Being a Christian is like the easiest thing in the world. It's like just because you came from Africa you are African. For example from my roots, we have this thing where when relatives come over to visit you have to go into the room they are in kneel down, clap in a certain way and greet them in order of rank. This is actually one tradition that i've come to respect because from a young age you are taught to respect your elders so you never have problems with authority etc. I could say that i was born a feminist though because i detested other traditions like women were not allowed to sit on the stools, benches or chairs, only men were. Like while men lounged around women had to do the cooking and face optical abuse from the smoke even though they had all been working all day in the fields. I was so appalled at the systematic objectification of women that our tradition seemed to cultivate. But back to my point, what being african to me means is these traditions which were handed down from generation to generation. And i may not agree with all of them but i like that we have an identity. So what people generally say is that if you are black skinned you are African but i think it goes deeper than that. It goes back to treks through forests scavenging for berries and wild fruits at a young age during christmas visits to the rural areas. It it goes to waking up before sunrise to go to the fields, bathing in the torrents of a crocodile infested river then getting home as the sunsets carrying buckets of water on the top of our heads. It goes back to sitting around the fire eating roasted peanuts and maize listening to grandmother tell folk tales. It goes back to dancing outside in the middle of the night to distant drums on a full moon night. it goes back to sleepless nights because you had heard that hyenas were witches' transport and you were too scared to fall asleep because you could hear them laughing outside. That's were it goes for me at least. So when i say home is where my heart is and add that my heart is in Africa i don't mean it as in that is were most of my kind are found. But because that is where i learnt virtue and family and there is space and air and people (well not all of them!) they work off the land and they literally reap what they sow and there are pumpkins and you know how they say a child is raised by a village? what else can i say?
If you got what i just said you can move on to now. I said being christian is easy. Because the basic requirement (correct me if im wrong) is to know and acknowledge Jesus died and He is the son of God. Throw in a stellar church attendance and voilà, you got yourself a christian. But does black skin make you an African, i mean for real for real? Does going to church make you a christian, for real for real? YES and YES. You see, these 'labels' African and Christian are identifiers. Like if you are filling out a form, are you going to say, "you know my skin is black but where it counts i have american ideals so im not in fact african but american"? So on your form you just fill out AFRICAN because people can identify you as someone of african descent who is as is most commonly accepted, black. And under religion you fill out christian because that is the doctrine you find most acceptable and because you have no qualms about frequenting the establishment where like minded individuals who also adhere to said doctrine gather.
But you know David, according to God Himself, was a man after God's heart. There were christians, lots of them im sure in those parts at that time. Some probably even more pious than David. But no one else in the bible was described this way. So like what sets David apart? David was an exceptional man. A passionate man. One given to bouts of loss of self control, some that was shunned by the christian community im sure. But God was David's home if home is where the heart is. And the point of all of this was christians are judgemental and conservative enough to make it seem dull to someone enamoured with the flashy lights of a rushed world. But i wish that we would live like David. Live like people who have been redeemed. Like people who need not be worried about meeting world standards. Like love was all the reason needed. Loud with wild abandon like David. With music, rejoicing, no shame. Im not trying to imply that there aren't people out there who have fun with it or that if you are not a hardcore Jesus freak it nullifies your right to be a christian. But im saying that Jesus gave up his life for you. Not just a sunday, His whole life!! So you better start living your life like you know how huge it is for someone to die for you. Encourage and support your brethren, dont try to tear them down at their every mistake but instead lift them up because redemption means not having to carry around guilt and shame all the time. But sometimes as christians we are the ones who perpetrate this horrid idea that you have to pay for your every mistakes when in fact that price has already been paid. And finally play your music loud, dance till someone shuts you down, check your motives, follow the land's and His laws and if you miss one repent, make you heart beat for God. like David.
I really want to be like David.
So help me God...
