Matatu Musings

     My usual form of transportation into the great city of Nairobi is the numerous but yet tiny matatu (public transit 15 passenger van).  I will have to snap a picture of one of these mighty vans in the near future to give you a glimpse of their prowess.  Much to my chagrin they are probably the cheapest way for me to get into the city.  Now if you can't tell, I am not particularly fond of the matatu because they just don't fit me very well.  In this van the seats are crammed together so there is not much leg space . . . the ceiling is low enough that i have to hunch my shoulders and dip my head to be able to see out the window . . . and you combine those two factors with crazy drivers and bumpy roads then you can see it is really not a pleasurable riding  experience for me (except on my pocket book - approximately 100 to 150 shillings {less than 2 dollars}).  

     Suffice to say I probably enjoy the ride of a matatu about once a week.  This past Saturday I had to travel into town to visit my cousin and watch her almost 2 year old daughter, Annabelle.  As usual i was afforded the customary accommodations of the matatu (crowded seats, no leg room, no head room & bumpy roads).  As we neared the city on this hour long drive we began to  face fiercer and fiercer traffic with occasional stops for traffic jams and dropping off/picking up people along the matatu route.  As we crawled through one roundabout that was clogged with traffic our conductor noticed 2 policemen that were working traffic in the area.  Immediately the conductor (the man who takes the matatu fares) gave up his seat by the door to a standing (really crouching) passenger and he laid down in the narrow aisle between the seats.  He stayed that way until we crossed through the round intersection and passed by the policeman.  My response was a grin and a chuckle at the comedy of the situation and the lengths to which both the conductor and the passenger will go to either make money or to get a ride into town.  You see, it is illegal for matatu drivers & conductors to overload their buses solely for the purpose of gaining more money.  If the police would have seen our situation, they would have pulled us over and more than likely arrested the driver, conductor and the extra passengers.  Or really the other alternative (and probably most likely) would have been for the police to ask for the lawbreakers to pay a bribe.  Again, just one of the many entertaining and interesting facets of the Kenyan culture.

     But in reality, does Kenya really differ that much from anyplace in the world?  Aren't we all just trying to either make an extra buck or get somewhere quickly?  Aren't many of us willing to flaunt the system (as long as we don't get caught) to speed up our journey or to gain some advantage?  Aren't many of us willing to make lapses in judgment if we don't think anyone will see us?  Aren't many of us willing to sin, just a little, so that we can cut a corner and make life easier.  I'm merely trying to make the point that sin can rear its ugly head in numerous and unexpected ways in our life and many times we fail to realize it because either everybody does it or its really not a big deal.  Peter describes Satan as a "roaring lion" that is "looking for someone to devour" (1 Pet. 5:8).  Satan is in a constant warrior stance seeking to cause us to sin and separate us from our Father.  Peter's further encouragement in this passage is, "Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings" (1 Pet. 5:9).  His encouragement . . . resist sin and the easy temptations that Satan throws at you and be reminded that you are surrounded by faithful brothers and sisters who can encourage you in those same struggles and whom you can encourage by your stand of faithfulness.

     I want to encourage you today to evaluate your walk every second and examine how Satan is trying to bring about easy sin in your life.  I want to challenge you to commit to taking a stand on that sin, trusting in God's faithfulness to help you and lean on brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage you.  I leave you with this passage of Scripture: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:38-39).