Brethren, we meet again today. I was supposed to continue with the Sermon about the “Last Minute Scholar”. But the Spirit told me to shelve that Sermon for another day. We are here today to reflect on a spiritual epidemic that has crept into our homes, our businesses, and yes even our ministries. We are here to speak out against a growing trend in how we lead and take care of things. People often hire people they know instead of people who can do the job. They hire people who are sentimental instead of people who are skilled. People don’t hold those responsible when something goes wrong; instead, they hold the “imaginary nkholokolo” responsible.
Let’s go back to the start of stewardship; Genesis 2:15 (MSG) “God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order”
God didn’t give Adam a garden for selfies. He told him to work on it and keep it safe. Taking care of things is holy. It is not about helping your cousin. It is a calling.
But nowadays, we see people who only go outside to take pictures of sunsets and put fake flowers at weddings managing climate desks, environmental programs, and sustainability budgets. When the rivers dry up, the forests disappear, and the crops fail, they blame the “nkholokolo” villagers. The same people who have been using crop rotation for a long time, even before the word “sustainability” was invented? People who can tell what the seasons, the wind, and the soil are doing?
Just like Jesus used to, allow me to use a parable in this sermon. There was Sister Strategist. She was chosen to head a national program that helps people deal with climate change. She could talk to scientists, ecologists, and other people who had been working on environmental issues for a long time. She hired her uncle, Uncle Weatherwise. He made a TikTok video about thunder that went viral, and once he guessed it would rain by smelling the air.
“We will use WhatsApp prayers and traditional dances to fight climate change!” Uncle Weatherwise said. They used the money to buy expensive umbrellas, cut down trees, and dry up rivers. When the program fell apart, Sister Strategist went to the community and said, “It’s the nkholokolo!” “They don’t like new ideas!”
This is like during the days of Nehemiah. Nehemiah 13:23–27 (MSG) saw the leaders of Judah marrying women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
” 23 Also, in those days I saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 Half the children couldn’t even speak the language of Judah; all they knew was the language of Ashdod or some other tongue. 25 So I took those men to task, gave them a piece of my mind, even slapped some of them and jerked them by the hair. I made them swear to God: “Don’t marry your daughters to their sons; and don’t let their daughters marry your sons – and don’t you yourselves marry them! 26 Didn’t Solomon the king of Israel sin because of women just like these? Even though there was no king quite like him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel, foreign women were his downfall. 27 Do you call this obedience – engaging in this extensive evil, showing yourselves faithless to God by marrying foreign wives?”.
Nehemiah didn’t call a reconciliation meeting. Instead, he tugged on hair and yelled at them. Why? Because leadership is holy. And when you mix incompetence with marriage, you get a mess.
Ecclesiastes 10:5–6 (MSG) buttresses this: “5 Here’s a piece of bad business I’ve seen on this earth, an error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge: 6 Immaturity is given a place of prominence, while maturity is made to take a back seat.”
Just like Proverbs 26:10 (NLT) says, ” An employer who hires a fool or a bystander is like an archer who shoots at random.“
Putting people in charge of environmental efforts who aren’t qualified hurts the land, the people, and the future. Being nice won’t stop climate change. You fight it with what you know about soil, science, and strategy. Just because someone watches a documentary about trees doesn’t mean they care about the environment. It gets their attention.
Don’t blame the villagers if the crops fail if you made Uncle Weatherwise the head of the village. Don’t say bad things about Judah just because you married Moab.
Let’s go back to the garden. Let’s bring back stewardship. Let’s choose people who know the area, the weather, and the promise of care. If you are Sister Strategist today, look at your team again. If you’re Uncle Weatherwise, think about whether you’re really ready or if you’re just lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
Brothers and sisters
- Do not hire people who dance in the rain to work in climate offices.
- Do not plant plastic. They will not bear mangoes.
- Let your stewardship be holy.
- Be smart in making appointments.
- Do not use the forests for selfies. God created them for a purpose, for us to manage them.
May God’s grace, mercy, and peace be with you now and forevermore.
AMEN
The Bonet Framework 