Our Selfish Narrative Of Grace -By Babatunde Kehinde

I recently took a glimpse of a video where a renowned gospel musician while sermonising her teeming followers extolled the imperative of Grace in the popularity of the song “Zazu Zeh”. She quizzed “Kòtó òsè kan tí orin yen jáde, óti gba gbogbo aiye, omo tì e kòyí ri nkànkan se, anu ni omo Zazu yen rígbà.”

Crudely translated as “it’s not more than one week that the Zazu song came out, it’s every where, your own children who have been struggling can’t show any reward for their struggles, that Zazu boy has received grace.” She ended her pontification with a heavily percussive refrain “Bami sope oti zeh” and responders answered “O ti Zeh”.

Her comments were mere second opinions to what many people I know have shared before her own video became viral. X-raying the Nigerian modern day Christian will pull hot tears from your eyes, he’s no different from an atheist, he is shallow, vain, heavily rooted in ephemeral. He only carries the flag of the faith to seem correct and in deeper concerns, for political identity.

Immediately I got the glimpse of that video, I knew something was wrong even though I couldn’t point it out on the spot. I was going to let it slide because the scriptures already made provisions for the possibilities of occasional foolish utterances. I also understand that the glamour of the pulpit can lead to inordinate submissions. The scriptures made it clear that it’s sport for fools to do mischief, however, this a gathering of supposed believers, and here is a collective misleading into an abyss of confusion.

It is important to state here that before the advent of Christ, there was no democracy for the bequethal of Grace, Grace was earned. The first instance of Grace in the scriptures was mentioned in the biblical Genesis and it was bestowed on Noah and the Bible recorded it that he earned his Grace for his works of righteousness.

After the coming of Christ, the democracy of Grace was restricted to the Grace of salvation, “the Grace of God that bringeth salvation has appeared unto all men.” From the foregoing, it’s obvious that Zazu does not qualify for any of the Grace as described in the scriptures except if what this female gospel musician is talking about is not grace as expounded in the scriptures.

Secondly, every time we measure the validity of Grace through material success we are of all men most miserable for that which is highly esteemed before men is an abomination unto God.

What’s the business of God with the fact that your song bought you a car? It’s not relevant to his kingdom. Those are key performance indicators of the world that we brought into God’s kingdom in the absence of other genuine indicators. Let us for benefit of doubt believe it was Grace as described by the scriptures that gave Zazu leverage, that Grace left Sinach and Nathaniel Bassey because they do not deserve it, and went ‘fiam’ to Zazu and graced him.

Grace is a tragic victim of the Nigerian culture of abuse, it’s taking all our slaps of abuse after we have used and dumped “Na God”. Every time we speak of Grace, often than not a selfish interest is involved. One can even pardon others for their short-termist overview of Grace.

But no, Christians are the greatest peddlers of this selfish narrative of Grace. Those who understand the business of music knows that a secular song is likely to generate more traction than a gospel song and it has nothing to do with the absence or presence of Grace.

It’s shameful that Christians are the greatest peddlers of this vanity doctrine.