Pst Susan deserves a medal for giving the country light relief

There's a video doing the rounds, portraying a woman of God delivering an explosive sermon about a taboo subject.

The high point in Pastor Susan Munene’s message is her animated body movements and spellbinding facial expression.

They say the easiest way to trend on Kenyan social media is to package your content in the form of sexual allure.

Skimpily dressed models and music videos with vulgar content have often attracted the ire of the public, and particularly the Kenya Film and Classification Board, for going against our national morality.

However, instead of the public calling for a ban on this trending sermon on sex, we have created memes and joined in the mass hysteria that greeted its timely release.

We would have expected those inside that church to cover their faces in shame, or leave the hall in disapproval once the lady pastor spoke, but that’s the opposite of what happened.

You could tell they stayed put because they were coming across something fresh.

TABOO SUBJECT

In this era where modern-day clergy are preoccupied with the prosperity gospel, competing on who has the most bling and cars, you'd expect all religious sermons to focus on how to finance the flashy lifestyles of these men and women of God.

Rarely do you find clergy discussing the building blocks of a happy and fulfilling life, and whenever you find one, they would most likely avoid the subject of sex.

We have all heard this common chorus that the church is supposed to be holy ground, where sex is considered a touchy subject and any discussion around it confined to the four fortified walls of the marriage counselling room.

A woman speaking about sex openly in church, therefore, is not only considered sinful but also lacking in basic etiquette and the common decency required of her moral standing in civilised society.

In such an atmosphere, it would surprise no one had the congregation walked away in protest or booed her off the holy pulpit, but no one was filmed leaving their seats, a clear message that the sermon not only pricked their collective conscience but also offered an alternative approach to discussing an otherwise taboo topic.

The sermon was delivered in a way we all can relate to, and offers a chance to laugh at ourselves for the things we do under the cover of darkness but choose not to discuss in the light.

As reality checks go, that video gave us a chance to take a look at ourselves in the mirror and begin a national discussion on how we can remedy our collective hypocrisy.

TOUGH ECONOMY

We live in a country that receives depressing news at every turn.

Our media are awash with stories of fatal acts of domestic violence, worrying suicide rates, and depressing scenes from natural calamities.

Our economic situation isn't in the best of days, the result of which has led us to having short fuses and sensitive nerve endings that get frayed at the slightest of irks.

A security guard takes her time to open the estate gate and before you know it, she’s on the ground getting assaulted for doing her job to the book.

A military wife makes a routine visit to her husband’s home and the next update you get is that her lifeless body and that of her innocent children were discovered in an abandoned graveyard halfway across the world.

The economy is tough and Kenyans are struggling to survive. The genuine smiles have significantly reduced and depressing frowns taken over our national mood.

We are so overwhelmed with our economic problems, anything to make us laugh is highly welcome.

HAPPINESS

Pst Susan should be given a medal for making an attempt at reversing our current national mood.

She not only set the pace for an open discussion about sex, but has also contributed to our Gross National Happiness index while at it.

When the next Global Happiness index is released and Kenya finds itself jumping several places up the rankings, we should look back at that video and thank Pst Susan for single-handedly putting us on the world map for the right reasons. Whoever said heroes don’t wear capes had people like her in mind.

We need more Kenyans coming up with creative content that can relieve us of this burdensome economic pain we are currently going through.

Anyone who can make us laugh at ourselves, without breaking the boundaries of decency, should be given incentives to continue supplying us with fresh content.

Pst Susan should be given a medal for daring to venture into a taboo subject that many a clergy fear to touch.

The writer focuses on topical issues; [email protected]