Tag Archives: Christianity

Understanding Kwanzaa

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    “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

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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

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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

5 Steps to a Good Reputation

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“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets” (Luke 6:26).

Having a good reputation to some means that everyone says good things about you and that everyone likes you. But as the scripture above shows, having everyone speak well of you is not necessarily a good thing. Even as I’ve been discussing having a good reputation, my focus has not been on what people think or say about you, but it’s all been about you doing what God tells you to do, handling your holy business, if you will. This is what gives you a good reputation in the eyes of God, your family and the world.

God may be pleased, your family may speak well of you, but the world may simply not say anything bad about you, and that doesn’t mean they will say something good about you. And if you have a good reputation, when the world says something bad about you, you won’t be guilty of their accusations. This is what the scripture means when it charges believers to be blameless. So how do you gain a good reputation where 1) God is pleased; 2) your family speaks well of you; and 3) you are blameless before the world?

Count Up the Cost—Before endeavoring to do anything, make sure you have what it takes to complete the task. Only proceed when you can give your all. You don’t want to be known as the unreliable saint.
Keep Your Word—This is similar to the first but deserves its own category for people who intentionally commit to something with no intentions of following through or with the thought they can always cancel if the commitment they made inconveniences them. Be a woman of integrity.
Avoid the Appearance of Evil—Don’t go to places where people can question whether or not as a Christian you should be there. Such places could include the casino, bars and going on a trip with your boyfriend. You may just be eating, dancing or enjoying a warm island, but the appearance could be that you are gambling, getting drunk and having premarital sex. Don’t give anyone fodder for gossip.
Be Selfless—Go out of your way, if possible, to help others. Think of them before yourself.
Don’t compromise—Don’t make excuses for your bad behavior or others’ sin just because you like them. Waffling makes you look weak concerning your beliefs.

Using these five tips is a great start to gaining a good reputation. Always seek the Lord and use His word and you will be a blameless Christian who pleases God and your family adores.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Reputed Saint

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When teaching me about preserving a good reputation, my mother used to tell me, “Whatever you do, be able to look at yourself in the mirror in the morning.” This was her way of saying that I shouldn’t be ashamed to face myself, that I should accept whatever my life reflects to me and others. I used my mom’s mirror barometer for most of my life until a bad decision resulted in an unforeseen consequence for me, and I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror, and I wondered what others would think of me. I was ashamed of who I was and didn’t want to see myself. This didn’t change until I looked into a different mirror, the mirror of God’s word:

“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” Romans 1:23-25.

I wanted the reflection of my life to show that I saw my flaws and worked to fix them and that I avoided self-imposed standards because the barometer for my reputation was the mirror of God’s word. Doing so would garner me a good reputation, one that could tell other Christians, as the Apostle Paul did, “follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). I wanted people to know that I was obeying God rather than man (Acts 5:29) so even non-believers in Jesus Christ would glorify God in the end (1 Peter 2:12).

God calls us to seek a good reputation, not for money and material items or popularity but so we will be a great example for other Christians and those outside the faith. This seeking is about God’s kingdom. We have to stop being concerned about whether we like what our personal mirrors reflect and allow the Bible to be the mirror that we use.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith