As the light of the world, the Christian should and must be agent of change, a positive change for that matter. No matter the race or our skin colour, what is important is that we have the Spirit of God which is in Christ Jesus residing in us. Why did God make us black and not white? God did not make a mistake by making us black or Africans.
It is a biblical fact that God accepts humankind by grace through faith and not on the basis of a particular identity. He does not intend to isolate any humans as a result of cultural descent. God, from the foundation of the world, decided to make us Ghanaians, Nigerians, Senegalese, Gambians, Kenyans, Liberians, South Africans, Tunisians, etc. We must accept who we are as Africans. God has uniquely created us for a purpose and we must be proud as Africans.
We have to look into ourselves and see the potential God has deposited in us in the particular environment He has planted us.
Tradition represents the transmission of ideas, beliefs or customs that are from one generation to another with its values. Some of these values are considered as idolatry and cruel. God is the founder of culture and tradition. Culture is the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular social group. Before Christianity was brought to us in Africa, we were born into culture and tradition. Culture is not always like tradition but rather dynamic.
When God called the Israelites from Egypt, He gave them culture and tradition. Even though God showed them the way they should live and relate to Him, they went their own way.
Culture holds people together over a span of time. It is received from the past, but not by any process of natural inheritance. It has to be learnt afresh by each generation. This takes place broadly through the process of absorption from the social environment. Some elements of culture are also communicated directly in rights of initiation and many other forms of deliberate instruction.
That culture is inseparably bound up with the people involved is indicative that humankind needs a unified existence, a sense of belonging that gives a particular people their identity, a sense of security, and a sense of pride of being associated with a larger whole.
It is, however, dynamic and accepts change through a gradual process in an acceptable manner. Culture can thus through a gradual process accept different belief systems and values. It is this dynamic nature which provides the opportunity for the gospel to influence culture.
In our case, we say that we were born into tradition but have corrupted the values, norms and practices. We do whatever we want and name them as culture but it is not so. It is culture that defines who we are and it is within the traditions that we are cultured.
In our history, when the missionaries came to Africa and established schools, they introduced the gospel and that was good. They came with their culture which they thought was superior to ours. That approach was a stumbling block to the acceptance of the gospel.
The civilization that was brought by the colonialists and some missionaries was their traditions and culture. They made us believe they were the same as the gospel. They imposed their traditions and culture on the African which we ignorantly accepted and threw ours away.
Yes, the slaughtering of animals for sacrifices, pouring of libation, worshipping of idols and
others are unacceptable to God and need to be thrown away. However, our rich cultural values including language, music, food, dress, dance etc. must be maintained. Drums and dances that hitherto would have been performed in shrines should be directed to Christ.
Paul as an apostle demonstrated that irrespective of ethnic or cultural background people must be brought to saving knowledge of Christ. To the Jews, he became as a Jew, that he might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that he might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law that he might win those who are without law. (1 Cor. 9:20-22)
The current generation does not know how to speak their mother language, but can speak other foreign languages. The mindset of the current generation is that our culture is idolatry, the practices are evil but it is not so. We have the gospel now, but not in our own tradition and culture.
The missionaries and the colonialists painted our chieftaincy system black. Christians are afraid to play a role in our chieftaincy system because we think what they practice is idolatry. If the colonialists and missionaries were able to polish their traditions and culture and made us accept them, then we Christians can do same.
Chieftaincy is not idolatry; it is leadership. Every king or queen is appointed by God which
means that they are children of God. God has endowed us with the power and wisdom to lead and bring positive change to the world. It is said that if the wise person refuses to lead then the fool will be made to lead and make rules for the wise.
Christians must rise and take the mantle to play a role in our chieftaincy system. We can modify the practices in the chieftaincy system in a Christ-like manner. Luke 8:16 says, “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead he puts it on a stand so that those who come in can see.”
God did not make a mistake by making us blacks or Africans. He also did not make a mistake by making others whites or Asians. He made us all in His image and likeness, but He also gave us different colours, languages, cultures, and traditions. He did this for a purpose: to display His glory and grace to the world.
We need to discover and fulfil this purpose by appreciating and celebrating our identity and
diversity in His gifts and blessings. We need to play a role in our chieftaincy system and transform it with the gospel.
-By fellow Sadia Sharif
Central Leadership Program 