There isn’t a time that we used to wait for than the December holidays. We would call it Musimu courtesy of our eldest cousin who is now deceased. We had it all planned out every year. The plan was to work hard through the year and save up for the Musimu. The money was to facilitate our clubbing and drinking spree. You were at an advantage when you had a plus one with you. Looks were important, so you needed to have yourself adored with the fashion of the day. Timberland, muscle shirts and new stylish jeans were the best. The month of November was the time to hit the gym hard to get yourself shredded for the musimu. There wasn’t a motivation other than waking each other at 5 am for a workout. We need to look good and be ready for bar fights.
I bet you that there is no month that people engage in all sought of pleasures than December. There is a lot of drug abuse and sexual immorality that so rampant. A friend shared that it is on a Christmas afternoon that she broke her virginity in fornication. Another shared that it is on the Christmas Eve that he first tasted alcohol. Most of the road accidents happen in December and are attributed to driver’s error and more so driving under the influence of alcohol.
Reasons for sinning.
Many factors lead to this kind of behaviour. Since people have been busy throughout the year working hard most of the time, they get to break from work and school in December. There is a lot of money circulations since this is the time most farmers are paid for their produce, tourists are swarming in the country to enjoy the sun and the beautiful country. But at the heart of all this, the main reason is the deceitfulness of sin.
We believed that fun is to indulge in alcohol and sleep around with women. We defined ourself as men when we fought and injured others. In our hearts, we knew we had the fun of our lives. Club hopping and running from the patrol police at night were our stories in the morning when we woke up with severe headaches from the hangover of drinking, sore feet from dancing and painful bodies from exchanging blows. Sometimes one of us would have a dislocated joint or a lost tooth.
The Past
Today I look back and remind myself of how foolish I was. I remember that all these things I indulged just to fit in. There wasn’t any fun in them; the regrets lasted longer than the fun we had. The regretting then and sometimes even today kept me wondering why I indulged in such things. Outwardly I was part of the crew, but I never fitted in inwardly. Some of my friends enjoyed alcohol; I never did. They loved the loud music in clubs, and I found them irritating, they enjoyed sleeping with different women, I found myself disgusted of myself after every act. What was wrong with me? What was different in me?
Soon I met with a couple of friends who helped me realise that there is fun in a godly way. Today I know that what was different in me was not what was wrong with me, but what was right. It is the Holy Spirit who was keeping me from the love of the world. He made me ashamed of the things that the world is not ashamed (Romans 6:21). Then I was a believer, together with my friends on Saturday we would go to church for practice in the day, the club at night and go for service in the morning of Sunday. We presented our members as instruments of sin instead of righteousness (Romans 6:13).
Christian, be careful during this period. Avoid all attempts to sell yourself short and cheaply to sin. For you were bought with a price, honour God with your members (1 Corinthians 6:20). You will meet up with your cousins and uncles who have less or even zero care for the things of God. You will meet up with long friends whom you love and even look up to them that are enemies of God since they are not believers. They will call you names and even sideline you for your beliefs so that you may despair and join them in their sin. The more you remain steadfast (1Cor. 15:58), the more they will want to be like you.
Slowly and surely, the Holy Spirit worked in me, and through people, he showed me that there is a purer way of having fun. The godly friends taught me how to play board games, and we started having time together to read, study and discuss the word of God. One time we even spent two days straight reading through the new testament together- How fun was that!?. I stopped drinking, to the extent I could go clubbing but not drink, and eventually, I stopped clubbing.
It is for others too.
Through the change in my life, my elder brother slowly reduced his drinking and eventually stopped. He also stopped clubbing, and our violent nature reduced drastically, it’s been a while now since I got into a physical fight. Glory be to God. Not only was the change in my life influential to my brother, but I saw it influence my sister and some of my friends. God will use your growth and steadfastness in him to bring his light to the people around you. Be strong and do not be shaken. Let this season be filled with holiness from your end. Let everyone around you call you “Holy Joe,” soon they join you. We are a letter of Christ to the whole world. The letter is written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on paper or tablets but human hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3).
Do Not Conform.
Joseph was a slave, and according to the then Egyptian culture, a slave would do all that the master asked him to do. Joesph was left with Potiphar’s wife. She was a beautiful woman. She made several sexual advances towards him for he was a well built and good looking young man, instead of obeying his master’s wife. Joseph chose to obey God (Genesis, 39:9). Resolve the bottom of your heart to obey God through this season.
When Jesus was about to be crucified, he fought the disciples and told them that they are not of this world, and the world will hate them since they hated him first. If the world loves them, it means they are of the world. Christian Christ has chosen us out of the world, that why the world hates us even without reason (John 15:18-25). Therefore let us not conform to the patterns of this world but instead by the word and the Holy Spirit be renewed into the spirit so that we may approve what God’s will is- perfect and pleasing (Romans 12:2). Rewrite your Christmas story. From one full of sinful endeavours to one that is filled with the beautiful God-glorifying tales of holiness and purity.
