukumbu 24 halisemi chochote kwamba talaka zake zote mbili ni halali. Mume wake wa kwanza aliona “neno ovu” kwake. Kama hilo “neno ovu” ni uasherati, angestahili kufa kulingana na Torati ya Musa (Walawi 20:10). Basi, kama uasherati tu ndiyo sababu halali ya talaka, pengine mume wake wa kwanza hakuwa na sababu nzuri ya kumwacha. Kwa upande wa pili, pengine alikuwa amezini, naye, akiwa mtu mwenye haki kama Yusufu wa Mariamu, “aliazimu kumwacha kwa siri” (Mathayo 1:19). Hapo kuna mengi yanayowezekana.
Mume wa pili anasemekana “akimchukia”. Hapa tena, hatujui wa kulaumiwa ni nani, au hata kama wote wanastahili kulaumiwa. Lakini bado haiweki tofauti. Neema ya Mungu ilitolewa kwake kwamba aolewe na yeyote ambaye angekubali kujaribu bahati yake kwa mwanamke aliyeachika mara mbili, isipokuwa mume wake wa kwanza.
Pingamizi
Watu mara nyingi wamesema hivi: “Kama watu wataambiwa ni halali kwao kuoa tena baada ya kuachana kwa sababu yoyote, itawatia moyo wao kuachana kwa sababu zisizo halali.” Yawezekana ikawa kweli kiasi fulani kwa watu wa dini ambao hawajitahidi kumpendeza Mungu. Lakini, kujaribu kuwazuia watu ambao hawajajitoa kwa Mungu kabisa wasitende dhambi ni swala gumu. Ila, watu waliojitoa kwa Mungu kabisa hawatafuti njia za kutenda dhambi. Wanajaribu kumpendeza Mungu. Na watu aina hiyo kwa kawaida wana ndoa zenye nguvu. Tena, Mungu hakusumbuka sana kwamba watu katika agano la kale wataachana kwa sababu zisizo halali kwa sababu ya kuwapa sheria nyepesi ya kuoa au kuolewa tena, maana sheria aliyotoa kwa Israeli kuhusu jambo hilo ilikuwa nyepesi kabisa.Je, tuepuke kuwaambia watu kwamba Mungu yuko tayari kuwasamehe dhambi yoyote, wasije wakatiwa moyo kutenda dhambi kwa sababu wanajua msamaha unapatikana? Kama ndivyo, itabidi tuache kuhubiri Injili. Kila kitu kinategemea hali ya moyo ya wanadamu. Wale wanaompenda Mungu wanataka kumtii. Ninajua vizuri sana kwamba msamaha wa dhambi unapatikana kwangu nikiomba, hata kama nitatenda dhambi gani. Lakini hiyo hainisukumi kufanya dhambi hata kidogo, kwa sababu nampenda Mungu na nimezaliwa mara ya pili. Nimebadilishwa kwa neema ya Mungu. Ninataka kumpendeza.
Mungu anajua hakuna haja ya kuongeza tokeo lingine baya kwenye matokeo mabaya mengi yasiyoepukika ya talaka, kwa matumaini ya kuwahamasisha watu wakae katika ndoa. Kuwaambia watu wenye ndoa zenye shida kwamba wasiachane kwa sababu hawataruhusiwa kuoa au kuolewa tena hakutoi hamasa kwa watu kuendelea katika ndoa. Hata kama atakuamini, uwezekano wa kuishi peke yake ukilinganisha na maisha ya mateso ya ndoa daima utasikika kama paradiso kwa mtu mwenye ndoa mbaya.
Asemavyo Paulo Kuhusu Kuoa Tena
Kabla ya kupambana na tatizo la kulinganisha maneno ya Yesu nay a Musa kuhusu kuoa tena, tunahitaji kutambua kwamba yupo mwandishi mwingine mmoja wa Biblia anayekubaliana na Musa, naye ni Paulo Mtume. Paulo aliandika waziwazi kabisa kwamba kuoa au kuolewa tena kwa walioachika si dhambi, na kukubaliana na kinachosemwa na Agano la Kale.Kwa habari za wanawali sina amri ya Bwana, lakini natoa shauri langu, mimi niliyejaliwa kwa rehema za Bwana kuwa mwaminifu. Basi naona hili kuw ajema kwa ajili ya shida iliyopo, kwamba ni vema mtu akae kama alivyo. Je, umefungwa kwa mke? Usitake kufunguliwa. Umefunguliwa? Usitafute mke. Lakini kama ukioa, huna hatia; wala mwanamwali akiolewa, hana hatia. Lakini watu kama hao watakuwa na dhiki katika mwili nami nataka kuwazuilia hayo (1Wakor. 7:25-28. Maneno mepesi kutilia mkazo).
Bila shaka Paulo alikuwa anasema na watu walioachika katika fungu hili. Anawashauri walio na ndoa, wasio na ndoa na walioachika wabaki katika hali zao kwa sababu ya mateso ambayo Wakristo walikuwa wanapitia wakati huo. Ila, Paulo alisema wazi wazi kwamba watu walioachika na wanawali hawatatenda dhambi wakiingia katika ndoa.
Ona kwamba Paulo hafafanui uhalali wa kuoa au kuolewa tena kwa walioachika. Hakusema kwamba kuoa au kuolewa tena kunaruhusiwa kama walioachika hawana lawama yoyote katika talaka ya ndoa iliyopita. (Kwani, nani mwenye sifa za kutosha kuhukumu kitu kama hicho, zaidi ya Mungu?) Hakusema kwamba kuoa au kuolewa tena kunaruhusiwa tu kwa wale ambao waliachana kabla ya kuokoka. Hapana! Yeye alisema tu kwamba kuoa au kuolewa tena si dhambi, kwa walioachika.
Je, Paulo Alilegeza Masharti Kuhusu Talaka?
Je, ina maana Paulo alilegeza masharti kuhusu talaka kwa kuwa aliruhusu kanuni ya neema kwa habari ya kuoa na kuolewa tena? Hapana! Paulo alikuwa anapingana na talaka kwa ujumla. Katika mistari ya mwanzoni ya sura hiyo hiyo ya barua ya kwanza kwa Wakorintho, aliweka sheria kuhusu talaka ambayo inalingana na chuki ya Mungu kwa talaka.Lakini wale waliokwisha kuoana nawaagiza; wala hapo si mimi ila Bwana; mke asiachane na mumewe. Lakini ikiwa ameachana naye, na akae asiolewe, au apatane na mumewe; tena mume asimwache mkewe. Lakini watu wengine nawaambia mimi, wala si Bwana, ya kwamba iwapo ndugu mmoja ana mke asiyeamini, na mke huyo anakubali kukaa naye, asimwache. Na mwanamke, ambaye ana mume asiyeamini, na mume huyo anakubali kukaa naye, asimwache mumewe. Kwa maana yule mume asiyeamini hutakaswa katika mkewe; na yule mke asiyeamini hutakaswa katika mumewe; kama isingekuwa hivyo, watoto wenu wangekuwa si safi, bali sasa ni watakatifu. Lakini, yule asiyeamini akiondoka, na aondoke. Hapo huyu ndugu mume au ndugu mke hafungiki. Lakini Mungu ametuita katika amani. Kwa maana wajuaje wewe mwanamke, kama utamwokoa mumeo? Au wajuaje wewe mwanamume, kama utamwokoa mkeo? Lakini kama Bwana alivyomgawia kila mtu, kama Mungualivyomwita kila mtu, na aenende vivyo hivyo. Ndivyo ninavyoagiza katika makanisa yote (1Wakor. 7:10-17).
Angalia kwamba Paulo anasema na waamini kwanza, ambao wana ndoa na waamini wenzao. Hawapaswi kuachana, na Paulo anasema hayo si maagizo yake, bali ya Bwana. Bila shaka hayo yanakubaliana kabisa na kila kitu tulichotazama katika Biblia mpaka hapa.
Yanayofuata yanasisimua. Paulo alikuwa mkweli wa kutosha kutambua kwamba hata waamini wanaweza kuachana, japo kwa nadra. Hayo yakitokea, Paulo anasema kwamba yule aliyemwacha mwenzake akae bila ndoa au wapatane. (Japo ushauri wa Paulo unawalenga zaidi wake, kanuni hiyo bila shaka inawahusu hata waume.)
Hapa tena – alichoandika Paulo kisitushangaze. Anatangulia kuweka sheria ya Mungu kwanza kuhusu talaka, lakini ana akili ya kutosha kutambua kwamba kutii sheria ya Mungu si kitu kinachofanyika kila wakati. Hivyo, dhambi ya kuachana inapotokea kati ya waamini wawili, anatoa maagizo zaidi. Yule aliyemwacha mwenzake abaki bila kuoa au apatane na mwenzake. Hicho ndicho kinachofaa endapo waamini wawili wataachana. Muda wote watakaobaki hawana ndoa, kuna tumaini la wao kupatana, na hilo ndiyo bora. Kama mmoja wao akioa tena, hapo ndiyo mwisho wa matumaini na uwezekano wa kupatana. (Tena, kama wametenda dhambi isiyosameheka kwa kuachana, isingekuwepo sababu ya Paulo kuwaaambia wabaki bila ndoa au wapatane.)
Unaonaje? Paulo alikuwa na akili za kutosha kujua kwamba agizo lake la pili kwa waamini walioachana halitafuatwa? Bila shaka! Labda ndiyo sababu hakutoa ushauri zaidi kwa waamini walioachana kwa sababu alitazamia kwamba waamini wa kweli wangefuata agizo lake la kwanza la kutoachana, na kwamba katika mazingira adimu sana, agizo lake la pili lingehitajika. Kwa hakika, wafuasi wa kweli wa Kristo wangefanya kila kinachowezekana ili kuhifadhi ndoa yao, kama walikuwa na matatizo ya ndoa. Na kwa hakika, mwamini ambaye, baada ya juhudi zote za kuhifadhi ndoa angejisikia kwamba hana jinsi isipokuwa kuachana, kutokana na aibu yake binafsi na shauku ya kumheshimu Kristo asingefikiri kuwa na ndoa nyingine, na bado angetumainia mapatano. Inaonekana kwamba tatizo halisi katika kanisa la kisasa kuhusu talaka ni kwamba kuna waamini bandia wengi sana – watu ambao hawajawahi kumwamini Bwana Yesu kweli, na kujitoa kwake.
Ni dhahiri basi kutokana na yale Paulo anayoandika katika 1Wakorinto 7 kwamba, Mungu ana matazamio makubwa sana kwa waamini – watu waliojazwa na Roho Mtakatifu – kuliko aliyo nay kwa wasioamini. Kama tulivyosoma, Paulo aliandika kwamba waamini wasiwaache hata wenzao wasioamini mradi wako tayari kuishi nao. Hapo tena, agizo hili halitushangazi kwa sababu linakubaliana kabisa na kila kitu tulichosoma katika Manadiko kuhusu jambo hilo hadi sasa. Mungu anapinga talaka. Lakini Paulo anaendelea kusema kwamba, kama yule asiyeamini anataka talaka, mwamini aruhusu hiyo. Paulo anajua kwamba asiyeamini hajajitolea kwa Mungu, na hivyo hamtazamii asiyeamini kutenda kama anayeamini. Nyongeza ndogo hapo: Asiyeamini anapokubali kuishi na aaminiye, ni ushuhuda mzuri kwamba, pengine asiyeamini ana mwelekeo wa kupokea Injili, au yule anayeamini amerudi nyuma au ni Mkristo bandia.
Sasa, nani atakayesema kwamba mwamini aliyeachwa na asiyeamini hayuko huru kuoa tena? Paulo hasemi hivyo kamwe, kama alivyosema kwa habari ya waamini wawili walioachana. Itabidi kushangaa ni kwa nini Mungu apinge mwamini aliyeachwa na asiyeamini kuoa au kuolewa tena. Hilo lingetimiza kusudi gani? Lakini, ruhusa hiyo inaonekana inapingana na maelezo ya Yesu kuhusu kuoa tena, kwamba, “Yeyote amwoaye mwanamke aliyeachwa, azini” (Mathayo 5:32, TLR). Hapo tena, kuna mashaka kwamba pengine tumefasiri vibaya yale ambayo Yesu anasema.
Tatizo Lenyewe
Ni wazi kwamba Yesu, Musa na Paulo wanakubaliana kwamba kuachana au talaka ni dhihirisho la dhambi kwa mhusika mmoja au wote wawili. Wote wanapinga talaka kwa ujumla. Lakini tatizo letu ni hili: Tunaowanishaje yale ambayo Musa na Paulo wanasema kuhusu kuoa tena, na yanayosemwa na Yesu kuhusu jambo hilo hilo? Ni sawa tukitazamia kwamba yatalingana kwa sababu wote walivuviwa na Mungu kusema waliyosema.Hebu tutazame kwa uhakika kwamba Yesu alisema nini, na tuwaone aliowaambia hayo. Katika Injili ya Mathayo, tunamwona Yesu mara mbili akisema jambo la talaka na kuoa tena – mara ya kwanza katika Hotuba ya Mlimani, na mara nyingine alipohojiwa na Mafarisayo fulani. Tuanze na mazungumzo ya Yesu na Mafarisayo hao.
Basi Mafarisayo wakamwendea wakamjaribu wakimwambia, ‘Je! Ni halali mtu kumwacha mkewe kwa kila sababu?’ Akajibu akawaambia, ‘Hamkusoma ya kwamba yeye aliyewaumba mwanzo, aliwaumba mtu mume na mtu mke akasema, Kwa sababu hiyo, mtu atamwacha babaye na mamaye, ataambatana na mkewe; na hao wawili watakuwa mwili mmoja? Hata wamekuwa si wawili tena, bali mwili mmoja. Basi aliowaunganisha Mungu, mwanadamu asiwatenganishe.’ Wakamwambia, ‘Jinsi gani basi Musa aliamuru kumpa hati ya talaka, na kumwacha?’ Akawaambia, ‘Musa, kwa sababu ya ugumu wa mioyo yenu, aliwapa ruhusa kuwaacha wake zenu; lakini tangu mwanzo haikuwa hivi. Nami nawaambia ninyi, Kila mtu atakayemwacha mkewe, isipokuwa ni kwa sababu ya uahserati, akaoa mwingine, azini; naye amwoaye yule aliyeachwa, azini’ (Mathayo 19:3-9).
Katika mazungumzo yao na Yesu, Mafarisayo walirejea Maandiko katika Torati ya Musa, ambayo tulikwisha yatazama mapema – Kumbukumbu la Torati 24:1-4. Hapo imeandikwa hivi: “Mtu akiisha kutwaa mke kwa kumwoa, asipopata kibali machoni mwake kwa kuwa ameona neno ovu kwake, na amwandikie hati ya kumwacha, akamtilie mkononi mwake, na kumtoa katika nyumba yake” (Kumbu. 24:1, Maneno mepesi kutilia mkazo).
Katika siku za Yesu yalikuwepo makundi mawili kimtazamo, kuhusu hicho kinachoitwa “neno ovu.” Miaka kama ishirini kabla ya swali hilo kuulizwa, mwalimu mmoja aliyeitwa Hileli alifundisha kwamba neno ovu lilikuwa ni tofauti isiyorekebika. Wakati huu ambapo Yesu anafanya majadiliano na Mafarisayo, tafsiri ya “Hileli” ilikuwa imepanuliwa sana na kuwa nyepesi mno, ikiruhusu talaka kwa “sababu yoyote” kama swali la Mafarisayo lilivyotoka. Mtu aliweza kumwacha mkewe kama ameunguza chakula, au chumvi ikizidi kwenye chakula, au kama alijizungusha sana mbele za watu magoti yake yakaonekana, au kama aliruhusunywele zake kuonekana, au kama alizungumza na mwanamume mwingine, au kama alisema maneno mabaya kuhusu mama mkwe wake, au kama alikuwa tasa. Mwanamume aliruhusiwa hata kumwacha mkewe kama angemwona mwingine ambaye ni mrembo zaidi – hivyo kuona “neno ovu” kwa mkewe.
Mwalimu mwingine maarufu aliitwa Shammai. Yeye aliishi kabla ya Hileli, na alifundisha kwamba “neno ovu” lilikuwa kitu kibaya sana, kama vile uzinzi. Bila shaka utatambua kwamba miongoni mwa Mafarisayo wa siku za Yesu, tafsiri ya Hileli ndiyo ilipendwa zaidi kuliko ya Shammai. Mafarisayo waliishi na kufundisha kwamba talaka ilikuwa halali kwa sababu yoyote. Basi, talaka iliongezeka sana. Na Mafarisayo – kama kawaida yao kiFarisayo – walikazia sana umuhimu wa kumpa mke hati ya talaka unapomwacha, ili usi”halifu Torati ya Musa.”
Usisahau Kwamba Yesu Alikuwa Anazungumza Na Mafarisayo
Baada ya kujua hayo, tutaelewa vizuri zaidi kilichokuwa kinamkabili Yesu. Mbele yake walisimama kundi la waalimu wa dini wanafiki, wengi ambao – kama si wote basi – walikuwa na talaka moja au zaidi, na pengine ni kwa sababu walikuwa wamepata wanawake warembo zaidi. (Si bahati kwamba maneno ya Yesu kuhusu talaka katika Mahubiri ya Mlimani yanafuata maonyo Yake makali sana kuhusu tamaa, na kusema ni aina ya uzinzi.) Na bado walikuwa wanajihesabia haki, wakidai kwamba wameishika Torati ya Musa.Swali lao tu linadhihirisha jinsi walivyoegemea upande mmoja. Waliamini kabisa kwamba mtu angeweza kumwacha mke wake kwa sababu yoyote. Yesu akadhihirisha ufahamu wao mbovu wa kusudi la Mungu kuhusu ndoa kwa kurejea maneno ya Musa juu ya ndoa katika Mwanzo sura ya 2. Mungu hakukusudia kuwepo na talaka zozote, achilia mbali talaka “kwa sababu yoyote,” lakini viongozi wa Israeli walikuwa wanawaacha wake zao kiholela tu!
Inaonekana Mafarisayo walijua tayari msimamo wa Yesu kuhusu talaka, maana alikwisha kuutamka hadharani. Basi wakawa na pingamizi tayari: “Mbona basi Musa aliagiza apewe hati ya talaka na kumwacha?” (Mathayo 19:7, TLR).
Hapo tena swali lao linaonyesha jinsi walivyogemea upande mmoja. Limeulizwa kana kwamba Mus aalikuwa anawaagiza wanaume wawaache wake zao baada ya kugundua “neno ovu,” mradi tu watoe hati ya talaka. Lakini, kama tujuavyo kutokana na Kumbukumbu 24:1-4, Musa hakusema hivyo hata kidogo. Yeye alikuwa anaweka sawa ndoa ya tatu ya mwanamke – akimzuia asiolewe tena na mume wake wa kwanza.
Kwa vile Musa alitaja talaka, bila shaka talaka ilikuwa inaruhusiwa kwa sababu fulani. Lakini ona kwamba neno alilotumia Yesu katika jibu lake – aliruhusu – ni tofauti na chaguo la Mafarisayo – aliamuru. Musa aliruhusu talaka, hakuamuru. Na sababu ya Musa kuruhusu talaka ni ugumu wa mioyo ya Waisraeli. Yaani – Mungu aliruhusu talaka kama tendo la huruma tu kwa hali ya dhambi ya watu. Alijua watu wasingekuwa waaminifu kwa wana ndoa wenzao. Alijua uchafu ungekuwepo. Alijua mioyo ya watu ingevunjika. Basi, akatoa ruhusa kwa talaka. Hakuwa amekusudia hivyo tangu mwanzo, lakini dhambi ililazimisha hivyo.
Kisha Yesu akaweka sheria ya Mungu wazi kwa Mafarisayo, akifafanua kile ambacho Musa anakiita “neno ovu”. “Yeyote amwachaye mkewe, isipokuwa kwa sababu ya uasherati, akamwoa mwanamke mwingine, azini” (Mathayo 19:9, TLR. Maneno mepesi kutilia mkazo). Machoni pa Mungu, uzinzi ndiyo sababu halali pekee kwa mwanamume kumwacha mke wake. Na ni rahisi kueleweka. Ni kitu gani kingine amb acho mwanamume au mwanamke anaweza kufanya, kikawa kibaya kwa mwenzake kuliko hicho? Mtu anapozini, anatuma ujumbe mchungu sana. Kwa hakika Yesu hakuwa anazungumzia uzinzi tu aliposema hayo. Bila shaka hata kumbusu mwenzi wa mwingine na kumshika-shika ni kitu kibaya sana, kama ilivyo tabia ya kuangalia picha mbaya za ngono, au matendo mengine yasiyofaa ya mahusiano kimwili. Kumbuka kwamba Yesu alifananisha tamaa na uzinzi katika Mahubiri Yake ya Mlimani.
Tusije kusahau Yesu alikuwa anasema na nani – ni Mafarisayo waliokuwa wanaachana na wake zao kwa sababu yoyote na kuoa haraka haraka, lakini hao hao wasingezini kamwe ili wasivunje amri ya saba. Yesu aliwaambia wanajidanganya wenyewe. Walichokuwa wanafanya hakikuwa tofauti na uzinzi. Ndiyo ukweli huo. Yeyote aliye mkweli anaweza kuona kwamba mwanamume anayemwacha mkewe ili amwoe mwanamke mwingine anafanya kitu ambacho mzinzi hufanya. Tofauti ni kwamba, huyu mwingine anahalalisha uzinzi wake.
Ufumbuzi
Huu ndiyo ufunguo wa kulinganisha maneno ya Yesu na ya Musa na ya Paulo. Yesu alikuwa anadhihirisha unafiki wa Mafarisayo tu. Hakuwa anaweka sheria inayozuia kuoa au kuolewa tena. Kama alikuwa anafanya hivyo, basi alipingana na Musa na Paulo, na kusababisha vurugu kwa mamilioni ya watu walioachika, na mamilioni ya watu walioingia kwenye ndoa nyingine. Kama Yesu alikuwa anaweka sheria kuhusu kuoa au kuolewa tena, tuwaambie nini wale ambao wameachika na kuoa au kuolewa tena kabla ya kusikia habari za Sheria ya Yesu? Je, tuwaambie kwamba wanaishi katika mahusiano ya kiasherati? Na, kwa kuwa tunajua Biblia inaonya kwamba hakuna wazinzi au waasherati watakaorithi ufalme wa Mungu (1Wakor. 6:9-10), tuwashauri kwamba waachane na wenzao? Pengine ni sawa, lakini, Mungu si anachukia kuachana?Je, tuwaambie waachane kitandani mpaka wana ndoa wenzao wa kwanza wafe ili kuwaepusha na zinaa ya kila wakati? Lakini, Paulo si anawakataza wana ndoa kunyimana? Tena, ushauri kama huo si utapelekea watu kujaribiwa kimwili na hata kuamsha hamu za kutaka wana ndoa wenzao wafe?
Je, tuwaambie watu kama hao waachane na wenzao wa sasa na kurudiana na wenzao wa kwanza (kama wengine wanavyosema) – kitu ambacho kinakatazwa na Torati ya Musa katika Kumbukumbu 24:1-4?
Halafu – vipi kuhusu watu walioachana ambao hawajaoa tena? Kama wanaruhusiwa kuoa au kuolewa tena ikiwa wenzao walioachana nao walitenda uzinzi, nani atakayejizatiti kuthibitisha kama kweli uzinzi ulifanyika? Je, itabidi wana ndoa fulani wathibitishe kwamba wenzao walioachana nao walikuwa na hatia ya tamaa tu ili waweze kurudiana? Je, wengine itabidi watafute mashahidi wa kuthibitisha uasherati wa wenzao ili waweze kurudiana?
Kama swali lililopita – vipi kuhusu swala la mwenzi kuzini kwa sababu alikuwa katika ndoa na mtu aliyemnyima tendo la ndoa? Je, ni halali kwa huyo aliyekuwa anamnyima mwenzake tendo la ndoa aruhusiwe kuolewa, na yule mtu aliyezini akatazwe kuoa au kuolewa?
Vipi kuhusu mtu aliyezini kabla ya ndoa? Je, uzinzi wake huo si kukosa uaminifu kwa mwenzi wa baadaye? Je, dhambi hiyo hailingani na uzinzi, kama yeye au mwenzake wangekuwa katika ndoa wakati walipofanya dhambi yao? Mbona huyo aruhusiwe kuoa au kuolewa?
Vipi kuhusu watu wawili wanaokaa pamoja – bila ndoa – halafu wanatengana. Mbona wanaruhusiw akuoa na kuolewa na wengine baada ya kutengana, kwa kuwa hawakuwa na ndoa rasmi? Wana tofauti gani na wale wenye kuachana kisha wakaoa na kuolewa tena?
Vipi kuhusu kweli kwamba “mambo ya zamani yanapita” na “mambo yanakuwa mapya” wakati mtu anapo-okoka (ona 2Wakor. 5:17)? Je, inamaanisha kila dhambi iliyowahi kufanywa isipokuwa dhambi ya kuachana isivyo halali?
Yote hayo na maswali mengine mengi[1] yanaweza kuulizwa, ambayo ni hoja zenye nguvu kabisa kuunga mkono wazo kwamba Yesu hakuwa anaweka sheria mpya kuhusu ndoa. Yesu alikuwa na akili za kutosha kutambua matokeo ya sheria Yake mpya ya ndoa kama ndivyo ilivyokuwa. Hilo tu linatosha kutuambia kwamba alikuwa anaweka wazi unafiki wa Mafarisayo – wanaume wenye tamaa, wanafiki, washika dini, waliokuwa wanaachana na wake zao “kwa sababu yoyote” na kuoa tena.
Sababu ya Yesu kusema kwamba walikuwa “wanazini” badala ya kusema tu kwamba walichokuwa wanafanya ni kosa ni kwa sababu alitaka wao waone kwamba talaka kwa sababu yoyote na kuoa tena baada ya hapo si tofauti na uzinzi, kitu ambacho wao walidai hawafanyi. Je, tuamue kwamba kitu pekee alichojali Yesu ni tendo la ndoa tu katika ndoa ya pili, na kwamba angeunga mkono ndoa ya pili mradi tu watu wasijihusishe katika tendo la ndoa? Hapana. Basi, tusimfanye aseme kitu ambacho hakumaanisha kusema.
Mlinganisho Unaofanya Kufikiri
Hebu tufikiri kuhusu watu wawili. Mmoja ana ndoa, ni mtu wa dini, anayedai kumpenda Mungu kwa moyo wake wote, ambaye ameanza kumtamani mwanamke kijana anayekaa jirani. Muda si muda anamwacha mkewe na haraka anamwoa yule msichana aliyemvutia.Yule mwingine si mtu wa dini. Yeye hajawahi kusikia hata Injili, na anaishi maisha mabaya ambayo hatimaye yanaharibu ndoa yake. Miaka kadhaa baadaye, akiwa peke yake tu, anaisikia Injili, anatubu, na anaanza kumfuata Yesu kwa moyo wake wote. Miaka mitatubaadaye anampenda mwanamke mwenye kumpenda Mungu sana anayekutana naye kanisani. Wote wawili wanatafuta mapenzi ya Mungu na ushauri wa wengine kwa bidii, kisha wanapanga kuoana. Wanakuja kuonana, na wanakuwa waaminifu kwa Bwana na wao kwa wao mpaka kifo.
Sasa – hebu tudhanie kwamba wote wawili wametenda dhambi kwa kuoa tena. Katika hao wawili, ni yupi mwenye dhambi kubwa zaidi? Bila shaka ni yule wa kwanza. Yeye ni sawa na mzinzi tu.
Lakini – vipi kuhusu yule mtu wa pili? Je, ni kwamba ametenda dhambi? Je, tunaweza kusema kwamba yeye hana tofauti na mzinzi – kama yule wa kwanza? Hapana. Je, tumwambie yale ambayo Yesu alisema kuhusu watu wanaoachana na kuoa tena, na kumjulisha kwamba sasa anaishi na mwanamke ambaye Mungu hakumwunganisha naye kwa sababu anamhesabu bado ana ndoa na mke wake wa kwanza? Je, tumwambie kwamba anaishi katika zinaa?
Majibu yako dhahiri kabisa. Uzinzi hutendwa na watu ambao wameoana, wanaomwona mwingine asiyekuwa mwenzi wao. Kwa hiyo, kuachana na mwenzako kwa sababu umepata mrembo zaidi ni sawa na uzinzi. Lakini, mtu ambaye hajaoa hawezi kufanya uzinzi kwa sababu hana mwenzi wa kumkosea uaminifu, na mtu ambaye ameachika hawezi pia kutenda uzinzi kwa sababu hana mwenzi wa kumkosea uaminifu. Tukielewa mantiki ya kihistoria na kiBiblia kuhusu maneno ya Yesu, hatuwezi kufikia maamuzi yatakayopotosha watu, na yenye kupingana na Maandiko yote.
Wanafunzi waliposikia itikio la Yesu kwa jibu la Mafarisayo, walijibu hivi, “Kama mahusiano ya mwanamume na mke wake yako hivyo, ni afadhali kutokuoa” (Mathayo 19:10, TLR). Tambua kwamba walikuwa wamekulia chini ya mafundisho na ushawishi wa Mafarisayo, na katika utamaduni uliokuwa umeathiriwa sana na Mafarisayo. Hawakuwahi kudhani kwamba ndoa ni kitu cha kudumu kiasi hicho. Ukweli ni kwamba, muda mfupi uliopita, hata wao waliamini ni halali kwa mwanamume kumwacha mkewe kwa sababu yoyote. Basi kwa haraka wakaamua kwamba ingekuwa bora kuepukana na ndoa kabisa, ili kuepuka hatari ya kuachana na kuingia kwenye uzinzi. Yesu alijibu hivi:
Si wote wawezao kulipokea neno hili, ila wale waliojaliwa. Maana wako matowashi waliozaliwa hali hiyo toka matumboni mwa mama zao; tena wako matowashi waliofanywa na watu kuwa matowashi; tena wako matowashi waliojifanya kuwa matowashi kwa ajili ya ufalme wa mbinguni. Awezaye kulipokea neno hili, na alipokee (Mathayo 19:11-12).
Yaani – kinachoamua ni ile hamu ya kushirikiana kimwili aliyo nayo mtu, au uwezo wake wa kuitawala. Hata Paulo alisema hivi: “NI afadhali kuoa kuliko kuwaka tamaa” (1Wakor. 7:9, TLR). Wale waliozaliwa wakiwa matowashi au wale wanaofanywa matowashi na watu (kama ilivyokuwa zamani: watu waliwafanya wanaume wengine kuwa matowashi, ili wawape jukumu la kuwalinda wake zao) hawana hamu ya kushirikiana na mwanamke kimwili. Wale “wanaojifanya wenyewe kwa ajili ya ufalme wa mbinguni” ni wale ambao wamejaliwa na Mungu kipekee kuwa na uwezo wa kujitawala zaidi. Ndiyo maana “si wote wawezao kulipokea neno hili, ila wale waliojaliwa” (Mathayo 19:11).
Mahubiri Ya Mlimani
Tusisahau kwamba wale watu Yesu aliosema nao wakati akihubiri Mlimani pia walikuwa wameishi maisha yao chini ya ushawishi wa Mafarisayo wanafiki, waliokuwa viongozi na waalimu wa Israeli. Kama tulivyokwisha jifunza hapo mapema tulipotazama Mahubiri ya Mlimani, ni dhahiri kwamba sehemu kubwa ya yale ambayo Yesu alisema yalikuwa kama masahihisho tu ya mafundisho ya uongo ya Mafarisayo. Yesu hata aliwaambia watu kwamba hawataingia mbinguni ikiwa haki yao haitazidi ile ya waandishi na Mafarisayo (Mathayo 5:20), ambayo ilikuwa njia nyingine ya kusema kwamba waandishi na Mafarisayo walikuwa njiani kwenda jehanamu. Mwisho wa mahubiri yake, watu walishangazwa kwa sehemu kwa sababu Yesu alikuwa anafundisha kitofauti, “si kama waandishi wao” (Mathayo 7:29, TLR).Mapema katika mahubiri Yake, Yesu aliweka wazi unafiki wa wale waliodai kwamba hawajawahi kuzini, ila wanatamani na kuachana na wenzi wao na kuoa tena. Akapanua maana ya uzinzi kwamba ni zaidi ya tendo la kimwili la dhambi baina ya watu wawili walio na ndoa. Na aliyosema yalikuwa wazi kabisa kwa yeyote mwenye akili nzuri na mkweli, ambaye angefikiri kidogo tu. Lakini kumbuka kwamba, mpaka wakati wa mahubiri ya Yesu, wengi wa watu katika lile kundi wangekuwa na mawazo kwamba ilikuwa halali kwao kuachana “kwa sababu yoyote” ile. Yesu alitaka wafuasi Wake pamoja na wengine wote wajue kwamba kusudi la Mungu tangu mwanzo lilikuwa kiwango cha juu zaidi.
Mmesikia kwamba imenenwa, ‘Usizini’. Lakini mimi nawaambia, Kila mtu atazamey mwanamke kwa kumtamani amekwisha kuzini naye moyoni mwake. Jicho lako la kuume likikukosesha, ling’oe ulitupe mbali nawe. Kwa maana yakufaa kiungo chako kimoja kipotee wala mwili wako mzima usitupwe katika jehanamu. Na mkono wako wa kuume ukikukosesha, ukate uutupe mbali nawe. Kwa maana yakufaa kiungo chako kimoja kipotee wala mwili wako mzima usitupwe katika jehanmum. Imenenwa pia, ‘Mtu akimwacha mkewe, na ampe hati ya talaka.’ Lakini mimi nawaambia, Kila mtu amwachaye mkewe, isipokuwa kwa habari ya usherati, amfanya kuwa mzinzi, na mtu akimwoa yule aliyeachwa, azini (Mathayo 5:27-32).
Kama tulivyokwisha ona mapema, ona kwamba maneno ya Yesu kuhusu talaka na kuoa tena yanafuata moja kwa moja maagizo aliyotoa kuhusu tamaa, hivyo kuyaunganisha pamoja. Tena, Yesu anasema vyote viwili ni uzinzi, na kuviunganisha zaidi. Basi tunaona kwamba kuna muunganiko wa kitu kinachofanana katika maelezo hayo ya fungu hili lote la Maandiko. Yesu alikuwa anawasaidia wafuasi Wake kuelewa maana ya kutii amri ya saba. Maana yake ni kutotamani, na kutoachana na kuoana tena.
Kila mtu katika wasikilizaji Wake wa Kiyahudi alikuwa amesikia amri ya saba ikisomwa katika sinagogi (maana hawakuwa na Biblia binafsi siku zile), pamoja na mafafanuzi yaliyotolewa, na kuona jinsi waalimu wao – waandishi na Mafarisayo – walivyoyafanyia kazi maishani mwao. Ndipo Yesu akasema, “lakini mimi nawaambia”, ila hakuwa anataka kuongeza sheria zingine mpya. Yeye alitaka kudhihirisha tu mpango wa Mungu tokea mwanzo.
Kwanza – tamaa ilikuwa inakatazwa kabisa na amri ya kumi, na hata bila amri ya kumi, yeyote aliyefikiri vizuri angetambua kwamba ilikuwa ni kosa kutamani kufanya kitu ambacho Mungu amekataza.
Pili – tangu mwanzoni kabisa mwa kitabu cha Mwanzo, Mungu aliweka wzi kwamba ndoa ilitaiwa kuwa makubaliano ya maisha yote. Tena, yeyote aliyefkiri vizuri juu ya hilo angetambua kwamba kuachana na kuoana tena ni sawa tu na uzinzi, hasa kama mmoja atapanga kumwacha menzake kwa kusudi la kuoa tena.
Lakini tena katika mahubiri haya, ni wazi kwamba Yesu alikuwa anawasaidia tu watu waone ukweli kuhusu tamaa na ukweli kuhusu kuachana kwa sababu yoyote, na kuoana tena. Yeye hakuwa anaweka sheria mpya ya kuoana tena ambayo haikuwa “vitabuni” hadi wakati huo.
Inashangaza kwamba ni watu wachache sana kanisani ambao wamewahi kutimiza maneno ya Yesu ya kung’oa jicho au kukata mikono, maana mawazo hayo yanapingana sana na Maandiko mengine, na ni dhahiri kwamba kazi yake ni kutia nguvu hoja kuhusu kuepukana na kujaribiwa kuwa na mahusiano kimwili yasiyofaa. Lakini wengi sana kanisani wanajaribu kutafsiri moja kwa moja maneno ya Yesu juu ya yule mwenye kuoa au kuolewa tena kufanya uzinzi, hata ingawa tafsiri hizo zinapingana moja kwa moja na Maandiko mengine. Lengo la yesu lilikuwa kuwafanya wasikilizaji Wake wakabiliane na ukweli, kwa tumaini kwamba talaka zingepungua baada ya hapo. Kama wafuasi Wake wangepkea moyoni yale aliyosema kuhusu tamaa, kusingekuwepo na uasherati au uchafu miongoni mwao. Kama usingekuwepo, kusingekuwepo na sababu halali za talaka. Basi, talaka isingekuwepo, kama Mungu alivyokusudia tangu mwanzo.
Mwanamume Anamfanyaje Mkewe Azini?
Ona maneno ya Yesu, kwamba, “Yeyote amwachaye mkewe, isipokuwa kwa sababu ya uasherati, amfanya kuwa mzinzi.” Hili tena linatufanya tuamini kwamba hakuwa anaweka sheria mpya ya kuoana tena, bali alikuwa anadhihirisha tu ukweli kuhusu dhambi ya mtu anayemwacha mkewe bila sababu nzuri. “Amfanya kuwa mzinzi.” Kuna wanaosema kwamba Yesu alikuwa anamzuia huyo mwanamke kuolewa tena, kwa sababu anasema huo ni uzinzi. Lakini si hivyo. Mkazo uko kwenye dhambi ya mwanamume anayemwacha mkewe, kwamba, kwa sababu ya kile anachokitenda, mke wake atakuwa hana lingine la kufanya isipokuwa kuolewa tena, ambayo si dhambi kwa upande wake maana yeye ameathirika kutokana na ubinafsi wa mumewe. Machoni pa Mungu ni kwamba, kwa kuwa mwanamume alimwacha mkewe na kumwingiza kwenye kuolewa tena, ni kama amemlazimisha aingie kitandani na mwanamume mwingine. Basi, yule anayedhani hajatenda uzinzi anakuwa na hatia kwa uzinzi mara mbili – wa kwake na wa mkewe.Yesu hakusema kwamba Mungu anamhesabu mke aliyeathiriwa na talaka kwamba ana hatia ya uzinzi, maana hiyo isingekuwa halali, tena ingekuwa haina maana kabsia kama huyo mke aliyeathiriwa asingeolewa. Mungu angewezaje kusema kwamba ni mzinzi kama asingeolewa? Isingekuwa na maana kabisa. Basi, ni dhahiri kwamba Mungu anamhesabu huyo mwanamume kuwa na hatia kwa uzinzi wake mwenyewe na “uzinzi” wa mkewe, ambao kweli si uzinzi kwake maana ni ndoa ya pili ambayo ni halali kabisa.
Sasa – vipi kuhusu maneno ya Yesu yafuatayo kwamba, “na mtu akimwoa mwanamke aliyeachwa anazini”? Ni mawili tu yanayoweza kueleweka. Aidha Yesu alikuwa anaongeza hatia ya uzinzi wa tatu dhidi ya mtu anayedhani kwamba hajawahi kuzini (kwa sababu ile ile kama aliyotumia kuongeza hatia ya pili), au Yesu alikuwa anasema kuhusu huyo mwanamume anayemtia moyo mwanamke aachane na mumewe ili waoane, “asizini”. Kama Yesu alikuwa anasema kwamba mwanamume yeyote duniani anayemwoa mwanamke aliyeachwa anazini, basi kila mwanamume wa Israeli alizini katika kipindi cha miaka mia nyingi ambaye, katika kutimiza Torati ya Musa, alimwoa mwanamke aliyeachika. Ukweli ni kwamba kila mwanamume siku hiyo aliyekuwa anamsikiliza Yesu, aliyekuwa amemwoa mwanamke aliyeachika kwa kufuatana na Torati ya Musa, alikuwa na hatia ya kosa ambalo hakuwa na hatia yake muda mfupi kabla ya hapo, na Yesu akawa amebadilisha sheria ya Mungu hapo hapo. Tena, kila mtu katika wakati ujao ambaye alimwoa mtu aliyeachwa, kwa kuamini neno la Paulo katika barua yake kwa Wakorintho kwamba hilo si dhambi, alikuwa ametenda dhambi – ni mzinzi.
Jinsi Biblia ilivyo inapelekea mtu kumstahi sana mwanamume aliyeoa mwanamke aliyeachwa. Kama yeye ni mwathirika wa ubinafsi wa mume wake wa kwanza, asiye na hatia, ningemstahi sana mwanamume huyo, kama ambavyo ningemstahi sana mwanamume anayeoa mjane na kumtunza. Kama huyo mwanamke alikuwa na sababu ya kulaumiwa kwa talaka yake, bado ningemstahi sana kwa kuwa na moyo wa Kristo kwa kuamini kwamba kuna kilicho bora kwake, na kwa neema yake ya kukubali kusahau yaliyopita na kujaribu. Kwa nini mtu yeyote aliyesoma Biblia, mwenye Roho Mtakatifu ndani yake aamue kwamba Yesu alikuwa anamkataza kila mtu asioe au kuolewa na yeyote aliyeachika? Hilo linaingiaje kwenye ukweli kwamba Mungu ni mwenye haki – haki ambayo haimwadhibu yeyote kwa kuwa mwathirika – kama mwanamke ambaye anaachwa pasipo kuwa na kosa? Hoja kama hiyo inaingiaje kwenye ujumbe wa Injili, wenye kutoa msamaha na nafasi nyingine kwa wenye dhambi wanaotubu?
Kuhitimisha
Biblia inasema tena na tena kwamba talaka inahusisha dhambi kwa mmoja au kwa wenzi wote wawili. Mungu hakukusudia mtu yeyote aachane na mwenzake katika ndoa, lakini kwa rehema Zake alitoa mwanya wa talaka kama uasherati ukitokea. Kwa rehema pia aliweka mpango kwa watu walioachika kuoa na kuolewa tena.Kama si kwa sababu ya maneno ya Yesu kuhusu kuoa na kuolewa tena, hakuna msomaji yeyote wa Biblia ambaye angedhani kwamba kuoa na kuolewa tena ni dhambi (isipokuwa kwa habari za matukio mawili nadra sana katika agano la kale, na moja la nadra sana katika agano jipya, yaani, kuoa na kuolewa tena baada ya mtu kuachana na mwingine aliyeokoka). Ila, tumepata njia inayokubalika ya kulinganisha kile alichosema Yesu kuhusu kuoa na kuolewa tena, na sheria kali zaidi yenye kukataza kuoa au kuolewa tena kwa kila hali. Hii sheria haifanyi kazi kwa wale ambao wamekwisha achana na kuingia katika ndoa zingine (maana ni sawa na kurudisha mayai yaliyopikwa yawe mabichi), na ni moja ambaye ingesababisha mkanganyiko wa hali ya juu na kuwapelekea watu kuvunja sheria zingine za Mungu. Badal ayake, tumeona kwamba Yesu alikuwa anawasaidia watu kutambua unafiki wao. ALikuwa anawasaidia wale walioamini kwamba hawatazini kamwe waone kwamba wlaikuwa wanazini kwa njia zingine, kwa tamaa zao na kwa mtazamo wao mwepesi kuhusu sababu za kuachana.
Kama Biblia nzima inavyofundisha, msamaha hutolewa kwa wenye dhambi wanaotubu, bila ya kujali dhambi yao, na nafasi ya pili na ya tatu hutolewa kwa wenye dhambi – pamoja na walioachika. Hakuna dhambi katika kuoa na kuolewa tena kwa aina yoyote katika agano jipya, isipokuwa kwa mwamini aliyeachana na mwamini mwenzake. Na hilo halipaswi kutokea kwa sababu waamini wa kweli hawafanyi uchafu, na kwa sababu hiyo hakuna sababu halali ya kuachana. Ikitokea kwa nadra, wote wawili wabaki kama walivyo au wapatane.
The Christian Family
It is obvious that God is the one who brought the idea of family.
Therefore, it is legitimate to expect that he would give instructions how to
live with a family accordance warn about the problems that destroy families.
The Lord has given us many principles in His Word about how the family is
required to be, and the role of each member in the family. Yanapofuatwa
biblical commandment, families will experience all the blessings God intended
for them to enjoy. Zinapovunjwa, the result is severe pain in his heart, and
violence. Role of Husband and Wife
God has ordained that the Christian family to a certain structure. Because the system provides the stability in family life, Satan works to distort God's intended plan.First of all is that God has ordained that the husband be the head of the family. This does not give the husband the right to control his wife and children in the self. God has called men to love, protect, fulfill their family needs as the leading head. Also, God intended her to be obedient to their husbands' leadership. This is clear from Scripture.
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. But as the church limtiivyo Christ, so also wives to obey their husbands in everything (Ephesians 5:22-24).
The husband is head of his wife, his spirit - he is a chance. Jesus is the spiritual head of the church, and the Christian wife is a member of the same church with her husband, who is a Christian too. But, in the family, the Christian husband is head of his wife and children, and they should be submitted to the authority given by God.
Can a wife should obey her husband how much? As Paul says, it is in everything. The only time he is permitted to break the law is like her husband to disobey the Word of God or do something that kinapinganana his conscience. It is clear that no Christian husband would want his wife to do anything kinachovunja Word of God or go against his conscience. The husband is not the Lord to his wife - only Jesus has the same position in his life. If it reaches choices about whom to obey, he should choose to obey Jesus.
Husbands should remember that God is always on their side. There are times when God told Abraham to do as he was told, and Sarah his wife (see Genesis 21:10-12). Scripture also mentions how he vyoacha Abigail Nabal obey her husband, who was a fool, and in doing so avoid the problem (see 1 Samuel 25:2 - 38).
The Word Of God For Men
God tells husbands:Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it ... So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no man who hated her body anywhere, but he feeds and cares even as Christ is vyolitendea Church. For we are members of his body. But everyone ... love his wife as himself, and let the wife fear her husband miss (Ephesians 5:25, 28-30, 33).
Husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loves the church. Is not responsible for limited time! Any wife would gladly submit to a man who loves like Jesus - who gave His life for the love of devotion. Just as Christ loves his own body - the church - so husbands ought to love a woman who is "one flesh" (Ephesians 5:31). If a husband loves his wife as he should, he will provide for her, will keep, honor, will help him, he put him in the heart, and spend time with him. Akishindwa in his duty to love his wife, the husband is in danger of preventing his own answers to prayer.
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that apply to you kusizuiliwe (1 Peter 3:7. Emphasis added).
Literally is that it has never been married without disagreement and difficulty range. Rather, the commitment to develop the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, men and women can learn to live in harmony and peace, and to identify the place of blessing the growing rise of Christian marriage. Each partner can grow and reach greater maturity in Christ-likeness through the inevitable problems that occur in all marriages.
For more information on the roles and responsibilities of husbands and wives, see Genesis 2:15-25, Proverbs 19:13, 21:9, 19, 27:15, 16, 31:10-31, 1 Cor. 11:3, 13:1-8, Colossians 3:18, 19; 1 Tim. 3:4, 5, Titus 2:3-5, 1 Peter 3:1-7.
Sex in Marriage
God is the author of the act of marriage, and it is evident that he created it so comfortable and help in creation. Despite this, the Bible states clearly that sex is enjoyed by those who have banded together in the covenant of marriage, permanent.Intercourse outside the bounds of marriage is called fornication or adultery. The apostle Paul said that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (see 1 Cor. 6:9-11). Although Christian can be tempted and might possibly fall in the act of adultery or fornication, he felt enormous guilt in his spirit will lead him to repentance.
Paul also gave specific instruction about the roles of husband and wife to each other about sex.
But for fear of fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Husband and wife give him his due, and likewise the wife to her husband give his right. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Similarly, the husband does not have authority over her own body, but the wife. Msinyimane except by agreement for a time, that ye may to prayer, and eight again, lest Satan tempt you to incontinency (1 Cor 7:2-5).
These verses clearly establishes that sex lisitumiwe as a "gift" with a husband or wife, for there is no authority over his own body.
Again, sex is a gift from God. Not sin nor unclean is in marriage. Paul encouraged Christians married couples engage in sexual relations. Again, we find this advice to men and Christians in the book of Proverbs:
Thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of your youth. It loves deer and roe masculine, her breasts ytakutoshe all day, and thou ravished always with her love (Proverbs 5:18, 19). [1]
If Christian couples want to enjoy satisfying sexual relationships, men and women need to understand that there are very large differences between men and women with physical information sharing. In nature, man is a very physical information intercourse. The nature of a woman for marital intercourse is something of an impression. Men are excited and ready for intercourse with her by sight only (see Matthew 5:28). Women they are excited and ready to meet physically intimate relationships, and to be touched and held-held (see 1 Cor. 7:1). Men are attracted to women who are pleasant to the eyes, but women are attracted to men who delight because more physically attractive. So, wise women attractive to attract their husbands at all. And the wise men show their love for their wives all day to do them hugs and generous, rather than kuwatazamia their wives to "be ready" suddenly during the night.
Level of arousal to male intercourse with a partner increases according to the increase of semen in her body. A woman's level of arousal increases or decreases depending upon its month. Men are capable of stimulation and be ready for intercourse with a woman, to reach the peak of sexual intercourse after a very short time - just a few seconds or minutes, but women take a long time. Although he is physically ready to meet her very soon, a woman's body may not be ready until after half an hour or more. So the wise men took their time in the start stimulating them with caresses, kisses and catch-holding parts of the body that zinasisimua, to cause her to be ready for intercourse. If you do not know the parts involved, amwulize. Again, you should know that although he is able to reach the peak of sexual intercourse only once, the other can reach the peak of sex often. Husband should ensure that the other receives wants.
It is very important for Christian husbands and wives talk about their needs clearly, and learn about the differences as much as they can. Physical relationships between husbands and wives can be a blessing due to growing communication many months and years, kuzoeana discovery and practice.
Children of Christian Families
Children should be taught how to humble and very obedient to their Christian parents. If they do, they have promised to their long life and blessings.Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and thy mother: this command is the first commandment with a promise, that thou mayest better, live long on the earth (Ephesians 6:1-3).
Christian fathers as heads of their families, are given the primary responsibility for teaching all their children, thus:
Ye fathers, provoke not your children to you: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
Notice that the role of the father is twofold: to care for his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Let us first consider the need to discipline children.
Discipline For Children
A child who is never disciplined will grow up to be selfish and rebellious toward authority. Children should be disciplined whenever they defiantly disobey legal rules imposed by their parents. Children should not be punished for mistakes or irresponsible because of childhood. But, they will be dealing with the results of their mistakes and irresponsible of them, and in this way help them prepare for the realities of adult life.Young children should be punished for the hippopotamus, as the Word of God linavyofundisha. But young children should not beat them. This does not mean that infants should be allowed to do what they want. Required since they are born to know that the mother and father are authorized. They can be taught with very little sense of the word "no" kuwakuwakataza only do what they are doing, or what they want to do. Starting to understand the meaning of the word "no", they can just slap on the buttocks little to help them understand better the course of doing what parents say kisifanywe. If this is done in order to often, children will learn to be obedient since a very young age.
Also, parents can show their authority to kutounga unwanted behavior of their children. An example is to give what they want immediately, crying. To do so is to teach children to cry in order to gain their desires. Or, if the parents agree to the demands of their children every time they ponuna or angry is that encouraging such undesirable behavior. Wise parents supported only good behavior in their children.
Printing hippopotamus they do physical damage, but should certainly generate enough pain to cause the disobedient child to cry for a little while. That way, the child will learn to labor and disobedience. Even the Bible supports it.
He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth advance. ... Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline itaufukuzia off. Stripes ... Usimnyime your child, for if you beat him with the rod he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his position and Hell. ... Rod and reproof give wisdom: but a son who freed the humiliated mother (Proverbs 13:24, 22:15, 23:13-14, 29:15).
Parents simply enforce their rules, you do not need to frighten children to make them obedient child is left intentionally obey, achapwe stick. If a parent only threatens her kumchapa who do not obey him, he does it support the rebellion of his son. The result is that the child learns obedience to his parents threatening words vinapofikia a certain volume.
After a hippopotamus, a child should be embraced by the love of a parent who reassured printing.
Train Baby
Parents should realize that Christians have a responsibility to teach and raise their children, as we read in Proverbs 22:6, that: "Train a child in the way he should go, and he will not leave, even when he is old" (emphasis added).Parenting (or teaching) is not just to punish a child left to obey, but also to congratulate the does well. Children every time they need to be praised by their parents to support their good behavior and good things they do. Children need to be reassured often that they are loved, accepted and appreciated by their parents. Parents can show their love with praise, hugs and kisses children, and to spend more time with them.
"Train" means "to obey." But Christian parents to give their children the choice whether to go to church or pray every day or not. Children are not aware enough to know kinachowafaa, or something better. That's why God gave parents. Parents who work hard and put their effort to ensure that their children are properly trained, have the promise from God that their children will not leave the right way when they are older, as we read in Proverbs 22:6.
Also, children should be given increasing responsibilities as they grow older. The goal of effective parenting is to equip the child gradually to completely responsible as an adult. The child is continually growing, given more freedom to decide its own affairs. Again, the teenager must understand that he will accept responsibility for the consequences of his decisions, and that his parents are not there always "save" in trouble.
The Role of Parents Teaching
As we read in Ephesians 6:4, fathers are not only responsible to teach their children discipline, but also expected to teach in the Lord. The church is not responsible for the naming of the biblical teaching about ethics, or theology Christian attitude - is the work of the father. Parents who relinquish all responsibility for the Sunday School teacher teach their children about God are very much mistaken. God commanded the Israelites, through Moses:And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall uketipo in your house and when you walk by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deut. 6:6, 7. Emphasis added).
Christian parents teach their children about God from them young, telling them who He is and how much He loves them. Teach young children the story of Jesus' birth, life, death and resurrection. Most children are able to understand the message of the Gospel when the age of five or six, and they can make a decision to follow Christ. After so (by age six or seven, and sometimes even younger), they can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues as a sign that they are filled. Nevertheless, we can not set rules about this, because every child is different. The point is that Christian parents should provide the first opportunity to teach their children spiritual things.
The Ten Commandments for Loving Your Children
1). Usiwatie your children difficult places (see Ephesians 6:4). Children can not be expected to act like adults. Ukitazamia too much from your children, they will quit trying to please you, they know it is impossible.2). Do not compare your child with other children. Introduce how you enjoyed their unique characteristics or their talents and gifts from God. Accept them as they are.
3). Give them responsibilities at home, so they know that they are a very important part of the family. Accomplishments are brick yanayojenga confidence in one's life.
4). Spend time with your children. That lets them know that they are important to you. Giving things is no substitute for you commit to them. Moreover, children are influenced more by those who spend a lot of time with them.
5). If you must say something wrong, try to say the beauty. I never told my children that are "bad" they left me. Instead, I'd say to my son, "You're a good boy and good boys do not do what you just did!" (Then I was namchapa hippopotamus.)
6). Notice that the word "no" means "I care." Children are permitted things every time they recognize their mother cared enough to far as to forbid anything at any time.
7). Expect your children to imitate you. Children learn from the example of their parents. The wise parent will not tell her, "Do as I say. Do not do as I do. "
8). Usiwaokoe your kids and all their problems. Subtract only stumbling stone, stepping stones remain stopped in front of them.
9). Serve (and follow) God with all your heart. I found that children of parents who do not follow the spiritual calm God as adults. Christian children of parents who are not saved, and the children of Christian parents who are totally committed to God and salvation continues even "out of the nest" - at home.
10). Teach your children the Word of God. Parents often provides the first opportunity for the education of their children, and the failure to give the most important education they can get - the knowledge of the Bible.
Priorities of Ministry, Marriage and Family
Perhaps the most common mistake lifanywalo and Christian leaders are neglecting their marriages and their families because of the commitment to service. Wanajihesabia fair to say that their sacrifice is "for the work of the Lord."This error rekebika minister when making disciple realized that his true loyalty and dedication to God appears to him by his relationship with his wife and children. Servant can not claim to be devoted to God if you do not like his wife as Christ loves the church, or if he neglects to spend the time necessary with his children, to care for and look after the awe and fear of the Lord.
Again, neglecting one's spouse and children because of "service" is a sign of physical care that is being done by the power of the individual. Many pastors with churches who carry heavy loads is an example of this, because they are cumbersome to ensure that every process of the church is going well.
Jesus promised that His burden is light and His yoke is easy (see Matthew 11:30). Hamwiti any minister to show his devotion for the world or the church at the expense of loving his family. Characteristics of the old one is, "be a man manages his own household well" (1 Tim 3:4). His relationship with his family is a measure of its ability to do ministry.
Those who are called to the service of travel and who have been out of the house often must spend extra time thinking about their families when they are at home. Other partners in the body of Christ to do possible to achieve it. Making minister disciple realized that his own children his first disciples. Akishindwa there, has no right to try to teach others who are outside of his home students.
The question of divorce and remarriage
Divorce and Remarriage
The subject of divorce and remarriage is one that is often debated among sincere Christians. Two fundamental questions are the basis of that debate: (1) When, if ever, is divorce permissible in God's eyes? and (2) When, if ever, is remarriage permissible in God's eyes? Most denominations and independent churches have an official doctrinal stance on what is permissible and what is not, based on their particular interpretation of Scripture. We should respect them all for having convictions and living by them—if their convictions are motivated by their love for God. It would surely be best, however, if all of us held convictions that are 100% scriptural. The disciple-making minister does not want to teach what falls short of what God intends. Neither does he want to place burdens upon people that God never intended for them to carry. With that goal in mind, I'm going to do my best to interpret Scripture on this controversial topic and let you decide if you agree or disagree.Let me begin by telling you that I am, like you, grieved that divorce is so rampant in the world today. Even more grievous is the fact that so many professing Christians are divorcing, including those in the ministry. This is a great tragedy. We need to do all we can to prevent this from happening more, and the best solution to the divorce problem is to preach the gospel and call people to repentance. When two married people are genuinely born again and both are following Christ, they'll never be divorced. The disciple-making minister will do all he can to make his own marriage strong, knowing that his example is his most influential means of teaching.
May I also add that I've been happily married for over twenty-five years and have never been previously married. I can't imagine ever being divorced. So I have no motive to soften difficult divorce scriptures for my own sake. I do, however, possess a strong sympathy for divorced people, knowing that I could have easily made a bad decision as a young man myself, marrying someone who I would have later been sorely tempted to divorce, or someone less tolerant of me than the wonderful woman I did marry. In other words, I could have ended up divorced, but I have not because of the grace of God. I think that most married people can relate to what I'm saying, and so we need to restrain ourselves from throwing stones at divorced people. Who are we, who have low-maintenance marriages, to condemn divorced persons, having no idea what they might have endured? God might consider them to be much more righteous than us, as He knows that we, under the same circumstances, would have divorced much sooner.
No one who marries expects to be ultimately divorced, and I don't think anyone hates divorce more than those who have suffered through it. So we should try and help married people stay married, and help divorced people find whatever grace God might be offering. It is in that spirit which I write.
I will do my best to allow scripture to interpret scripture. I've noticed that verses on this subject are often interpreted in such a way that they contradict other scriptures, which is a sure indication that those verses have been misunderstood, at least in part.
A Foundation
Let us begin with a foundational truth with which we can all agree. Most fundamentally, Scripture affirms that God is very much against divorce in general. During a time when some Israelite men were divorcing their wives, He declared through His prophet Malachi:
I hate divorce...and him who covers his garment with
wrong....So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously (Mal.
2:16).
This should not surprise anyone who knows something about the loving and
just character of God, or anyone who knows something about how divorce damages
husbands, wives and children. We would have to question the moral character of
anyone who was in favor of divorce in a general way. God is love (see 1 John
4:8), and thus He hates divorce. Some Pharisees once asked Jesus a question regarding the lawfulness of divorce "for any cause." His response reveals His fundamental disapproval of divorce. In fact, divorce was never His intention for anyone:
And some Pharisees came to Him, testing Him, and saying,
"Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause at all?"
And He answered and said, "Have you not read, that He who created them
from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'For this cause a man
shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two
shall become one flesh'? Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh.
What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate" (Matt.
19:3-6).
Historically, we know that there were two schools of thought among Jewish
religious leaders in Jesus' day. We'll explore those two schools of thought in
more detail later, but suffice it for now to say that one was conservative and
one was liberal. The conservatives believed that a man was only permitted to
divorce his wife for very serious moral reasons. The liberals believed that a
man could divorce his wife for just about any reason, including even finding a
more attractive woman. These contradicting convictions were the very basis of
the Pharisees' question to Jesus. Jesus appealed to verses of Scripture from the earliest pages of Genesis that show how God's original plan was to join men and women together permanently , not temporarily. Moses declared that God made the two sexes with marriage in mind, and that marriage is such a significant relationship that it becomes the primary relationship. Once it is established, it ranks higher than one's relationship with his or her parents. Men leave their parents to cleave to their wives.
Moreover, the sexual union between man and wife points to their God-ordained oneness. Obviously, such a relationship, one that results in offspring, was not meant by God to be temporary, but meant to be permanent. I suspect that the tone of Jesus' response to the Pharisees indicated His grave disappointment that such a question was even being asked. God certainly did not intend that men would divorce their wives "for any cause."
Of course, God did not intend that anyone sin in any way, but all of us have. Mercifully, God made provision to rescue us from our slavery to sin. Moreover, He has some things to say to us after we have done what He did not want us to do. Likewise, God never intended for anyone to divorce, but divorce was inevitable among humans not submitted to God. God was not surprised at the first divorce or the millions of subsequent divorces. And so He not only declares His hatred of divorce, but He also has some things to say to people after they've been divorced.
In the Beginning
With this foundation laid, we can begin to explore more specifically what God has declared about divorce and remarriage. Since the most controversial statements about divorce and remarriage are those spoken by Jesus to Israelites, it will help us to first study what God said hundreds of years before on the same subject to earlier Israelites. If we find that what God said through Moses and what God said through Jesus are contradictory, we can be sure that either God's law changed or that we've misinterpreted something said by either Moses or Jesus. So let us begin with what God first revealed regarding divorce and remarriage.I've already made mention of the passage in Genesis 2 that, according to Jesus, has some relevance to the subject of divorce. This time, let's read it straight from the Genesis account:
And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had
taken from the man, and brought her to the man. And the man said, "This is
now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because
she was taken out of Man."
For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to
his wife; and they shall become one flesh (Gen. 2:22-24).
Here then is the origin of marriage. God made the first woman from the
first man and for the first man, and personally brought her
to him. In the words of Jesus, " God ...joined [them]
together" (Matt. 19:6, emphasis added). This first God-ordained marriage
set the pattern for all subsequent marriages. God creates about the same number
of women as men, and He creates them so that they are attracted to the opposite
sex. So it could be said that God is still into arranging marriages on a grand
scale (even though there are many more prospective mates for each individual
than there were for Adam and Eve). Therefore, as Jesus pointed out, no human
should separate what God joins together. It was not God's
intention that the original couple live separate lives, but that they would
find blessing in living together in mutual dependence. A violation of God's
clearly revealed will would constitute sin. Thus, from the second chapter of
the Bible, it is an established fact that divorce was not God's intention for
any marriage.God's Law Written in Hearts
I would also like to suggest that even those who have never read the second chapter of Genesis instinctively know that divorce is wrong, as the covenant of lifetime marriage is practiced in many pagan cultures where the people have no biblical knowledge. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans:
For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively
the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in
that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience
bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them
(Rom. 2:14-15).
God's code of ethics is written on every human heart. In fact, that code of
ethics that speaks through the conscience is all the law that God ever gave anyone
, except the people of Israel,
from Adam until the time of Jesus. Anyone even contemplating a divorce
will find that he has to deal with his conscience. And the only way that he can
overcome his conscience is to find some good justification for divorce. If he
proceeds with a divorce without a good justification, his conscience will
condemn him, although he may well suppress it. As far as we know, for 27 generations from Adam until the giving of the Law of Moses to Israel around 1440 BC, the law of the conscience was all the revelation that God gave to anyone, the Israelites included, regarding divorce and remarriage, and God considered that to be sufficient. (Remember that Moses didn't pen the Genesis 2 creation account until the time of the Exodus.) It certainly seems reasonable to think that, during those 27 generations before the Mosaic Law, which included the time of Noah's flood, some of the millions of marriages during those hundreds of years ended in divorce. It also seems reasonable to conclude that God, who never changes, was willing to forgive those who incurred guilt from divorce if they confessed and repented of their sin. We are certain that people could be saved, or declared righteous by God, before the giving of the Law of Moses, as was Abraham, through his faith (see Rom. 4:1-12). If people could be declared righteous through their faith from Adam until Moses, that means they could be forgiven of anything, including sin incurred in divorce. Thus, as we begin to probe the subject of divorce and remarriage, I wonder, Would people who incurred sin in divorce before the Mosaic Law and who received forgiveness from God then be convicted by their conscience (since there was no written law) that they would incur guilt if they remarried? I only pose the question.
What about divorce victims who had not incurred sin, those who were divorced through no fault of their own, but only because of selfish spouses? Would their consciences have prohibited them from remarrying? That would seem unlikely to me. If a man abandoned his wife for another woman, what would ever lead her to conclude that she had no right to remarry? She had been divorced through no fault of her own.
The Law of Moses
It is not until we come to the third book of the Bible that we find divorce and remarriage specifically mentioned. Contained within the Law of Moses was a prohibition against priests marrying divorced women:
They shall not take a woman who is profaned by harlotry, nor
shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God
(Lev. 21:7).
Nowhere within the Law of Moses is there such a prohibition addressed to the
general population of Israelite men. Moreover, the just-quoted verse implies
(1) that there were divorced Israelite women and (2) that there would be
nothing wrong with non-priestly Israelite men marrying women who had been
previously married. The above-quoted law applies only to priests and divorced
women who might marry priests. There was nothing wrong under the Law of Moses with
any divorced woman remarrying, just as long as she didn't marry a priest. And
there was nothing wrong with any man, other than a priest, marrying a divorced
woman. The high priest (perhaps as a supreme type of Christ) was required to live by even higher standards than regular priests. He was not even permitted to marry a widow . We read just a few verses later in Leviticus:
A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by
harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own
people (Lev. 21:14).
Does this verse prove that it was sinful for any and all Israelite
widows to ever remarry or that it was sinful for any and all Israelite
men to marry widows? No, certainly not. In fact this verse strongly implies
that it would not be sinful for any widow to marry any man as
long as he wasn't the high priest. And it strongly implies that any man besides
a high priest was permitted to marry a widow. Other scriptures affirm the
complete legitimacy of widows remarrying (see Rom. 7:2-3; 1 Tim.5:14). This verse also implies, along with the previous verse we considered (Lev. 21:7), that that there would be nothing wrong for any Israelite man (other than a priest or high priest) to marry a divorced woman or even a woman who was not a virgin, "profaned by harlotry." It likewise implies that, under the Law of Moses, there was nothing wrong for a divorced woman to remarry or for a woman "profaned by harlotry" to marry, just as long as she didn't marry a priest. God graciously gave both fornicators and divorcees another chance, even though He was very opposed to both fornication and divorce.
A Second Specific Prohibition Against Remarriage
How many "second chances" did God give divorced women? Should we conclude that God gave divorced women just one more chance under the Law of Moses, permitting just one remarriage? That would be a wrong conclusion. We read later in the Law of Moses,
When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that
she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and
he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her
out from his house, and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man's
wife, and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate
of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the
latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who
sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has
been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not
bring sin on the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance
(Deut. 24:1-4).
Note that, in these verses, the sole prohibition was against the
twice-divorced woman (or once-divorced once-widowed woman) remarrying her first
husband. Nothing is said about her incurring guilt for remarrying the second
time. And once she was divorced the second time (or widowed from her second
husband), she was only prohibited from going back to her first husband.
The clear implication is that she would be free to remarry any other man (who
is willing to take the chance on her). If it were a sin for her to remarry
anyone else, then there would have been no need for God to give this kind of
specific instructions. All he would have had to say was, "Divorced people
are forbidden to remarry." Moreover, if God permitted this woman to marry a second time, then the man who married her after her first divorce could not have been incurring guilt either. And if she was permitted to be married a third time, then any man who married her after she was twice divorced would not be sinning (unless he had been her first husband). So the God who hated divorce loved divorced people, and He mercifully offered them another chance.
A Summary
Let me summarize what we've discovered so far: Even though God declared His hatred of divorce, He gave no indication before or during the old covenant that remarriage was a sin, with these two exceptions: (1) the twice-divorced or once-divorced once-widowed woman remarrying her first husband and (2) the case of a divorced woman marrying a priest. Furthermore, God gave no indication that marrying a divorced person was a sin for anyone except priests.This stands in apparent contrast to what Jesus stated about divorced people who remarry and those who marry divorced persons. Jesus said such people commit adultery (see Matt. 5:32). So we are either misunderstanding Jesus or Moses, or God changed His law. My suspicion is that we might be misinterpreting what Jesus taught, because it would seem strange that God would suddenly declare something to be morally sinful that was morally acceptable for fifteen hundred years under a Law that He gave to Israel.
Before we tackle this apparent contradiction more fully, may I also point out that God's permission of remarriage under the old covenant did not carry any stipulations that were based on the reasons for one's divorce or the degree of guilt one incurred in the divorce. God never said that certain divorced people were disqualified from being remarried because their divorce was not for legitimate reasons. He never said that some people were uniquely worthy to remarry because of the legitimacy of their divorce. Yet such judgments are often attempted by modern ministers based on one-sided testimony. For example, a divorced woman tries to convince her pastor that she is worthy to be permitted to be remarried because she was just the victim of her divorce. Her former husband divorced her--she didn't divorce him. But if that pastor was given an opportunity to hear her former husband's side of the story, he might become somewhat sympathetic for him. Perhaps she was a beast and shares some blame.
I've known a husband and wife who both tried to provoke the other to file for divorce so that they could avoid the guilt of being the person who filed for the divorce. They both wanted to be able to say after the divorce that it was their spouse, not them, who filed for divorce, thus making their subsequent second marriages lawful. We may be able to fool people, but we can't fool God. For example, what is His appraisal of the woman who, in disobedience to God's Word, continually withholds sex from her husband and then divorces him because he became unfaithful to her? Is she not at least partly responsible for the divorce?
The case of the twice-divorced woman we just read about from Deuteronomy 24 does not say anything about the legitimacy of her two divorces. Her first husband found some "indecency" in her. If that "indecency" had been adultery, she would have been worthy of death according to the Law of Moses, which prescribed that adulterers be stoned (see Lev. 20:10). So, if adultery is the only legitimate reason for divorce, perhaps her first husband did not have good reason to divorce her. On the other hand, perhaps she had committed adultery, and he, being a righteous man like Mary's Joseph, "desired to put her away secretly" (Matt. 1:19). There are many possible scenarios.
Her second husband is said to have simply "turned against her." Once again, we don't know who was to blame or if they shared the blame. But it doesn't make any difference. God's grace was extended to her to remarry anyone who would take the chance on a twice-divorced woman, with the exception of her first husband.
An Objection
"But if people are told that it is lawful for them to remarry after divorcing for any reason, that will encourage them to divorce for illegitimate reasons," it is often claimed. I suppose that might be true in some cases of religious people who are not truly attempting to please God. But trying to restrain people from sinning who are not submitted to God is a fairly useless exercise. People who are truly submitted to God in their hearts, however, are not trying to find ways to sin. They are trying to please God. And those kinds of people usually have strong marriages. Moreover, apparently God was not too concerned about people under the old covenant divorcing for illegitimate reasons due to a liberal law of remarriage, because He gave Israel a liberal law of remarriage.Should we avoid telling people that God is willing to forgive them of any sin, lest they be encouraged to sin because they know that forgiveness is available? If so, we'll have to stop preaching the gospel. Again, it all comes down to the condition of people's hearts. Those who love God want to obey Him. I know very well that God's forgiveness would be available for me if I ask for it, no matter what sin I might commit. But that doesn't motivate me at all to sin, because I love God and have been born again. I've been transformed by God's grace. I want to please Him.
God knows there is no need to add one more negative consequence to the many unavoidable negative consequences of divorce in hopes of motivating people to remain married. Telling people with troubled marriages that they better not divorce because they will not be permitted to ever remarry provides very little motivation for staying married. Even if he believes you, the prospect of a life of singleness compared to a life of continual marital misery sounds like heaven to the miserably-married person.
Paul on Remarriage
Before we tackle the problem of harmonizing Jesus' words on remarriage with Moses', we need to realize there is one more biblical author who agrees with Moses, and his name is Paul the apostle. Paul clearly wrote that remarriage for those divorced is not a sin, agreeing with what the Old Testament says:
Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I
give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. I think
then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a
man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released.
Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you should marry, you have not sinned ; and if a
virgin should marry, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this
life, and I am trying to spare you (1 Cor. 7:25-28, emphasis added).
There is no doubt that Paul was addressing divorced people in this passage.
He advised the married, the never-married, and the divorced to remain in their
current state because of the persecution that Christians were suffering at that
time. However, Paul clearly stated that divorced people and virgins would not
sin if they married. Note that Paul didn't qualify the lawfulness of remarriage of divorced persons. He didn't say remarriage was only permitted if the divorced person shared no blame in his previous divorce. (And what person is qualified to judge such a thing as that other than God?) He didn't say remarriage was only permitted for those who had been divorced prior to their salvation. No, he simply stated that remarriage is not a sin for divorced persons.
Was Paul Soft on Divorce?
Because Paul endorsed a gracious policy on remarriage, does that mean he was also soft on divorce? No, Paul was clearly opposed to divorce in general. Earlier in the same chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians, he laid down a law on divorce that harmonizes with God's hatred of divorce:
But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord,
that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, let her
remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband
should not send his wife away. But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any
brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, let
him not send her away. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents
to live with her, let her not send her husband away. For the unbelieving
husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified
through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now
they are holy. Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or
the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace.
For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you
know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? Only, as the Lord has
assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And
thus I direct in all the churches (1 Cor. 7:10-17).
Note that Paul first addressed believers who are married to believers. They
should not divorce, of course, and Paul states that this is not his
instruction, but the Lord's instruction. And that certainly agrees with
everything we've considered in the Bible so far. Here is where it gets interesting. Paul was obviously realistic enough to realize that even believers might divorce in rare cases. If that occurs, Paul stated that the person who divorced his spouse should remain unmarried or be reconciled to his or her spouse. (Although Paul gives these specific instructions to wives, I assume the same rules would apply to husbands.)
Again, what Paul writes does not surprise us. He first laid down God's law regarding divorce, but is intelligent enough to know that God's law might not always be obeyed. So when the sin of divorce occurs between two believers, he gives further instructions. The person who divorced his spouse should remain unmarried or be reconciled to his or her spouse. That would certainly be the best thing in the event of divorce between believers. As long as they both remain unmarried, there is hope of their reconciliation, and that would be best. Of course, if one of two remarries, that ends the hope and possibility of reconciliation. (And obviously, if they had committed an unpardonable sin by divorce, there would be little reason for Paul to tell them to remain unmarried or be reconciled.)
Do you suppose that Paul was intelligent enough to know that his second directive to divorced believers might not always be obeyed? I would think so. Perhaps he gave no further directive to divorced believers because he expected that true believers would follow his first directive to not divorce, and thus only for extremely rare cases was his second directive even needed. Surely true followers of Christ, if they had marital problems, would do all they could to preserve their marriage. And surely a believer who, after every attempt to preserve the marriage, felt he or she had no alternative but to divorce, surely that believer out of personal shame and desire to honor Christ would not consider remarrying anyone else, and would still hope for reconciliation. It seems to me that the real problem in the modern Church regarding divorce is that there is such a high percentage of false believers, people who have never truly believed in and thus submitted to the Lord Jesus.
It is quite clear from what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7 that God has higher expectations of believers, people who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, than He does of unbelievers. Paul wrote, as we read, that believers should not divorce their unbelieving spouses as long as their unbelieving spouses are willing to live with them. Once again, this directive does not surprise us, as it lines up perfectly with everything else we've read in Scripture on the subject. God is against divorce. Paul goes on to say, however, that if the unbelieving one wants to divorce, the believer is to allow it. Paul knows that the unbeliever is not submitted to God, and so he doesn't expect the unbeliever to act like a believer. May I add that when a non-believer consents to live with a believer, it would be a good indication that either the non-believer is potentially open to the gospel, or the believer is backslidden or a phony Christian.
Now, who would say that the believer who has been divorced by an unbeliever is not free to remarry? Paul never says such a thing, as he did in the case of two believers who were divorced . We would have to wonder why God would be opposed to the remarriage of the believer who had been divorced by an unbeliever. What purpose would that serve? Yet such an allowance apparently stands in opposition to what Jesus said about remarriage: "Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery" (Matt. 5:32). This, again, makes me suspect that we have misinterpreted what Jesus was trying to communicate.
The Problem
Jesus, Moses and Paul clearly all agree that divorce is an indication of sin on the part of one or both parties of the divorce. All are consistently against divorce in general. But here is our problem: How do we reconcile what Moses and Paul said about remarriage with what Jesus said about remarriage? Certainly we should expect that they should harmonize since all were inspired by God to say what they said.Let's examine exactly what Jesus did say and consider to whom He was speaking. Twice in Matthew's Gospel we find Jesus addressing the subject of divorce and remarriage, once during the Sermon on the Mount and once when He was questioned by some Pharisees. Let's begin with Jesus' conversation with those Pharisees:
Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking,
"Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?"
And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from
the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man shall
leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become
one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has
joined together, let no man separate." They said to Him, "Why then
did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?"
He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to
divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say
to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another
woman commits adultery" (Matt. 19:3-9).
During this conversation with Jesus, the Pharisees referred to a portion of
the Mosaic Law that I mentioned earlier, Deuteronomy 24:1-4. There it was
written, "When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she
finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her,
and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends
her out from his house..." (Deut. 24:1, emphasis added). In Jesus' day, there were two schools of thought concerning what constituted an "indecency." About twenty years before, a rabbi named Hillel taught that an indecency was an irreconcilable difference. By the time Jesus had His debate with the Pharisees, the "Hillel" interpretation had become even more liberal, allowing divorce for just about "any cause," as the Pharisees' question to Jesus indicates. One could divorce his wife if she burned his dinner, put too much salt on his food, spun around in public so her knees were exposed, took her hair down, spoke to another man, said something unkind about her mother-in-law, or was infertile. A man could even divorce his wife if he saw someone who was more attractive, thus making his wife "indecent."
Another famous rabbi, Shammai, who lived prior to Hillel, taught that an "indecency" was only something very immoral, such as adultery. As you might suspect, among the Pharisees of Jesus' day, Hillel's liberal interpretation was much more popular than Shammai's. The Pharisees lived and taught that divorce was lawful for any cause, and so divorce was rampant. And the Pharisees, in their typical pharisaical way, emphasized the importance of giving your wife a divorce certificate when you divorced her, so as "not to break the Law of Moses."
Don't Forget that Jesus was Speaking to Pharisees
With this background in mind, we can better understand what Jesus was up against. Before Him stood a group of hypocritical religious teachers, many of whom, if not all, had divorced one or more times, and most likely because they had found more attractive mates. (I think it is no coincidence that Jesus' words about divorce in the Sermon on the Mount directly follow His warnings regarding lust, also calling it a form of adultery.) Yet they were justifying themselves, claiming to have kept the Law of Moses.Their question itself reveals their bias. They clearly believed one could divorce his wife for any cause at all. Jesus exposed their very flawed understanding of God's intention in marriage by appealing to Moses' words about marriage in Genesis chapter 2. God never intended that there be any divorces, much less divorce "for any cause," yet the leaders of Israel were divorcing their wives like teenagers break up with their "steadies"!
I suspect that the Pharisees already knew Jesus' stand on divorce, as He had stated it publicly before. And so they were ready with their rebuttal: "Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?" (Matt. 19:7).
This question again reveals their bias. It is phrased in such a way that makes it sound as if Moses was commanding men to divorce their wives when they discovered an "indecency," and requiring a proper divorce certificate. But as we know from reading Deuteronomy 24:1-4, that is not what Moses was saying at all. He was only regulating a woman's third marriage, prohibiting her from remarrying her first husband.
Since Moses mentioned divorce, divorce must have been permitted for some reason. But notice how the verb Jesus used in His response, permitted , contrasts with the Pharisees' choice of verbs: commanded . Moses permitted divorce; he never commanded it. And the reason Moses permitted divorce was because of the hardness of the hearts of the Israelites. That is, God permitted divorce as a merciful concession to people's sinfulness. He knew that people would be unfaithful to their spouses. He knew there would be immoralities. He knew people's hearts would be broken. And so He made allowance for divorce. It wasn't what He had originally intended, but sin made it necessary.
Next, Jesus laid down God's law to the Pharisees, defining what Moses' "indecency" really was: "Whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality , and marries another woman commits adultery" (Matt. 19:9, emphasis added). In God's eyes, immorality is the only valid reason for a man to divorce his wife. And I can understand that. What could either a man or woman do that would be more offensive to his or her spouse? When one commits adultery or has an affair, he/she sends a brutal message. And certainly Jesus was not just referring to adultery when He used the word "immorality." Surely passionate kissing and fondling someone else's mate would be a very offensive immorality, as would the practice of viewing pornography, and other sexual perversions. Remember that Jesus equated lust with adultery during His Sermon on the Mount.
Let us not forget to whom Jesus was speaking--Pharisees who were divorcing their wives for any cause and quickly remarrying, but who would, God forbid, never commit adultery lest they break the seventh commandment. Jesus was telling them that they were only fooling themselves. What they were doing was no different than adultery. And that makes perfect sense. Anyone who is honest can see that a man who divorces his wife so that he can marry another woman is doing what an adulterer does, but under a guise of
The Solution
This is the key to harmonizing Jesus with Moses and Paul. Jesus was simply exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He was not laying down a law that forbids any remarriage. If He was, He was contradicting Moses and Paul, and creating a confusing mess for millions of divorced and millions of remarried people. If Jesus was laying down a law of remarriage, then what should we tell those who have been divorced and remarried before they heard about Jesus' law? Shall we tell them that they are living in adulterous relationships, and, knowing that the Bible warns that no adulterers will inherit God's kingdom (see 1 Cor. 6:9-10), instruct them to divorce again? But doesn't God hate divorce?Shall we tell them to cease having sex with their spouses until their former spouses die to thus avoid regularly committing adultery? But does not Paul forbid married couples from withholding sex from each other? And would not such a recommendation lead to sexual temptations and even foster desires for ex-spouses to die?
Shall we tell such people to divorce their current spouses and remarry their original spouses (as advocated by some), something that was forbidden under Mosaic Law in Deuteronomy 24:1-4?
And what about divorced people who have not been remarried? If they are only permitted to remarry if their former spouse committed some immorality, who will take it upon himself to determine if an immorality was actually committed? In order to remarry, will some people be required to prove that their former spouse was only guilty of lust, while others will need to bring forth witnesses to their former spouses' affairs?
As I asked earlier, what about cases where a former spouse committed adultery due in part to being married to a person who withheld sex? Is it is fair that the person who withheld sex be permitted to remarry while the person who committed adultery not be permitted to be remarried?
What about the person who committed fornication prior to marriage? Is not his or her fornication an unfaithful act towards a future spouse? Would not that person's sin be equivalent to adultery had he or his sexual partner been married at the time of their sin? Why then is that person permitted to marry?
What about two people who live together, unmarried, who then "break up." Why are they permitted to marry someone else after their breakup, just because they weren't officially married? How are they different than those who divorce and remarry?
What about the fact that "old things pass away" and "all things become new" when a person becomes a Christian (see 2 Cor. 5:17)? Does that really mean every sin committed except the sin of illegitimate divorce?
All of these and many more questions[1] could be asked that are strong reasons to think that Jesus was not laying down a new law concerning remarriage. Certainly Jesus was intelligent enough to realize the ramifications of His new law of remarriage if that is what it was. That in itself is enough to tell us that He was only exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees—lustful, religious, hypocritical men who were divorcing their wives for "any cause" and remarrying.
Surely the reason Jesus said they were "committing adultery" rather than simply saying that what they were doing was wrong is because He wanted them to see that divorce for any cause and subsequent remarriage is really no different than adultery, something they claimed to never do. Are we to conclude that the only thing Jesus was concerned about was the sexual aspect of a remarriage, and that He would approve of remarriage as long as there was abstinence from sex? Obviously not. So let us not make Him say what He never meant.
A Thoughtful Comparison
Let us imagine two people. One is a married man, religious, who claims to love God with all his heart, and who begins to lust for a younger woman next door. Soon he divorces his wife and then quickly marries the girl of his fantasies.The other man is not religious. He has never heard the gospel, and lives a sinful lifestyle, which ultimately costs him his marriage. Some years later, as a single man, he hears the gospel, repents, and begins following Jesus with all his heart. Three years later he falls in love with a very committed Christian woman whom he meets at his church. They both diligently seek the Lord and the counsel of others, and then decide to get married. They do get married, and serve the Lord and each other faithfully until death.
Now, let us assume that both men have sinned in getting remarried. Which of the two has the greater sin? Clearly, the first man. He is just like an adulterer.
But what about the second man? Does it really seem that he has sinned? Can it be said that he is no different than an adulterer, as can be said to the first man? I don't think so. Shall we tell him what Jesus said about those who divorce and remarry, informing him that he is now living with a woman whom God did not join him to, because God considers him still married to his first wife? Shall we tell him that he is living in adultery?
The answers are obvious. Adultery is committed by married people who get their eyes on someone other than their spouse. So divorcing one's spouse because one has found a more attractive mate is just like adultery. But an unmarried person cannot commit adultery since he has no spouse to be unfaithful to, and neither can a divorced person commit adultery since he has no spouse to which he can be unfaithful. Once we understand the biblical and historical context of what Jesus said, we don't come up with conclusions that make no sense and that contradict the rest of the Bible.
Incidentally, when the disciples heard Jesus' response to the Pharisees' question, they responded by saying, "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry" (Matt. 19:10). Realize that they had grown up under the teaching and influence of the Pharisees, and within a culture that was greatly influenced by the Pharisees. They had never considered that marriage was to be so permanent. In fact, up until a few minutes before, they too probably believed it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause. So they quickly concluded it might be best to just avoid marriage all together, and not risk committing divorce and adultery.
Jesus responded,
Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to
whom it has given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their
mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there
are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of
heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it (Matt. 19:11-12).
That is, one's sexual drive and/or one's ability to control it is more of
the determining factor. Even Paul said, "It is better to marry than to
burn" (1 Cor. 7:9). Those who are born eunuchs or who are made eunuchs by
men (as was done by men who needed other men whom they could trust to guard their
harems) have no sexual desire. Those who make "themselves eunuchs for the
sake of the kingdom of heaven" would seem to be those who are specially
gifted by God with extra self-control, which is why "not all men can
accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given" (Matt.
19:11). Sermon on the Mount
We should keep in mind that the crowd to whom Jesus spoke during His Sermon on the Mount were also people who had spent their lives under the hypocritical influence of the Pharisees, the rulers and teachers in Israel. As we learned in our earlier study of the Sermon on the Mount, it is obvious that much of what Jesus said was nothing less than a correction of the false teaching of the Pharisees. Jesus even told the crowd that they would not get into heaven unless their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees (see Matt. 5:20), which was another way of saying that the scribes and Pharisees were going to hell. At the end of His sermon, the crowds were amazed, in part, because Jesus was teaching "not as their scribes" (Matt. 7:29).Early in His sermon, Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of those who claim to never have committed adultery, but who lust or who divorce and remarry. He expanded the meaning of adultery beyond the physical sinful act between two people who are married. And what He said would have been obvious to any honest person who would have just given it a little thought. But keep in mind that, until Jesus' sermon, most of the people in the crowd would have thought that it was lawful to divorce for "any cause." Jesus wanted His followers and everyone else to know that God's intention from the beginning was a much higher standard.
You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit
adultery"; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust
for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if your right
eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for
you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be
thrown into hell. And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off, and
throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body
perish, than for your whole body to go into hell. And it was said, 'Whoever
sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce'; but I say to
you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the cause of unchastity,
makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits
adultery (Matt. 5:27-32).
First, as I pointed out earlier, notice that Jesus' words about divorce and
remarriage not only directly follow His words about lust, linking them to that
degree, but that Jesus equates both as being adultery, linking them
even more so. So we see the common thread that runs through this entire portion
of Scripture. Jesus was helping His followers understand what obeying the
seventh commandment actual entails. It means not committing lust and not
divorcing and remarrying. Everyone in His Jewish audience had heard the seventh commandment read in the synagogue (no one owned personal Bibles), and they had heard the exposition as well as observed its application in the lives of their teachers, the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus next said, "but I say to you," but He wasn't about to add new laws. He was only going to reveal God's original intent.
First, lust was clearly forbidden by the tenth commandment, and even without the tenth commandment, anyone who thought about it would have realized that it is wrong to long with desire to do what God condemns.
Second, from the earliest chapters of Genesis, God made it clear that marriage was to be a lifelong commitment. Moreover, anyone who thought about it would have concluded that divorce and remarriage is much like adultery, especially when one divorces with the intent to remarry.
But again in this sermon, it is clear that Jesus was only helping people to see the truth about lust and the truth about divorce for any cause and remarriage. He was not laying down a new law of remarriage that had heretofore not been "on the books."
It is interesting that very few in the church have ever taken Jesus' words about plucking out their eyes or cutting off their hands literally, as such ideas run so counter to the rest of Scripture, and they clearly serve only to make a strong point about avoiding sexual temptation. Yet so many in the church attempt to interpret quite literally Jesus' words about the remarried person committing adultery, even when such a literal interpretation contradicts so much of the rest of Scripture. Jesus' goal was to get His listeners to face up to the truth, with the hope that there would be much fewer divorces. If His followers would take to heart what He said about lust, there would be no immorality among them. If there was no immorality, there would be no legitimate grounds for divorce, and there would be no divorce, just as God had intended from the beginning.
How Does a Man Make His Wife Commit Adultery?
Note that Jesus said, "Everyone who divorces his wife, except for the cause of unchastity, makes her commit adultery ." This again leads us to believe that He was not laying down a new law of remarriage, but only revealing the truth about the sin of a man who divorces his wife without a good cause. He "makes her commit adultery." Some say that Jesus was thus prohibiting her remarriage, because He makes it to be adultery. But that is absurd. The emphasis is on the sin of the man doing the divorcing. Because of what he does, his wife will have no other choice but to remarry, which is no sin on her part as she was just the victim of her husband's selfishness. In God's eyes, however, because the man left his wife destitute with no other choice but to remarry, it was just as if he forced his wife into bed with another man. So the one who thinks he has not committed adultery is held guilty for a double adultery, his and his wife's.Jesus could not have been saying that God held the victimized wife to be guilty of adultery, as that would be completely unfair, and in fact would be utterly meaningless if the victimized wife never remarried. How could God say she was an adulteress unless she remarried? It would make no sense whatsoever. Thus it is plain to see that God is holding the man guilty for his own adultery, and the "adultery" of his wife, which is really not adultery at all for her. It is lawful remarriage.
And what about Jesus' next statement that "whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery"? There are only two possibilities that make any sense. Either Jesus was now adding a third count of adultery against the man who thinks he has never committed adultery (for a similar reason as He added the second count), or Jesus was speaking of the man who encourages a woman to divorce her husband in order to marry her so as "not to commit adultery." If Jesus was saying that any man on earth who marries a divorced woman is committing adultery, then every Israelite man during the previous hundreds of years committed adultery who, in complete compliance with the Law of Moses, married a divorced woman. In fact, every man in Jesus' audience that day who was presently married to a divorced woman in full compliance with the Mosaic Law suddenly become guilty of what he was not guilty just one minute before, and Jesus must have changed God's law at that moment. Moreover, every person in the future who married a divorced person, trusting Paul's words in his letter to the Corinthians that such was not a sin, was actually sinning, committing adultery.
The entire spirit of the Bible would lead me to admire a man who married a divorced woman. If she had been a blameless victim of her former husband's selfishness, I would admire him as much as I admire a man who marries a widow, taking her under his care. If she bore some blame for her previous divorce, I would admire him for his Christ-likeness in believing the best of her, and for his grace in offering to forget the past and take a risk. Why would anyone who has read the Bible and who has the Holy Spirit living in him conclude that Jesus was forbidding everyone from marrying any divorced person? How does such a view fit with God's justice, a justice that would never punish someone for being a victim, as is the case of the woman who is divorced through no fault of her own? How does such a view fit with the message of the gospel, which offers forgiveness and another chance to repentant sinners?
In Summary
The Bible consistently says that divorce always involves sin on the part of one or both parties. God never intended for anyone to divorce, but mercifully made provision for divorce when immorality occurs. He also mercifully made provision for divorced people to remarry.If it wasn't for Jesus' words about remarriage, no one reading the Bible would have ever thought that remarriage was a sin (except for two very rare cases under the old covenant and for one rare case under the new, namely, remarriage after one was divorced from a Christian as a Christian). We have, however, found a logical way to harmonize what Jesus said about remarriage with what the rest of the Bible teaches. Jesus was not replacing God's law of remarriage with a stricter law that forbids all remarriage in every case, an impossible law for people who are already divorced and remarried to obey (like trying to unscramble eggs), and one that would create unlimited confusion and lead people to break other laws of God. Rather, He was helping people to see their hypocrisy. He was helping those who believed they would never commit adultery to see that they were committing adultery in other ways, by their lust and by their liberal attitude toward divorce.
As the entire Bible teaches, forgiveness is offered to repentant sinners regardless of their sin, and second and third chances are given to sinners, including divorced people. There is no sin in any remarriage under the new covenant, with the exception of the believer who has been divorced from another believer, which should never occur since true believers are not committing immoralities and there is thus no valid reason to divorce. In such a rare event that they do, both should remain single or be reconciled to each other.
KIONGOZI
1. Ni mtu wa Watu
• Kiongozi kipaumbele chake ni watu
• Anakuna kichwa afanye nini ili watu wake waweze kuishi kwa amani na furaha.
• Kupenda kuwasikiliza watu wanasema nini, wanalia juu ya nini, wanacheka juu ya nini nk.
2. Hugusa Moyo wa Mtu
• Mkono wa kiongozi hugusa moyo wa wafuasi.
• Ushawishi wake kiongozi huwa sio wa akilini au kichwani bali hupenya hadi ndani ya moyo wa mtu.
• Anauhakika wa kuwa na watu nyuma yake kumfuata popote atakapo kwenda
3. Huuliza Kuna nini Moyoni
• Hutaka kujua nini kimeujaza moyo wako
• Mbona huna furaha moyoni kumetokea nini? Nifanye nini kukusaidia furaha ya moyo wako iweze kurudi.
• Mbona unafuraha sana leo nini kimetokea mpaka umekuwa mwenye furaha hivyo moyoni? Unahitaji kuendeleza hiyo furaha yako.
4. Hufundisha Watu
Kiongozi hufundisha wato na sio kufundisha somo
Kiongozi hutamani hata Yule mbumbumbu asiyeelewa darasani au kanisani ameelewa na kupokea kitu.
Huchukua juhudi za makusudi kufuatilia zaidi.
Kipimo chake cha uwelewa wa wanafunzi ni Yule mtu wa mwisho kuelewa darasani.
5. Ana upeo wa Kuona Mbali
• Huangalia faida itakayopatikana kule mbele sio lazima sasa.
• Anawekeza sasa kwaajili ya sasa na badae
• Anawekeza vikubwa anavuna vikubwa pia.
• Anafanya leo kwajili ya kesho
6. Ni Mbunifu na Muanzishaji (Originate)
• Anamawazo mapya
• Anabuni na kuwapa wengine
• Anaweza kubuni na kupitisha barabara katikati yam situ mnene mahali usingefikiri kamwe barabara ingepita
• Ni mvumilivu kusubiria matunda kwa wakati wake.
7. Hujiuliza Nini na Kwanini (What and Why)
• Ninafanya nini na kwanini ninafanya hiki.
• Huwa na sababu ya kutosha kumuwezesha kufanya anachokifanya kwa nguvu zaidi.
MTAWALA
1. Ni Mtu wa Vitu
• Kitu cha muhimi kwake ni vitu sio watu.
• Kama ni mmiliki wa basi, likipinduka chakwanza kuuliza gari imesalimika haijaumia?
• Akiambiwa mzee gari imepona ila watu wote wamevunjika vunjika na kufa atasema afadhali.
• Akiambiwa gari imesagiga sagika hakuna hata cha kuokota ila watu wote wamesalimika ataangua kilio kweli maana gari imekwisha.
2. Hugusa Vitu vya mtu
• Tofauti na kiongozi mtawala hagusi moyo anagusa vitu
• Mitambo au vitu nivyamuhimu sana kuliko watu.
• Chombo kikiungua ni hasara kubwa sana lakini mtu akivunjika mguu ni kawaida ajali kazini.
3. Huuliza Kunanini mfukoni
• Tofauti na kiongozi ambaye huuliza kunanini moyoni, interest ya mtawala nikujua kuna nini mfukoni.
• Hugusa pochi na sio moyo
• Hugusa kichwani na sio Moyoni
4. Hufundisha Somo
• Hufundisha somo watu na sio kufundhisha watu somo
• Hufundiaha kumaliza mtaala na sio kufundisha kuwaelimisha.
• Hufundisha kwa kuwapa wanafunzi taarifa, na sio badiliko la maisha.
• Teaching for information not transformation.
5. Ana upeo wa Kuona ya Sasa
• Hushughulika sana na ya sasa.
• Macho yake ni dhaifu hayana nguvu ya kuona ya mbele.
• Anataka kupanda leo na kuvuna leo.
• Hana mpango wa kuwekeza kwaajili ya baadae.
6. Huiga na kukarabati Kilichokuwepo (Immitate)
• Hana uwezo wa kubuni vitu vipya.
• Yeye huendeleza walivyobuni wengine
• Kama ni barabara hana uwezo wa kubuni barabara mpya ataziba tu viraka vya barabara aliyokabidhiwa.
• Kama ni kanisa akipewa hata kama likijaa hawezi kuja na mpango mpya wa kujenga linguine la kisasa bali atakuwa anabadilisha tu milango na kupiga rangi upya nk.
7. Hujiuliza Kivipi na Lini (How and When)
• Nitafanyaje hiki nilichopewa kiendelee kuonekana kizuri?
• Lini nitaweza kutekeleza hii kabla sijanyan’ganywa madaraka haya?
NB: VIONGOZI WENGI TUNAO WAITA “VIONGOZI” KIUKWELI SIO VIONGOZI NI WATAWALA
1. Ni Mtu wa Vitu
• Kitu cha muhimi kwake ni vitu sio watu.
• Kama ni mmiliki wa basi, likipinduka chakwanza kuuliza gari imesalimika haijaumia?
• Akiambiwa mzee gari imepona ila watu wote wamevunjika vunjika na kufa atasema afadhali.
• Akiambiwa gari imesagiga sagika hakuna hata cha kuokota ila watu wote wamesalimika ataangua kilio kweli maana gari imekwisha.
2. Hugusa Vitu vya mtu
• Tofauti na kiongozi mtawala hagusi moyo anagusa vitu
• Mitambo au vitu nivyamuhimu sana kuliko watu.
• Chombo kikiungua ni hasara kubwa sana lakini mtu akivunjika mguu ni kawaida ajali kazini.
3. Huuliza Kunanini mfukoni
• Tofauti na kiongozi ambaye huuliza kunanini moyoni, interest ya mtawala nikujua kuna nini mfukoni.
• Hugusa pochi na sio moyo
• Hugusa kichwani na sio Moyoni
4. Hufundisha Somo
• Hufundisha somo watu na sio kufundhisha watu somo
• Hufundiaha kumaliza mtaala na sio kufundisha kuwaelimisha.
• Hufundisha kwa kuwapa wanafunzi taarifa, na sio badiliko la maisha.
• Teaching for information not transformation.
5. Ana upeo wa Kuona ya Sasa
• Hushughulika sana na ya sasa.
• Macho yake ni dhaifu hayana nguvu ya kuona ya mbele.
• Anataka kupanda leo na kuvuna leo.
• Hana mpango wa kuwekeza kwaajili ya baadae.
6. Huiga na kukarabati Kilichokuwepo (Immitate)
• Hana uwezo wa kubuni vitu vipya.
• Yeye huendeleza walivyobuni wengine
• Kama ni barabara hana uwezo wa kubuni barabara mpya ataziba tu viraka vya barabara aliyokabidhiwa.
• Kama ni kanisa akipewa hata kama likijaa hawezi kuja na mpango mpya wa kujenga linguine la kisasa bali atakuwa anabadilisha tu milango na kupiga rangi upya nk.
7. Hujiuliza Kivipi na Lini (How and When)
• Nitafanyaje hiki nilichopewa kiendelee kuonekana kizuri?
• Lini nitaweza kutekeleza hii kabla sijanyan’ganywa madaraka haya?
NB: VIONGOZI WENGI TUNAO WAITA “VIONGOZI” KIUKWELI SIO VIONGOZI NI WATAWALA
Bila Neema ya Mungu hatufai
mbele zake!
2KORTHO 12:7-17 na RUMI 8:26-27
Kila mtu hata aliyeokoka ana
udhaifu rundo, na hasa udhaifu wa kuzitegemea akili zetu badala ya kumtegemea
Mungu katika maisha yetu; tunao upungufu wa kifedha kwa ajili ya mahitaji yetu
mbalimbali; huo nao ni udhaifu; udhaifu wa afya na wengine ulemavu kabisa wa
viungo baadhi; udhaifu katika kuomba mbele za Mungu, udhaifu katika kufikiri;
udhaifu wa kihisia n.k
“UDHAIFU: Siyo dhambi au uovu
ndani yetu kama wengi wanavyodhani, bali ni ule upungufu au uhitaji wa mambo ya
kimwili na kiroho tulio nao ambao hatuna uwezo nao sisi wenyewe bila Mungu tu
aingilie kati.
Note: Haisaidii kukana kuwa huna
udhaifu au kujitetea au kujaribu kuficha , tukubali mbele za Mungu kuwa sisi ni
dhaifu ili Roho Mtakatifu atusaidie udhaifu wetu.
- Pale mtu anapojiona dhaifu,
Mungu atamtumia sana kuliko anayejiona kuwa ana nguvu maana mtu dhaifu muda
wote wa maisha yake atamtegemea Mungu tu. Hii ndiyo maana ya Mtume Paulo hasa
pale anaposema kuwa anajisifia udhaifu wake kwa furaha nyingi ili uweza wa
KRISTO ukae juu yake. 2Kor 12:9-10
- Paulo AKIJIONA dhaifu na
asiyeweza jambo lolote ndipo alipoziona nguvu za Mungu zikichukua udhaifu wake
na kumvusha.
2. Ni muhimu kuelewa dhahiri
kuwa, sisi kama vyombo vya udongo tunaweza kuvunjika tu saa yoyote kama
hatutapata msaada toka kwa Roho Mtakatifu. Rum. 9:19-26: 2Kor 4:7 -10.
v Mbele za Mungu tujapo lazima tukubali kuwa tuna
mapungufu badala ya kujifanya kuwa tuna kila kitu, tuwe wakweli na
tuorodheshe udhaifu wetu mbele zake ili atusaidie. Ni Yesu peke yake asiye na udhaifu au uhitaji wa aina yeyote tangu alipofufuka mauti na kuketi mkono wa kuume wa Mungu Baba.
tuorodheshe udhaifu wetu mbele zake ili atusaidie. Ni Yesu peke yake asiye na udhaifu au uhitaji wa aina yeyote tangu alipofufuka mauti na kuketi mkono wa kuume wa Mungu Baba.
v Lazima tukubali ukweli huu “ sisi sote ni BINADAMU
tu” ambao bado tutafikwa na matatizo endapo Mungu ataruhusu yatufike,
haijalishi ni Askofu au Nabii, Mwombaji au Mwinjilisti, ndiyo sababu maisha yetu yote lazima tujifunze kumtegemea Yesu ili
atuvushe.
haijalishi ni Askofu au Nabii, Mwombaji au Mwinjilisti, ndiyo sababu maisha yetu yote lazima tujifunze kumtegemea Yesu ili
atuvushe.
- Paulo anaridhika na udhaifu
aliokuwa nao kwa sababu udhaifu huo ulimfanya amtegemee Mungu katika huduma
aliyompa badala ya kutegemea UZOEFU wake; na kwa kweli ukigundua kuwa wewe una
udhaifu, na UNAMTEGEMEA mtu mwingine akusaidie udhaifu wako HUTAJIVUNA’. “SISI
SOTE NI DHAIFU, TUSIKATAE UKWELI HUU KAMA TUNATAKA KUZIONA NGUVU ZA MUNGU JUU
YETU”
3. Mfano
(a) Mwanzo 32:24-30. Sote tunajua maisha ya Yakobo yalivyotegemea ujanja na nguvu za kukimbia na pale alipokutana na Mungu uso kwa uso na kumwomba ambariki, Mungu akamtegua ( aligusa mshipa) (msuli wa paja ndio wenye nguvu kuliko misuli yote mwilini) na tangia siku hiyo Yakobo akatembea kwa kuchechemea, hatumii nguvu zake tena kupambana na Esau ndugu yake; sasa anamtegemea Mungu tu; Badala ya kupambana naye kimwili; sasa anainama. Mwanz. 33:1-20 Haleluya.
(a) Mwanzo 32:24-30. Sote tunajua maisha ya Yakobo yalivyotegemea ujanja na nguvu za kukimbia na pale alipokutana na Mungu uso kwa uso na kumwomba ambariki, Mungu akamtegua ( aligusa mshipa) (msuli wa paja ndio wenye nguvu kuliko misuli yote mwilini) na tangia siku hiyo Yakobo akatembea kwa kuchechemea, hatumii nguvu zake tena kupambana na Esau ndugu yake; sasa anamtegemea Mungu tu; Badala ya kupambana naye kimwili; sasa anainama. Mwanz. 33:1-20 Haleluya.
(b) Ili tusiwe na kiburi Bwana
ametupa zawadi ya udhaifu, kwa lengo la kutufanya kila wakati tujue mipaka
yetu: udhaifu wetu daima utatuzuia tusiende mbele kasi mno sisi wenyewe na
badala yake tumtangulize Mungu atuwezeshaye. Waamuzi 7:1- 8 (Habari za Gideoni)
- Gidioni kwa udhaifu wake katika
kufikiri, alikusanya jeshi la watu 32,000 ili kwenda kupigana na Wamidiani,
Mungu akalipunguza hadi kubaki watu 300 tu !! Lengo la Mungu ni kuchukua
udhaifu wa Gideoni wa kutegemea jeshi kubwa ndipo ashinde vita, bali amtegemee
Mungu akiwa na watu 300 tu ili kushinda jeshi la Midiani lenye askari 135,000
- Baada ya kushinda vita, Israel
walijua kuwa siyo nguvu yao iliyo shinda bali Mungu. Waam 8:22-23.
“ ndiyo sababu Mungu huchagua
vyombo dhaifu vinavyo mtegemea yeye ili kuviaibisha vyenye nguvu Goliathi
aliyejaa majivuno na mavazi ya kutisha akauawa na kijana mdogo tu tena asiye na
mavazi ya kutisha ila anamtegemea Mungu, Kijana Daudi. 1Samw. 17: 4 – 10, 31 –
54 na 1Kor.1: 26 – 29. 3
4. UDHAIFU TULIONAO NDIO
UNAOCHOCHEA USHIRIKA WETU.
Watu wengi wanaodhani kuwa wanazo nguvu za kutosha hawaoni haja ya ushirika, hawahitaji msaada hata wa mtu yeyote, wanadhani wanajitosheleza, na kwa watu wa jinsi hii hata kumtegemea Mungu ni upuuzi; lakini ebu waaangalie mwisho wao!! Lakini sisi kama tutasokota pamoja nyuzi dhaifu za maisha yetu, itatokea kamba yenye nguvu. Kwa kweli Mungu pekee ndiye Bingwa anayeweza kugeuza udhaifu wetu kuwa NGUVU za ajabu.
Watu wengi wanaodhani kuwa wanazo nguvu za kutosha hawaoni haja ya ushirika, hawahitaji msaada hata wa mtu yeyote, wanadhani wanajitosheleza, na kwa watu wa jinsi hii hata kumtegemea Mungu ni upuuzi; lakini ebu waaangalie mwisho wao!! Lakini sisi kama tutasokota pamoja nyuzi dhaifu za maisha yetu, itatokea kamba yenye nguvu. Kwa kweli Mungu pekee ndiye Bingwa anayeweza kugeuza udhaifu wetu kuwa NGUVU za ajabu.
Note:
Kama watoto wa Mungu, kujiweka wazi mbele za Mungu kuwa wewe ni dhaifu na kwamba unahitaji msaada wake, huleta AHUENI ya moyo, na hii ndiyo hatua ya kwanza na muhimu sana katika kupata UHURU KAMILI TOKA KWA KRISTO YESU.
Kama watoto wa Mungu, kujiweka wazi mbele za Mungu kuwa wewe ni dhaifu na kwamba unahitaji msaada wake, huleta AHUENI ya moyo, na hii ndiyo hatua ya kwanza na muhimu sana katika kupata UHURU KAMILI TOKA KWA KRISTO YESU.
Udhaifu wa miili yetu ni mojawapo
ya kweli ambazo YESU KRISTO hakupenda kuwaficha wanafunzi wake wa karibu
saaana. Math. 26: 41 – Usipoomba tu, mwili unatawala roho.
Sasa:
Badala ya kujitumainia tu sisi wenyewe kama watu tusioweza kushindwa kitu, leo tuione Neema ya Mungu tu inayotusaidia; tumwambie Mungu akamate nguvu zetu tunazojivunia kama alivyofanya kwa Yakobo ili tuweze kumtegemea yeye kwa asilimia 100% katika safari yetu; maana kamwe Mungu hatatutumia na kutubariki kweli kweli kama hatujawa tayari kuchechemea (kutotegemea nguvu zetu na ujuzi wetu na ujanja wetu.)
Badala ya kujitumainia tu sisi wenyewe kama watu tusioweza kushindwa kitu, leo tuione Neema ya Mungu tu inayotusaidia; tumwambie Mungu akamate nguvu zetu tunazojivunia kama alivyofanya kwa Yakobo ili tuweze kumtegemea yeye kwa asilimia 100% katika safari yetu; maana kamwe Mungu hatatutumia na kutubariki kweli kweli kama hatujawa tayari kuchechemea (kutotegemea nguvu zetu na ujuzi wetu na ujanja wetu.)
- Lazima nikubali kuwa mimi ni
dhaifu katika ndoa yangu na namhitaji Mungu kuiendesha na kuiboresha.
- Mimi ni dhaifu katika utoaji, na mhitaji Mungu anifundishe utoaji unaompendeza yeye.
- Mimi ni dhaifu katika maombi, lazima namhitaji Mungu anifundishe jinsi ya kuomba.
- Mimi ni dhaifu katika kupenda wengine, Mungu nifundishe kupenda. Mimi ni dhaifu, ni udongo unajitetea sana saa ya majaribu, Mungu nifundishe jinsi ya kustahimili majaribu…
- Mimi ni dhaifu katika utoaji, na mhitaji Mungu anifundishe utoaji unaompendeza yeye.
- Mimi ni dhaifu katika maombi, lazima namhitaji Mungu anifundishe jinsi ya kuomba.
- Mimi ni dhaifu katika kupenda wengine, Mungu nifundishe kupenda. Mimi ni dhaifu, ni udongo unajitetea sana saa ya majaribu, Mungu nifundishe jinsi ya kustahimili majaribu…
Katika jina la Yesu. Ameni
–REV. L.
M. MWIZARUBI
The 4 Friends EVERY
Pastor Needs!!
By Ike Reighard
Pastors may be the most well-known,
loneliest men on the face of the earth. Friendship is a vital part of New
Testament ministry and leadership. Without quality, biblical friendships, we
are modeling a flawed Christian lifestyle for our church members. Yet, for
many, the difficulties of pastoral friendships outweigh the benefits.
Most pastors find themselves in an
unhealthy relationship where their wife is their only friend and counselor. If
a pastor continues to project his problems onto his wife, she will grow
disillusioned and desperate to leave the ministry. I believe a pastor’s wife
should be his best friend, but she should not be his only friend.
In my 30 years of ministry, I have
learned that every pastor needs at least four types of friends.
The developer
Your best friend will always be the
person who brings out the very best in you. According to Billy Graham, he
wouldn’t have made it as an evangelist if he had to minister alone. Over 53
years ago, Billy Graham met his staff and best friends: Cliff Barrows, George
Beverly Shea and Grady Wilson. These three men protected him, strengthened him,
counseled with their wisdom and corrected him when he needed it. He is
convinced that without these friends he would have burned out within a few
years after his first groundbreaking crusade in 1949 (Just as I Am: The
Autobiography of Billy Graham, pp. 125-129).
Developer friends will bring the gift
of encouragement to a pastor’s life and bring out the very best in him.
The designer
We tend to think of a mentor as
a personal, hands-on coach. The Latin and Greek define them more as “advisors”
or “wise men.” Jesus was a master mentor. He ministered to thousands, trained
hundreds, equipped twelve and had an intimate friendship with three men.
The designer mentors us in our
marriage, ministry, child-rearing, civic involvement, business acumen or any
area where we need a model. Designer mentors may live near or far, be
acquaintances or strangers, or may even be dead. They “design” our lives
through Scripture, books, tapes, articles or seminars.
The disturber
We need friends who will shake up our
status quo. Disturbers ask us difficult questions, forcing us to take a closer
look at motivations and ambitions. Disturbers know when we have retreated into
our comfort zones, and they call us out to greater effectiveness. God uses
disturbers in our lives to become the object of greater force that breaks
inertia and propels us to greater achievement.
A biblical picture of a disturber is
in Deuteronomy 32:11. In this passage, the mother eagle tears up the soft nest
to reveal sharp thorns that bring discomfort to the eaglets. Because of discomfort,
the eaglets leave the nest and learn to fly. The mother develops her young by
repeatedly pushing them out of the nest and catching them until they become
skilled flyers. Eagles were never meant to stay in the nest, and neither were
we. The disturber pushes us to learn to fly.
The discerner
In a lifetime of relationships,
perhaps only a handful of people are willing to play this vital role because it
requires mutual vulnerability. More popularly known as accountability partners,
discerners bring the gift of spiritual insight into our lives. They know how to
speak the truth in love. They know how to exhort and rebuke, seeking to keep
their friend on the right track. They are also vulnerable—the true friends who
will walk into the room of your life while everyone else is walking out.
Proverbs 27:6 reads, “The wounds of a
friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.” Always be
slow in choosing your discerners and even slower in leaving them.
If you are a typical pastor without
close friendships, I urge you to seek them out. They may keep you in ministry
for the long haul, and your wife will thank you.
Have you ever
started a project and not finished it? Or put a dream on hold because other
things got in the way? I think we’ve all experienced these frustrations at some
point in our life. The truth is sometimes starting is the easy part. However,
with God’s help we can finish whatever we start because the Bible says, “With
God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26 NKJV).
I believe when
we feel a passion to do something, God has more than likely put that desire in
us. For example, I am passionate about teaching people the Word of God. I’m so
passionate about it that I’ve given my life to it for the last 38 years and
will continue to do so. That’s because God spoke to me and put that desire in
my heart. If I had gone and done something else instead, I probably would have
spent the rest of my life feeling frustrated and unfulfilled.
That’s what
happens when we are passionate about something and we don’t do something about
it. But the good news is even when we’re tempted to think that it’s too late to
start over, with God, it’s never too late. And God will give us what we need,
especially in times of adversity.
It’s important
to understand that when we step out to do the things God has planned for us, we
need to be ready to stand our ground when opposition comes along. The apostle
Paul said, “A wide door of opportunity for effectual [service] has opened to
me…and [there are] many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9 AMP).
Defeating
Your Giants
These
adversaries are like giants, and there are little ones and big ones. Sometimes
they come in the form of a mental attack, or they could come through a person
you’re close to. People actually laughed at me when I told them what I felt God
was calling me to do. Or an adversary could be one of those little daily
aggravations we all face.
The bottom line
is that the devil sets us up to get us upset. Because he knows that as soon as
we get upset and emotional, we stop hearing from God. All we’re hearing is our
own frustration and thoughts, and we become aggravated at everybody else. But
if you want to fulfill God’s call on your life, you have to learn how to face
adversity—your giants—and overcome it.
First Samuel 17
gives us a formula for defeating the giants in our lives. All the soldiers of
Israel were in a valley and a giant named Goliath was threatening them. No one
wanted to fight Goliath so a shepherd boy named David decided that he would
slay the giant. When King Saul heard what David wanted to do, he told him it
was a ridiculous idea and that he was too young. David did eventually kill the
giant, and we can learn a lot about defeating our own adversaries from his
story.
Ignore
Criticism
The first thing
you have to do is ignore the criticism and the unbelief of others. In 1 Samuel
17:32-33 (AMP), David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of this
Philistine; your servant will go out and fight with him.’ And Saul said to
David, ‘You are not able to go to fight against this Philistine. You are only
an adolescent, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” David
responded by telling King Saul all that God could do.
Remember
Victories
The second thing
you have to do if you want to defeat your giants is remember the past victories
God has given you. When you get in a tight spot, look back at what God has
already brought you through and delivered you from. Don’t look at how far you
have to go; look at how far you’ve come.
Watch Your
Words
It’s also
important to speak the Word and not words of defeat. In 1 Samuel 17:46-47,
David tells Goliath exactly how’s he’s going to defeat him. He says, “This day
the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you and cut off your
head. And I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to
the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may
know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the
Lord saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will
give you into our hands.”
I love the fact
that David knew what he had to do. He ran to the battle line, trusting God and
confessing out loud what was going to happen to the giant. See, when we put our
confidence in God, we can overcome any obstacle. You can speak the Word of God
and say: “I know who I am, and I know who I belong to. I am a child of the
living God. Nothing will defeat me. This is God’s promise to me in His Word,
and I will not do without the very best that God says that I can have. I will
not give up!”
Glorifying
God
Ultimately,
David was totally dependent on God and gave Him all the glory. He wasn’t really
concerned with what he could do because he knew what God could do. We don’t
need to look at ourselves; we need to look at God and know that with Him, all
things are possible.
You don’t have
to be defeated by Satan’s lies, and you don’t have to quit. You can defeat your
giants and see the fulfillment of your dreams. God does not want you to give
up—He wants you to get up. With His help and your determination, you can finish
what you’ve started!
–Joyce
Meyer
