Blind faith will lead to success? No, just hard work

Real faith requires one to say never mind the naysayers, let me rather work hard so I can be blessed.

Members of the Enlighten Christian Gathering Church led by fraud and money laundering accused “Prophet” Shepherd Bushiri and his wife “Prophetess” Mary ahead of their court appearance at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Monday. Pictures and videos: Oupa Mokoena/ African News Agency ( ANA )

We live in a time where anything is possible and possibilities are endless.

The government provides every child with the opportunity to have primary and secondary education, free of charge.

In these formative schooling years, they will encounter at least 12 teachers, each a builder of the foundation of their life.

No matter how bad we claim the teaching system may be, it is impossible to not encounter that one teacher who can make a difference; who can teach children to not only dream, but to dream big.

Dreaming is the very basis of vision. No matter how silly it may be that I wanted to be a lawyer in Grade 1, a political analyst in matric but ended up a columnist and human rights activist aged 30, a dream to be a helper of people existed.

Through hard work and determination, my dream has come to pass – albeit in a different form than the original plan.

Hard work was required – life-altering, character-building and sometimes soul-wrenching hard work accompanied by sweat and tears.

I knew by the belief of those who rallied behind me that success was always within reach.

I did not rely on faith: just like the Bible’s Noah, I knew faith had to be accompanied by action and I was responsible for that action.

Noah also did the hard work building the ark.

He never used faith as an excuse for minimal effort. He rolled up his sleeves and worked for his destiny to be fulfilled.

Real faith requires one to say never mind the naysayers, let me rather work hard so I can be blessed.

God does not – and will never – condone a life of laziness, minimal effort and the dishonesty of hiding behind faith for this laziness.

While the saga around self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri may be laughable, it is frightening how thousands of people can be led blindly by a man of such a questionable reputation.

With the theatrics of his supporters believing in his innocence, I have to question their understanding of blind faith.