What Does The Bible Say About Refugees?

Today my pastor, while talking about the importance of the church, mentioned how sometimes people take offense in something their church did and then just leave.

“Well, I’m a red-headed vegan from Costa Rica; you have nothing that caters to me. So I’m leaving the church”. He joked.

“No we don’t.” He continued, “but why don’t YOU start something for red-headed vegans from Costa Rica?”

“Be the Church!”

And honestly, with my recent criticisms of the Church as a whole (not my personal church), that hit home HARD. It struck a chord, and like they say on twitter, I was “TRIGGERED”!

So I have decided to be the CHURCH.

I’m being the Church in this post. Come with me.

Just before he mentioned the above, in a special giving Sunday, he mentioned my church helping refugees and asking us to donate. And I felt quite proud; that I was apart of a church that cared. Yes my pastors stay away from political discourse. Other than just reiterating God’s love, they don’t take political sides, at least not publicly. They remind us of the diversity of the people of God and keep it at that. But when it comes to helping children and women who had to flee from war torn countries for survival, that's not a political statement. It's human decency. You would think we all agreed on that, right? Well, apparently not.

Earlier this week my uncle sent one of those BCs on Whats App. The BC contained information supporting the recent immigration bans and exclusion of muslim refugees. I like to think of myself as someone who respects other people's opinion. Well, except that opinion supports the systemic oppression of people who share the same gender and skin color as me. Er no bueno. But really, I generally respect other people's opinions. However, I was a bit taken aback by that message from my uncle, because he is a pastor. To be fair, he did not compose that BC himself, he just forwarded it. As far as I'm concerned however,  forwarding a message means endorsement of its content. I’m not calling him out or anything. He will never read this anyway. But he inspired me to think further on the place of Christians in a world that says no to refugees.

In other words, what would Jesus do about Refugees?

Here goes:

Everyone remembers Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed, yes? Well check out one of their offenses:

"Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy." Ezekiel 16:49

Further,

"Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt" Exodus 23:9

ahem "nation of immigrants" ahem

"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:33-34

And my personal favorite:
Love your neighbor as yourself.

The bible can be very vague about many things: prosperity, marriage, prayers. But it is clear on the subject of treating others, and particularly those in need. It does NOT mince words in that regard. It does not say "admit them, but be careful".  Neither does it say, "only admit the Christians." Nope. Jesus was clear: if you reject the needy, the helpless, the refugee, you are rejecting Him. Of course, wisdom must and should be applied. Which is why TONS of screening and waiting periods go into the admission of every single refugee into this country. I know some other rich countries have refused to accept refugees, and I have commented on that in the past. Their loss, to be honest. Now "evangelicals" can not cherry pick the bible. No. When we say all of what it warns against and condemns, we must also mention the things it commands us to do. Simple.

So in retrospect, I made a mistake. I should have responded to my uncle. I should have reminded him that Jesus would accept every refugee. I should have told him that it's just basic human decency to help those that are down. To rescue victims of senseless wars. I should have sent him these bible passages and more. I should have been the church.


Love,

I

Friday Reflections

1.) You know, I keep saying this: whoever is quiet or neutral in the face of injustice has chosen the side of the oppressor. Sheryl Sandberg, for all her feminism, might have chosen a side with her deafening silence.

2.) American University just named her first female president. We'll take shattered ceilings as they come. Lol

3.) If you ever feel in a rut at work or with your passion or in your marriage or just in your stage in life, listen to/watch "In His House" by Christine Caine.

4.) When your hair is getting fuller (yayyy) but which means more products...which means more money spent on buying products more frequently...which means...darnnn adulting can be hard.

5.) This past week was so busy, I couldn't keep up with my blogging schedule. I did not have a FR post last week.

6.) But I got through it like a G...with the grace of God. I feel like I have grown so much. There was a time I would have gone through this kind of week whining and complaining and just all round frustrated.

7.) Who is with me on shutting off every news alert?! Tired of all the breaking news.

8.) OMG! I did not know Pinterest could be so much fun. New addiction! So much for getting space from social media haha. Follow me https://www.pinterest.com/ife_0/

9.) Have a restful weekend. I know I will; it is well deserved.

A Trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC)

See, y'all I'm trying to be a good and consistent blogger, but life is saying something else😓😢

Anyway, amma kip kip trying. I remember when "amma kip kip" shirts were such a huge trend, and if you did not have one, you were uncool. I was uncool.

I digress.

This weekend, I went to the now famous, somewhat exclusive National Museum of African American History and Culture!! It was Lit yo. It's now my favorite museum in the world. Like the name suggests, it's beaming with culture and history. And I count myself extremely lucky favored to have won that ticket to go visit. My plan was to wait till it was no longer exclusive to ticket, which at this rate might not be until a year from now.

Anyway, since most people do not have the opportunity to go visit, I will share some pictures I took with you here. But, it's a must visit: the history, the beauty, the culture, and drumroll...the FOOD. I say go for the Arts, stay for the food. Such good food they have there. I feel like if you have no interest in the culture (which, DUH! why won't you?), you should still go just for the fine dining ha. I will call this post NMAAHC part 1, because I am definitely going back some other time. I was only able to cover about half of the museum because of time, and because well, your girl was busy. "Busy on a Saturday?" you ask. I know. I did not choose this life. This life chose me😑. Moving on.

P.S: I'm quite incredibly proud to be black; whether African (a la immigrants) or African Americans, or Caribbeans, we have such a rich and deep culture, it's inspiring.

Without much ado (aka I should stop rambling), here are the pictures. Enjoy!

Barbara and I! We had such a great day together.

Random folks photobombing my picture

Gorge!

Take two

Hear hear

You don't know pain until you've had to take a picture in a public place with people just carelessly blocking your view ugh

"As the Afro spread and the African Americans embraced their natural textures, the media and the workplace resisted. In the 1980s and 1990s black workers fought racist policies that labeled their natural hair unprofessional and unacceptable. The problem lingers, but there is progress. Black hairstyles today are just as often personal choices as political or social statements. Much like their African ancestors, African Americans were a glorious variety of hairstyles."

Triggered!

                                                                                  Hmmphhhh!

"On October 16, 1968, Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and Australian Peter Norman staged one of the most iconic and important protests against racial discrimination. Shoeless and dressed in black socks, each American athlete wore a black glove on one hand. Smith and Carlos stretched the two black gloves high into the sky to symbolize power and unity. Smith wore a scarf that signified "blackness".The black socks stressed the poverty plaguing black America, and their bowed heads represented their prayers for black Americans."

You could click on any of these tiny images, and it would project a random story of a black American: their family, history, or just everyday struggles. 

This is just a slice; I promise it's so much more. You should visit too.

Love, 

and some black magic,

I

P.S:
Here is my quote for the day:

“If you turn away refugees, exclude immigrants, & ban Muslims, please don't tell people you follow Jesus.
 You'll ruin it for the rest of us.”

The Problem With Stereotypes

"Do you know xyz?"

A friend asked me recently, about a certain celebrity.

"Nope. First time I'm hearing of him. But then again I don't follow pop culture that much."

I already blurted that out before I realized the gravity of what I said, and what might be the repercussions.

You see, since I'm Nigerian and this person doesn't have that much encounter with Nigerians—I'm probably the only Nigerian she knows—there is a high chance that the next time she's talking to someone else about Nigeria, she could say "Oh Nigerians don't follow pop culture." And the only premise for such bold assertion would be my earlier response to her.

Whereas nothing could be further from the truth. Nigerians love pop culture; and there is a booming entertainment industry in Nigeria. Yet I as a person could not be less interested in pop culture. That's exactly why one person does not and can not define an entire group of people: be it race or tribe or nationality or religion.

Chimamanda Adichie once said, the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, it's that they are incomplete.

My story or anyone else's story is just one story; a single story.

I hope we would remember this the next time we are tempted to judge an entire group of people based on the actions of one person. I hope that from time to time, we all take a step back to check our prejudices, because we all have those.

Love,

I

P.S TGIT is back! It's been too long :)

Where is the Church?

"I wish I was able to live like many people: to be very unbothered by everything going on in this crazy crazy world."

Friday Reflections

1.) Look, I'll be the first to admit  that I really slacked on posting reflections at the end of each week last year. I am back and better. Haha

2.) Like I said yesterday, it's the end of an era...

3.) I spent most of my day working. I did not see the point to bemoaning on social media about what I can not change. America has spoken.

4.) And while we must never remain quiet in the face of injustice, we should and must in the words of POTUS44 (deep sigh), pick ourselves up and get to work; fighting for the values we believe in.

5.) It was like the apocalypse yesterday.

6.) Speaking of work, where are you on achieving everything you set out to do this year?

7.) Remember, it's the little things that build up to the big, monumental things. So start putting in the work right now. I promise you a little work here and there every single thing will definitely amount to something by the end of the year.

8.) Criminal Minds is the creepiest show ever. There are sick people in this world. You can't begin to even imagine.

9.) With God, all things are possible.

Love,

I

The End of an Era

Happy New Year!

I'm sitting on my bed and thinking about the end of this profound era called the Obama administration, and then it occurs to me that I have not blogged this year. So here I am: blogging.
Honestly, the year did not start with me bursting with energy and optimism. I was on vacation from work, so I took a vacation from blogging too. I am back now though. Yay! I plan to be more intentional and disciplined this year, with blogging but also with every other aspect of my very busy life. I think this is the busiest I have ever been in my entire life, but I love it. Love love it. The best part is I am even more inspired to write and blog more, so we'll see how it goes. In coming months, there should be a new face to the blog; a new blogging schedule; and hopefully more consistency. Ugh I'm usually afraid of declaring so boldly in public. But, this year is all about doing it afraid! I'm currently reading a book I love, and can't wait to talk about it in my Book of the Month, a series I enjoyed so much, I have decided to bring that into 2017 as well. I have many other written down goals for the year, and I'm quite pumped and hyped about them. I pray God gives me the grace and strength to achieve them ALL.

Today is the last day of President Obama's presidency. I really am speechless. First of all, the class and grace, and all that he exudes will be greatly missed. But most of all, he was (and is) a brilliant, extraordinary, and disciplined president. There was not a single scandal in all of his presidency, which in American politics is a pretty big deal. To top it all, he is a man who genuinely loves his family. I mean, the way he treats his wife and kids, it really is amazing. Because of him, many can. His legacy will definitely live on; I don't care how hard they try to destroy everything he worked for. History will definitely be kind to him. I am confident of that. This is by no means a tribute...I wouldn't even know where and how to start that. But this is a reminder to me and coming generations that you can defy odds; you can dream the "impossible" and become it if you work hard. How else do you explain a son of a Kenyan man, who was raised in Hawaii becoming a president in America? The same America, where merely 60 years ago, a person with the same color as him could not VOTE, much less run for office, much less run for the HIGHEST office of the land. Or how do you explain Michelle LaVaughn Robinson from South Side Chicago, daughter of blue collar workers, who ends up as the First Lady in the same house that was built by slaves? Yeah. Impossible is nothing.

It's the end of the most beautiful, most profound, and most amazing era.

Here is to President Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th president of these United States!