A Faith & Witness Reflection
On some mornings, a nation wakes up to headlines that sound like a cry from the soul. During the height of the cost-of-living protests in 2023, all of Kenya’s major media houses, including the Daily Nation and The Standard, carried an unprecedented joint front-page commentary on 20 July 2023 with the urgent plea, “Let us save our country.” The words captured a moment of national anxiety and signaled that something far deeper than politics was shaking the foundations of our society.
Yesterday, 23 November 2025, Rev. Dr. Edward Buri wrote a timely and courageous article in the Sunday Standard calling for the Church to “activate its hidden thinkers” and awaken the conscience of a weary nation. He reminded us that Kenya is not short of Christian professionals, intellectuals, or leaders. What we lack is the moral courage to speak, to stand, and to illuminate the way forward.
His message is prophetic. When nations tremble, God often raises His people to steady the ground.
Jesus said that believers are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Salt preserves what is decaying. Light reveals what is hidden. When a nation is fractured, distrustful, anxious, and morally confused, the call upon the Church is not withdrawal or silence. It is faithful presence and moral courage.
🌍1. Why Nations Tremble
Nations rarely collapse from external enemies. They fall from internal erosion of conscience. Kenya’s deepest wounds come from moral fractures that have continued for decades.
🔹 a. Nations tremble when character collapses
In John 12:1-6, we meet Judas Iscariot, a symbol of corrupt leadership. His betrayal was not an accident. It was the natural result of a heart that loved profit more than purpose. Judas sold his integrity for a small gain, and in doing so, he set in motion a tragedy far bigger than himself.
Many nations have been brought to their knees not by lack of resources but by the failure of character in leadership. When leaders abandon truth, when greed becomes normal, and when public office is seen as an opportunity for private gain, the nation begins to tremble.
🔹 b. Nations tremble when identity is fractured
I have argued elsewhere that tribalism in Kenya is not simply political. It is a spiritual crisis. We often take pride in our large Christian population, yet whenever Christian identity is subordinated to ethnic loyalty, discipleship has failed. We cannot build a united nation with divided hearts. When people trust tribe more than truth, suspicion deepens and fractures widen.
A nation cannot stand strong if its people cannot trust one another.
🔹 c. Nations tremble when truth is silenced
In the Sunday Standard article, Rev. Buri warns that Kenya’s Christian thinkers and moral voices often remain hidden, overlooked, or unheard. This is a profound insight. A society weakens when its moral guides become quiet. Prophetic witness is not the calling of pastors alone. It belongs to every believer who sees what is wrong and refuses to look away.
Silence is not neutral. It shapes the moral temperature of a nation.
✋ 2. God Calls His People to Moral Courage
Whenever Scripture speaks of national crisis, God calls His people to stand with courage, truth, and compassion. Moral courage is not dramatic. It is the quiet strength to do what is right when the world prefers what is easy.
🔹 a. Courage to speak truth
The prophets of old did not speak because they enjoyed confrontation. They spoke because they loved their people. Moral courage begins with truth telling. Whether in boardrooms, classrooms, pulpits, or county offices, truth is a form of national service.
🔹 b. Courage to resist corruption
The greedy leader, represented by Judas, harms an entire community. Kenya’s fight for integrity is not a legal issue alone. It is a spiritual battle. Corruption flourishes where the conscience has been numbed. Many public servants and professionals quietly resist the culture of bribery. They are the nation’s moral pillars. Their courage matters.
🔹 c. Courage to heal divisions
Ethnic division does not heal itself. It demands intentional bridge building. Discipled believers are called to rise above ethnic narratives and demonstrate a higher loyalty to the Kingdom of God. Healing a fractured nation requires courage to choose unity where others choose suspicion.
🔹 d. Courage to stay engaged
Influence does not grow in isolation. Jesus prayed not that we be removed from the world, but that we be protected within it. Moral courage means staying engaged even when spaces are messy, complicated, or frustrating.
🌱 3. What Moral Courage Looks Like Today
Moral courage is not heroic speeches. It is daily obedience.
- The public officer who refuses to bend rules
- The business leader who pays staff fairly even when competition undercuts them
- The parent shaping character in the home
- The teacher who protects the vulnerable
- The young person who refuses shortcuts
- The Christian professional who speaks truth with grace
- The church leader who confronts falsehood and champions justice
These are the quiet heroes who hold a nation together.
Rev. Buri’s challenge to “activate our hidden thinkers” is an invitation to all believers. Kenya does not just need more activity. It needs clarity, depth, wisdom, and courage. It needs Christians who think biblically about public life and act courageously within it.
✝️ A Final Word
When nations tremble, God looks for men and women who will stand in the gap. Not perfect people, but courageous ones. Not loud activists, but faithful disciples. Not those seeking power, but those seeking truth.
A nation is healed when its conscience is awakened.
And the conscience of a nation is awakened when believers live with moral courage.
May God grant us the strength to stand, the wisdom to speak, and the love to act. Kenya needs believers who will not only pray for the nation but also embody the values that can rebuild it.
Onwards we go.
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