A Nigerian lady lived in the UK for 10 years before relocating back to Nigeria. While she was in the UK, she attended a Nigerian Church and was very active as a Church Worker and contributed financially to the Church’s growth.
When she returned to Nigeria, she joined a branch of the same Church. After a month, the Church Pastors called her for a meeting. “Ma’am, your dressing is NOT appropriate for this Church! You have to tone it down!”
She was shocked, to say the least and she protested! “But I attended your branch in the UK for 10 years. This is how I dress to Church and nobody complained!” The Pastors replied, “You can dress like this in our UK branch, but not in our Nigerian branch!”
As Christians (especially Africans), we may not always know where to draw the line between SCRIPTURE (what the Bible teaches) and CULTURE (what our Traditions teach).
A lot of our Church Doctrines, Traditions and Beliefs are rooted in CULTURE, not SCRIPTURE. Our African Culture sometimes clouds our understanding of Scripture.
The sad part in the story above is, the Church Pastors did not see the hypocrisy in their stance. God is NOT a Cultural Ambassador: a type of dressing cannot be GOOD in the UK but BAD in Nigeria!
But that is our reality here. We invite Pastors from the Western World to come preach in Africa and we excuse some of their acts and attitude, but condemn our own Pastors if they do the same thing. We excuse it with, ‘He is an American, it’s okay for HIM to do that. You’re NOT an American, it is NOT okay for YOU to do it!
Even the Bible we read is read through eyes programmed, influenced and controlled by CULTURE, not the Holy Spirit.
So we will read a verse in the Bible that says, “A woman must not wear men’s clothes and a man must not wear women’s clothes…” (Deuteronomy 22:5) and our understanding that has been influenced, programmed and controlled by CULTURE interprets it for us that this verse means a woman must not wear TROUSERS. The word TROUSERS is not mentioned in that Verse, but that is how we interpret it: CULTURE won.
Some years ago, I was home watching a Christian Music video when a Sister came visiting. She saw the video and I could see she was NOT impressed. I asked if there was a problem.
The woman singing (Steffany Gretzinger) had a nose ring and the visiting sister had a problem with it. She said “so this one will say she is Born Again too, yeah? With her nose ring! May God have mercy on her!”
I was amused.
Now, this Sister had 2 ear rings on, so I asked her what was the difference between her and Steffany Gretzinger. She said, “Mine is RIGHT, hers is WRONG!”
I asked how so?
“Mine are EAR RINGS, hers is a NOSE RING! It is WRONG!”
I laughed!
“So, basically you both have rings on your heads, the problem is where exactly you have it, I guess: yours are on your EARS (you have TWO), hers is on her NOSE (she has ONE). So, the LOCATION of a ring on your head determines whether it is RIGHT or WRONG!”
Apparently, her take on the location of Head Rings is based on CULTURE, not SCRIPTURE.
I see so many of such stuff in our Churches today: Christians placing their Hope and Faith in things inspired by CULTURE.
Paul asked: “What saith the SCRIPTURE?” Not “what saith your CULTURE?” (Romans 4:3).
If you hold on to any “Christian” Belief, Doctrine or Practice that can only find expression in your Country, especially among those you have Cultural affiliations with, you’re most probably not believing or practicing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The GOSPEL as revealed in SCRIPTURE has no Cultural affiliations. We can express it according to our Culture, but we should not insist that that expression is the RIGHT way and those who do not have the same Cultural expressions are WRONG.
It’s like calling a Hausa boy rude because he didn’t prostrate to greet you, a Yoruba Man.
That will not be fair.
Don’t judge the expression of the Gospel through the lenses of YOUR Culture!
“If someone wants to quarrel about this, I want you to know that we have no intention to start an argument; neither I nor the congregations of God” (1st Corinthians 11:16).
Shalom,
Haruna Daniels