TABLES, CHAIRS AND TREES - by Oluseyi Vandy

You probably will see this title and think, "what in the furniture pipeline am I about to look at? Or maybe this is some home decoration tips I'm about to learn", but no. This is simply about a problem that has plagued a lot of Christians for a long time. This is such a troublesome topic that it is part of the reason that some turned their backs on Christianity and became Atheists. We've seen posts about people who move abroad and they say things like religion is strong in Africa because of poverty. I would say they are right, but partly, if I was being generous. Now, if I was being brutally honest? They are dead wrong. The premise of the argument would be that man does not have a place for the spiritual and is wholly physical being. But I am not here to debate that, only to say if their argument were true, then the wealthy would not have confessions of being lost, neither would we hear tragic stories of some wealthy people unaliving themselves.  So, back to the reason I wrote this. We all agree and know that Christianity was brought to Africa by the missionaries, and while people argue that it's not our religion and it was used to control slaves, which are all valid points which I agree with. But if you study the history and stories in the Bible, you will find that God has been in the business of turning evil plans for good. Adam and Eve eating of the fruit, Joseph being sold to slavery and being locked in prison, Jesus being crucified was in all intent meant to mock and ridicule him, but it only furthered the gospel and connected to the first example as it was the ultimate plan to bring back the connection lost by Adam and Eve, a plan that was millenia in the making. I hope this addresses some arguments made about the origin of the African Christians. There has been this dilemma about action and faith, I don't know where or when it came about, but the idea and belief is that as a Christian, you have to leave everything to God. As much as I get the idea of the school of thought, I think it should be taught in context. God has and is all powerful, but the gift of freewill makes man the one that has to agree to submit. Here's an example: We've been with our parents all our lives, to the point that we can even predict and anticipate how they would react to certain things. Let's say we are faced with certain problems, we have their voices in our head based on how we were raised. We know how we would act that if they heard it, they would be either proud or sad. This is sort of how this dilemma works. The problem now is that God is a spirit being and does not engage with the earth like you and I, so He uses men to act. Look through all the stories of the Bible, it's been men & women, whether in the role of priests, kings, judges, apostles, even harlots who were used to fight oppression, help people and fix problems. The act of God in these situations were the signs and wonders, and that the messengers were all flawed people, but with that divine inspiration and help they ended up doing extraordinary things. The African problem is that it seems the Christians have relegated the part of their actions and responsibilities to God to move for them, meanwhile everyone else knows the law of action bringing about a reaction or change. This puzzles me, because we speak so much on faith and it is also written that "Faith without works is dead". So, why is it that the people who should have the most confidence to move out and make exploits are the ones who shackle themselves and throw away the keys, and then ask God why they are suffering? This is part of what I believe has made some people disillusioned with the idea of Christianity. They see people that don't "believe" actually go forth and change situations, and feel like Christianity dumbs the human mind. This is one of the saddest things to see, because the idea of faith should make people have crazy exploits.  This brings me back to the idea of balance. When you put belief in yourself above all things, we can come face to face with the fact that we are not enough, or we risk hubris and get an overinflated idea of ourselves which will leave us crashing and failing woefully. But when you know that you are not the source of the brilliance, you are humble in how you approach things. You also know that you have to behave in a way that brings diginity, so you work your hardest and do the best you can, so as not to bring shame and disgrace, because you value the divine being who in all grace chose you. I will end this with a quote from a discussion between T.D. Jakes and Steven Furtick that had a deep impact on me. "God never made a table, never made a chair, he just made trees and the rest of it was up to us.... a Lion roars, an eagle soars, a cheetah runs, so I asked God, what did you give me? He told me, I gave you a brain. The problem with church people is we are taught that God makes furniture, so we pray and pray and pray for a table. He will bring that idea within reach of your mind and your creativity will take it the rest of the way."

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