From her Facebook page, civil rights activists Laura Miti addressed a very critical point about our Republican President Mr Edgar Lungu and his perception of humility.

This was after the Head of State attended a church service at the United Church of Zambia in Chilanga, where he asked the Chikondano congregation to pray for his stubborn political rivals so that they can emulate his humility and ascend to the highest office on the land.

“The church should not abandon its people because they have chosen to be politicians. The Christian community, the believers, the followers of Jesus Christ should always receive people who knock on their doors, whether they are coming to look for God or not. Who knows, God might just capture them at that point of need. I am saying this because some of us believe in Jesus Christ. What I am saying is that those politicians who have failed fortunes, when they come to church please receive them, they have been trying some of them five times, six times, seven times. Pray for them and tell them, ‘you know why you are failing?’ Tell them to humble themselves…if you are just stubborn and you think you will get there, you will never be there,” said President Lungu.

Obviously Laura Miti, being one of the strongest critics of the PF government, could not let this opportunity to pass without showing the Head of State that he was missing the point.

“EL was on ZNBC news from Chilanga going on about how some people are not humble, that is why they keep losing elections. If they learn to be humble, maybe God will let them win. Listening to him my thoughts were – that is why the country is the mess it is, under him. He actually believes this story of us needing a humble president? No, what we need is a competent President. He can even be arrogantly competent, if he wants, as long as he runs the country efficiently. A president must understand systems, policies, and budgets. He must be strategic. He must be a leader,” stated Miti, adding that humility in an incompetent President is as useless as a handsome soccer striker who can’t score goals.

Laura Miti might not know where to find a comb, but she definitely knows who is stealing her taxes and who is destroying her country, so we pay particular attention to the statements she makes about governance. One thing we love about this civil rights activist is that despite her impeccable academic credentials, she packages her messages to the government leadership in a simplistic manner that even a street kid can understand.

Since his first election campaign in 2014/2015, President Lungu has sold himself as a very humble and God-fearing leader. The church bought into that fuss and used his character to exemplify true humility in mankind. In the end, he won the election and went into State House.

But Laura Miti is asking us as citizens, “what have we achieved as a nation, resulting from President Lungu’s humility?” Has it helped in reducing corruption? Has President Lungu’s humility advanced accountability levels among government officials? Has there been less political violence in Zambia because our Head of State is humble?

Dear Laura, the answer to all those questions is a categorical NO! President Lungu’s humility is useless. In fact, we don’t agree that our President is humble and we are wondering why the UCZ leadership that hosted him at that church service did not confront the President with a very straightforward Bible passage that defines humility. This is Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and a Tax collector in Luke 18 vs 10:

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get’. Meanwhile, the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’.”

Jesus teaches us that it is the prayer of a Tax collector that received the warm reception of the Creator than that of a dedicated Pharisee because God humbles those who exalt themselves and exalted those who humble themselves.

By way of the fact that President Lungu goes to Church to exalt himself as a humble leader compared to his political rivals who have not been blessed to be in State House, we can state in accordance with the Bible teaching, that his humility is useless.

Jesus is reminding President Lungu that when you go to pray, do not claim purity and judge others as sinners. The Lord adds in Mathews 6:5 that: “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners to pray loudly so that people can see them; for there is no reward for them in Heaven.”

So, next time President Lungu goes to a church service, let him talk to God about his sins, let him share with the congregants his leadership weaknesses and ask for prayers. Let him not point at HH or Kambwili’s sins. He must ask for forgiveness from, not only God, but the people of Zambia too who are feeding him and paying his medical bills.