This is the question that is on many people’s lips as celebrities are taking to the pulpit with some of them becoming deeply religious. What has puzzled many is not the idea of these people seeking salvation of the soul, but some of them becoming deeply religious that one wonders if the whole idea is to please their followers.
World Cup wicketkeeper and batsman Tatenda Taibu was a high flyer at 19 and managed to own a number of properties in Harare. Taibu (27) became a hallmark of “success” to aspiring cricketers becoming the first black person to captain Zimbabwe national cricket team and the youngest ever captain of a national side in the world.
Taibu’s life took a dramatic change as he announced to the world that he has now seen the light and always preaches to people whenever he gets the opportunity.
He is among the several high profile sporting personalities in the country that have taken to the scriptures. CAPS United acquisition Evans Gwekwerere has also taken the same road.
But why the sudden change in these young adults’ lifestyles? Is it because these youngsters were rushed into adulthood by the big bucks they received?
Samson Mhizha, who is a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zimbabwe said there was a number of reasons why people change in life.
“When a person is around 19 years, it is called the adolescence stage. This is the period between puberty and adulthood.
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“This is a period of storm and stress where the kids face many challenges. They want to experiment too much as they try to find an identity.
“They will be trying to integrate different identities between the ages of 19 and 25. They can go to church but will not necessarily be religious,” he said.
Mhizha added that if they are sports personalities maybe they would be looking at consolidating their careers but some of them become highly religious.
“Most sports personalities are superstitious so they try to look for spiritual guidance for them to prosper.
“You would have realised that you want to be a cricketer so you want to consolidate your career. That is why most of them attend those new ministries that are coming up. These ministries do not preach much about salvation, but about prosperity in life. This could be the match plan of the person.
“Most Zimbabweans are not deeply religious, but we turn to Christ when we are in trouble. I am not saying that is the case with your case study,” he added.
