Deconstructing Kwanzaa

    “[King Uzziah] set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. . . . But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense” (2 Chronicles 26:5, 16).

About 10 years ago, I thought I had my career all figured out. I would be an acclaimed academician, teaching, writing books and papers, publishing them in journals and presenting them at conferences. I called myself a scholar and defined that that would mean always engaging students and writing papers that would give attention to African American issues. All this was to put my name on the map and to contribute to the exultation of African Americans. The plan was air tight but not right because I hadn’t sought the Lord’s direction. After accomplishing most of the plan, it fell apart because I fell apart, buckling under the weight of self-determination.

Self-determination: “[T]he ability or right to make your own decisions without interference from others” (Encarta Dictionary) or commonly defined during Kwanzaa “to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.” This is kujichagulia, the second principle of Kwanzaa. And though this is the fifth day of Kwanzaa, deconstructing self-determination is important to understand the overall danger of Kwanzaa for Christians.

1. Self, based on self, cannot be your focus. “None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Understand that when you of your own power decide for yourself who you are and where you’re going, you will end up bankrupt every time. Christians are not meant to define themselves or their destiny. When we do, our lives fall short of what God intends; we are incapable of bringing forth good success.
2. It is always the job of the creator to name and define the creature. “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, ‘He did not make me’; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’” (Isaiah 29:16)? If we decide apart from God who we are and where we are going, we are regarding God, the potter, as the clay, disregarding His authority in our lives to name and define us and tell us what to create and say on whoever’s behalf.
3. Definitions determine destiny. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” Proverbs 18:21. What we speak (life-defeating or life-affirming words) will be our focus and we will receive the fruit (consequences) of what we speak. So we can either become what we say we are based upon our own notions or we can become who God says we are based on His notions. Our notions are always life-defeating; when we act on our own accord, we are following our old life, one that was without Jesus Christ. Once we accepted Jesus Christ as savior, we were given a new life so our notions must be His notions (2 Corinthians 5:17); He is the one who defines us and, thus, determines our destiny.

King Uzziah had a good destiny when he allowed God to define him and followed his God-given destiny. The minute he was self-determined and tried to move out of his God-determined place as king and act like a priest, he became weak; God struck him with leprosy and he died with it. He no longer ruled and lived alone until he died. Self-determination always has dire consequences.

No Christian should be in the business of naming or defining herself, and any creativity and speaking forth should be to develop Christ’s kingdom and not the kingdom of self, be it an individual self or a black collective self. Any movement apart from the direction of the Holy Spirit is self driven, flesh driven, and has no part in the kingdom of God.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Understanding Kwanzaa

    “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1).

Scholars have written about this verse. Singers have sung about it, and the general consensus is that when something great in your life dies, you can see God for who He really is. Allowing the great that we love to die so we can focus on the greatness of God is always the challenge for the Christian. And this is where I find myself on this third day of Kwanzaa, that highlights Ujima, collective work and responsibility.

For those of you who don’t know, in short, Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrating African American culture, running for seven days beginning December 26. It is rooted in the Nguzo Saba, Swahili for seven principles, one of which is focused on daily. The principles are the values that founder Maulana Karenga wants to guide the lives of African peoples.

Even before I became a Christian, I never initiated celebrating Kwanzaa though I attended friends’ gatherings. I shunned Kwanzaa because I always felt weird participating in the pouring of libation where we called on the spirit of deceased loved ones. It was always a little spooky for me. And now that I’m a Christian, my wariness goes beyond being spooked and onto the privileging of African culture above my Christian faith. Celebrate African culture, yes, but not in conflict with Christian teachings.

While Kwanzaa has strong cultural values that I appreciate, like Ujima, there are some parts, like Kujichagulia (self-determination) that are in opposition to Christian teachings. While I would love to celebrate Kwanzaa without the conflicts, you can’t separate its parts from the whole. Its parts make it whole and separating parts or mixing in Christianity would “violate the integrity of the holiday,” says Dr. Karenga. In essence, what I found is that Kwanzaa exalts blackness on the level of divinity, where you determine your destiny and, through invocation, your ancestors help you get there. This is the danger of Kwanzaa.

While I recognize the greatness of Kwanzaa—how it has given so many African Americans a sense of cultural heritage, in my life it has to die, even its marginal existence. I don’t want to miss God’s greatness because Kwanzaa or anything else is magnified in my life and obscures the glory of God, the one who gives me the identity that I need, a child of God through salvation in Jesus Christ.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

THE CHRISTmas Gift

Jesus was born to die for the sins of mankind.
If you haven’t, please

Accept His sacrifice.
Know that He paid the price.
Say yes to His love.
Confess Him as your Savior.
Make Him your Lord.

I accepted Him (Romans 10:9-10) and am His. If you know Jesus, celebrate with me His birth which enables us to have a new birth, a new life.

Merry CHRISTmas!

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

CHRISTmas Traditions

We didn’t decorate our home for Christmas this year and almost didn’t buy any gifts, partly because I’ve been recovering from surgery and partly because every few years I feel like a hypocrite. As one who is often counterculture, most certainly when it comes to things anti-Jesus Christ, I have a hard time participating in traditions that have distorted the meaning of Christmas. While I love seeing family, smelling fresh pine and spices, eating tasty treats, hugging happy children and hearing trash talked during card games, none of these is the meaning of Christmas.

Though I rid my home of decorations this year, I don’t plan on discarding all the merriment the season brings. I do, however, hope to add Christmas traditions that put Jesus Christ at the center. I think this is what ALL Christians should do. Jesus was the reason Christmas began. So in addition to our family reading the biblical account of Jesus’ birth in Luke, we plan to either:

1. Serve the community by serving meals at a soup kitchen, distributing blankets to the homeless or adopting a family.

2. Watch a movie about Jesus, like “The Nativity Story.”

3. Make crafts or treats to commemorate Jesus, like cookies in the shape of a manger.

4. Give something to Jesus, like our worries and bad habits so we can give birth to a new life.

5. Share thoughts about how Jesus’ life has impacted each of our lives.

6. Give gifts that reflect Jesus’ life in our lives, like a picture of an empty tomb.

7. Write then share with family all the ways we’re thankful for Jesus.

8. Host a prayer meeting thanking Jesus for His life.

9. Sing only Christmas songs that are about Jesus.

10. Read stories that reflect the gospel of Christ.

I encourage you to adopt one of the above. If you don’t think you have time to coordinate one of these ideas but still feel compelled to refocus your Christmas on Jesus Christ, you can always attend a local church service or watch one on the Internet. I like getting gifts as much as the next person, but a designer bag, pajamas or perfume haven’t a thing to do with celebrating the life of the one who has given me life and the reason for Christmas, Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Covetous Christmas

Tis the season to be covetous. . . I know you thought I was going to say “to be jolly” because that’s how the song goes, but as I really paid attention to this season I recognize that Christmas has become a season of covetousness. Covetous is from the root word covet, which means to desire, want, long for, yearn for, crave. I have seen magazine covers advertise dresses to “lust for.” I’ve heard commercials say that if you buy this people will envy you. And many of us have heard the saying “you will be the talk of the town” if you have this. With the promotions to buy has come the targeting of man’s base nature. We all are vulnerable to our fleshy desires.

Many Christians recognize that Christmas has become commercialized, where the emphasis is on buying things and not recognizing the gift, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have combated that by sending out Christmas cards with the message of Christ and limiting the amount spent on and the number of Christmas gifts given. But even with these limitations, we have to make sure that we still are not guilty of covetousness. Sure, it is okay to desire certain things, but are the things you desire the things God would have you to desire? Let’s check our heart against the following scripture:

    You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor (Deuteronomy 5:21).

Do you want a new coat, car, clothes and toys for the children because your neighbor (sister or brother in Christ, co-worker, nieces and nephews, etc.) has those things? Do you want certain items because you believe obtaining them will give you the status of your neighbor? Do you sacrifice to buy because you want people to covet after what you have? Would having the things you want make you haughty? Answering yes to any question makes you guilty of covetousness.

But God tells us to covet the best gifts and to prophesy (1 Corinthians 12:31, 14:39). Of all the gifts from God we know that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is right at the top. Let us covet Jesus, a relationship with him, deep fellowship with him, and an attitude like his. Let us covet to prophesy about his goodness and what the gift of Jesus means to the entire world. Truly let us go beyond rejecting commercialism to also rejecting covetousness. Let not “remember the reason for the season” simply be an adage from our lips but love from our hearts that shows in speaking and teaching about the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and what his gift to the world provides, which is redemption for all those who receive him.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith