The Diaspora Jonah
Its 2017, you have been moving from one state to another
looking for a better life. You have avoided driving close to any airport lest
you reawaken some former ghosts or the genuine urge to visit motherland Africa
bites you. If you are still looking for papers I wish you well from the bottom
of my heart. The only thing you have
been good at and consistent with is posting photos of the latest fashion design
apparels and near like popular celebrity destinations in the social media.
There is nothing wrong with that, I do that all the time especially after
midnight. Don’t ask me why but I will tell you anyway, Saves me the headache of
calling and starting the same conversation all over again…. what is the time
there?
To be honest I lost the concept of time the moment I landed
in America. I am in this never ending
constant rush that rashes all over my life with an extremely rash to make such
haste and assumption in life. My orgasm is still in Africa where lions roam freely
in the city of Nairobi. The only thing
that seems to have succeeded to stop me is the icy roads and speeding tickets! And
is just for a moment, imagine this! Death
is in our distant thought in diaspora cat race mouse game. We seam immortal so
we tell our selves chasing the mirage ever elusive dollar sign.
It’s so real we think we can postpone time and die after
returning back home in our retirement age under a mugumo tree (Fig tree)
telling our diaspora incomprehensible incoherent escapades. Insomnia and ‘Dementia’ would have so badly caught
up with us, such that we shall all but be laughing stalk. God forbid. The
moment you land in diaspora one thinks has eternally stopped the hour hand from
ticking. Owe unto thee… boys you left
back home are now mature men minting millions of money and trans regional
deals transacted via mobile telephony as you wait for your ‘Nyamachoma’ (Goat barbecue)
before you lay your fake ‘bling-bling’ on the table for quick local inspection.
In other words the diaspora man has become synonymous with
biblical Jonah. First, Jonah as we read in the book of Jonah is angry and argues
with Almighty God. Secondly he refuses to go to preach to people of Nineveh as
a prophet to ask them repent as God demands. Thirdly this Diaspora man is fleeing
from God at every opportunity like Jonah flew. He thinks he will pick his God
at the home airport where the diaspora covenant dream was signed and ended.
Picture this: before he officially got the Visa this diaspora Jonah invoked the
name of God 24/7. Now he is a neo-pseudo atheist of some sort ashamed of saying
“Amen” leave alone “Bwana Asifiwe” (praise God). The same like the proverbial Jonah
who flees from God’s call and goes far away to distant city called Tarshish.
The Diaspora man burrows his head in doubles and endless triples at his job and
some unfortunately die on the wheel ever tracking.
At his point it is imperative we revisit the
story of Jonah’s proper in passing as told from the (NIV) for unequivocal
gesture of honor.
Jonah’s
Anger at the Lord’s Compassion
Jonah 4: New International Version (NIV) reads:
4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2
He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home?
That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a
gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who
relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better
for me to die than to live.”
4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the
city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what
would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant[a] and
made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort,
and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God
provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun
rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so
that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to
die than to live.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry
about the plant?”
“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this
plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and
died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh,
in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell
their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
As the story unfolds we know Jonah eventually hid in the ship
not wanting to go to Nineveh, was swallowed by a fish, stayed in the stomach
of the fish for three days (how long have you been in Diaspora meandering?) Then was vomited ‘deported’ to the nearest
correct home address of motherland Nineveh.
My humble conclusion here is that; we cannot run away from
God. Whether you are here legally or illegally, the government already knows. If God wants to use you in Diaspora you must
heed his call before he delivers you at the door step of your ‘enemies’. Its
God wish not ours. We are here for a greater purpose than just chasing the
dollar. We must go back to Nineveh to realign our vision and character as God ones
intended.
By
Njoroge wa Ngige 011717-0212
