Monday Proverb

(note from Thom: Proverbs have tremendous cultural value here and matching local proverbs with key scriptures is a wonderful tool to starting a conversation about the Gospel.)

Wolof proverb:

Tabaski du bés bu nekk.

(translation) Tabaski is not celebrated every day.

“Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Hebrews 9:26 NIV

(Note: this past weekend was the Tabaski holiday here) One cannot have pleasure all the time. Not every day is a special occasion. Life consists both of moments of joy as well as pain. This proverb is often used by fathers on the days when they do not bring home any treats, and the children complain. Tabaski, when Muslims remember Abraham sacrificing his son (but in a very different, corrupted way than in the Christian Bible), is the most important annual celebration in West Africa, of similar importance to Christmas in the West. However, believers in Christ cannot lose sight of the crucial difference between the two holidays. Christmas points to a hope - the coming of one who would be the sacrifice for all. Tabaski, to its observers, serves to point out their continued state of being lost and needing continual blood sacrifices to even have a chance at Paradise.

Reprinted with permission from "Wisdom of the Wolof Sages: A Collection of Proverbs translated and explained in English" by Dr. Richard Shawyer (c) 2009