Dignity, Faith and the Poverty of Envy

By Kwame Sowu I have known Dr Mensa Otabil from afar since the 1990s, when my sister Annie worked in his office. I am not a member of his church, but my considered observation over the years is that his dignity is in a class of its own. His intelligent, disciplined and refreshingly minimalist approach to Christianity has transformed lives, restored hope and given countless people a reason to believe again.

One cannot underestimate the number of souls that might otherwise have been lost. As a Christian, I have seen far too many spiritual entrepreneurs whose ministries are built on fear, fabricated prophecies, hallucinations, superstition and the commercialisation of people’s desperation. Dr Otabil, in my honest assessment, stands apart. A modest man, preaching the Word, encouraging personal responsibility, faith and prosperity without unnecessary theatrics.

Anyone, including the bleached gentleman taking aim at him, who mistakes another man’s success for an offence should take a step back. Envy is not discernment, noise is not wisdom, and attacking another man’s dignity does not elevate yours. Forgiveness is Christian. But so is the obligation to seek knowledge, exercise restraint and, where necessary, seek counselling.

Some battles are best abandoned before they expose the poverty of the person fighting them.