A Response to Dr. Richard Mutura’s talk, “A Biblical Worldview: God’s Plan for Creation”

I always believed, like every other young Christian I grew up with, that there was a clear distinction between the sacred & the secular. Salvation was a great privilege; the last thing I wanted to do was screw it up. With great courage and determination I did away with the ‘old’ and embraced a new higher form of existence; somewhere down the line I knew I was called to full time ministry. This seemed like the only way to actualize my spiritual journey. I embraced my new destiny with a sense of purpose, condemning evil in all its forms, and weeping constantly for my bodily failings in desiring the things of the world, loathing my seeming weakness.

I have never asked my friends Donna, Patricia and Angela how they felt when I left them and ended our teenage friendships because I had found a new path they couldn’t bring themselves to embrace fully. I left them, turned my back on them. How could they understand? There was much at stake. I was heading to heaven and they were heading to their destruction.  I consoled myself with the new fellowship of friends – in prayer, in service, in Bible study, but looking back I realize I was truly lonely. Sixteen years later, realizing that I had embraced a lie and isolated myself is an unfathomable pain to bear because although we have communicated intermittently over the years, we never regained the magic and the trust that we once had from that sweet, childlike friendship. There was always the chasm between us that none of us could cross to each other.

Funny thing, the new friends I made in my new life aren’t a fundamental part of my teenage memories- they were a great blessing at the time but could never take the place of the early friendships I lost. All this became clear the afternoon my mentor and I contemplated the impact that a dualistic worldview has had on our understanding of life and the subsequent choices we make. What I could have done is maintain the friendship, explore the newness that my new found faith would bring to our strong bond. Indeed that diversity in our views would have enriched our lives and our life stories. And I would still have my three precious friends.

In Dr. Mutura’s expose, he implored us to question our default dualistic worldview in favor of a monistic worldview where the spiritual and so called secular world are interconnected and we live aware of how our actions in the physical world affect the spiritual world and vice versa. There is an interplay, a continuous cycle.

Friendship, family, work, ministry, celebration, sorrow and everything in between are God’s; we must never compartmentalize aspects of life and label them as sacred or secular. My friends Angela, Patricia and Donna are God’s. I’m going back to them to confess my wrong thinking. I’m crossing the chasm with arms open wide! If God wills, we can continue writing the story of a friendship restored, and the beauty of a Biblical worldview embedded in daily living! Just as Christ reconciled me to Himself, may He restore what we lost.

This post has been written by Jassy Mugisha, a member of the 2019 Cohort, Hesabika Mentorship Program