By By Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (not theatrics).”
Secular music superstar Burna Boy has been accused of disparaging the Lord Jesus Christ and those who believe in Him. While making a toast at the wedding ceremony of his longtime music director (MD) and drummer, Emmanuel Abiola-Jacobs, the African Giant stated that if his musician had returned fully to the Church or gospel music as once considered, he would not have met his better half.
He started by kvetching about being denied due credit for facilitating the union. “It’s little things that pisses me off… You’re doing Jesus abi…,” Burna Boy said, stressing that “This wedding would not have happened if you went to Christ Church. If it wasn’t for me, these two (the newlyweds) would have never met. Because if it were up to him, they would have been in some Church somewhere, clapping their hands and praising the sky.”
Before going into the issues, let’s point out that if the music artiste could be disappointed that guests didn’t appreciate his role in connecting the couple, perhaps critics shouldn’t be too hard on the Nigerian pastor who recently floated a N700,000 Christian matchmaking platform.
While Burna Boy’s speech incensed not a few, the Grammy winner’s devotees insist he should be cut some slack for merely trying to be the life of the wedding reception. They argue he was speaking privately, as the video wasn’t posted on Burna’s official account but was apparently recorded by some opportunistic digital native.
But knowing how popular he is and the weight of his words, he should have been more circumspect or asked not to be recorded while delivering his speech. Although he accused those who spoke before him of “talking cho, cho, cho…,” who, in an actual sense, ended up the babbler? No matter the motivation, though, OluwaBurna’s sarcasm has nothing on those who know their God!
The Afrofusion hitmaker knows not what he’s saying because, stricto sensu, no true believer will be inside a Church and praising the sky—an apparent allusion to the worship of God. To this column, the pejorative remark doesn’t mock faith but religion. It is only the religious who will be in Church and not realise that they “have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels.” (Hebrews 12:22). If they did, they wouldn’t be looking to the sky as if God were not in His sanctuary.
By a stroke of situational irony, the purported profane pronouncement presents an opportunity to probe an age-long posturing. This is owing to the manner in which some worshippers in Church focus on the ceiling when the choir ministers in songs like: “There’s something that makes me come into your presence, my helper.” How contradictory! Why continue looking towards the sky when the Supreme Being you seek is right before you?
Unless such worshippers don’t see their Church as Zion. It is called the House of God because He shows up. No one should be there and not feel His majestic presence.
In fact, this feeling is the believer’s signal and sense of a living Church. It’s not by looking up or praising the sky that one connects to Heaven’s frequency. Just like the advance party of potentates like the Nigerian President, the presence of the King of Kings’ entourage—being the innumerable company of angels—in the venue would have already made the saint realise that their heavenly Father is around.
While pondering this possibility on account of the uncountable number of Churches across the world, God remains omnipresent! Solomon said of Him in 1 Kings 8:27, “heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you.” Paul the Apostle asserts in Ephesians 4:6, “One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Those who believe that God is only resident in the Heavens fail to answer the question about where God was living before creating the Heavens and the Earth. Or are they saying that His existence started with Genesis 1:1? Is it a case of the chicken-and-egg paradox?
Let it be known that the Lord dwells in immortality and universality. This is why the psalmist could say in Psalm 139:7-10, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Without contradicting Isaiah 66:1 and Matthew 5:34, the fact that the bishop’s seat is at the cathedral doesn’t prevent him from visiting any parish in the diocese deserving of his presence. In the case of the Lord Almighty, He dwells in the praises of His people. This means that when praises rise from those who are called by His Name, Shekinah envelopes the arena!
Come to think of it, a true child of God would not carry on as if their Father were only in Heaven, since they carry Him inside them. If, out of sheer ignorance or religion, Christians still look towards the sky for connection with God, then the question posed in 1 Corinthians 6:19 continues begging for answers: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”
The saints enjoy uninterrupted fellowship with the Father and don’t have to be churchy or praise the sky to be imbued. They constantly live under divine influence irrespective of the place or their positioning. Theatrics and performance are only for the religious.
Looking skywards doesn’t guarantee that the worshipper will receive or be imparted by the Lord. The psalmist who looked to the hill couldn’t find solace there, but only found help in the Name of the Lord, which is the strong tower and an ever-present help in times of need.
Now, isn’t it poetic how Heaven positioned no less a legend to defend the Lord Jesus when He was being gratuitously perjured? Asked by Isbae U why he believes in Jesus Christ instead of traditional Igbo deities like Amadioha, considering the actor’s strong cultural roots, Nollywood godfather Pete Edochie retorted rhetorically, “Why should I leave the One who walked on water (Matthew 14:25-27) and believe those other ones who didn’t?”
This counterforce to Burna Boy’s alleged blasphemy (the veteran actor’s assertion actually trended more) is part of the reason Christians don’t go about defending the honour of their God. He can raise complimenters and hype-men from unexpected quarters. When the impetuous Peter inflicted bodily harm on one of those who came to arrest Jesus (John 18:10), what did the Master do? (Luke 22:51) and say (Matthew 26:53)?
BTW, congratulations to Burna Boy for being the first Nigerian artiste to surpass four billion views on YouTube. However, the March 1966 hubris of The Beatles’ John Lennon and what followed should serve as a cautionary tale to OluwaBurna. God cannot be mocked!
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of AfrikTimes.
Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi is a Nigerian branding specialist, storyteller and media trainer whose work explores branding, strategic communications, public relations, marketing, media, religion, politics and contemporary social issues. His articles and commentaries have appeared across several Nigerian and African media platforms, including Premium Times, Modern Ghana, The Nigerian Voice, TechEconomy.ng, BusinessAM Live, Brand Network, Africans Angle, News Wings and Continental Reporters. Ugwuanyi writes extensively on corporate branding, reputation management, storytelling, public relations, influencer marketing and strategic communications, while also contributing opinion pieces on Christianity, politics and issues affecting Nigerian society. His writing is characterised by an analytical and conversational approach that often connects contemporary events with broader questions of communication, culture, faith, business and public life. He welcomes feedback and correspondence at nmiringwu@gmail.com.
