What will you do if a cat or bat or rat…
that has been terrorizing you at night with blood curdling cries and noises, gets
caught in your trap? And just before you smash its head to pieces, it cries out
with a human voice, “Please don’t kill me, have mercy.”
A cat
had been visiting the dormitory of the orphaned kids at Dreamland by night and
they prayed for it to die and looked forward to its demise.
After
many unsuccessful attempts, one night they trapped it, killed and burnt it to
ashes. They celebrated almost all night. As far as they were concerned, that
cat was a witch and had to die.
If
indeed it was a witch, that is, a human being somewhere, taking on the form of
a cat; should they kill it, knowing someone would die if they did?
All
manner of creatures make good pets in many homes. Could this cat be someone’s
pet scavenging for food at night? Could it be a stray cat seeking the warmth or
shelter?
These
were some of the questions that troubled my western missionary friends here
when they heard this story from the kids.
In a
culture where some creatures are categorized as evil or sacred and are either
killed or avoided, a missionary within that culture runs the risk of losing his
message if sentimental feelings for a “harmless” animal beclouds his
perspectives of the host culture.
Presenting the gospel in a way that is not
culturally offensive is what contextualization is all about. That’s our aim. Though
the gospel can be offensive, but as its bearers, we must clothe ourselves
with love, humbly learn from the host culture, find and use that path every culture
unconsciously, yet divinely paves for the gospel to enter it.
Witches exist
and their manner of manifestation and mobility could be any creature of choice.
Do not
condemn what you’ve not prayerfully tried to understand. Spiritual things are
never logical. Efforts to analyze them and make sense of them end in
frustration and stupid debates.
The
question in this case though is how do you differentiate between a harmless cat
and a witch-cat? When is it real or an illusion? Good or bad?
In the
movie, The Matrix, Neo eventually realizes things
are not as they seem. The world he lives in is an illusion, an organized sham
foisted on him. But the spirit world is real and like Neo, we need an awakening
to first of all see how things really are, and then, reach out to God for fresh
perspectives as we engage the pressures of the culture of the people we are
sent to.
God in
His wisdom gifts us with the ability to discernment spirits (1Cor 12:10). This Spirit helps decipher
such matters.
I told
my friends, “When it becomes a nuisance or you think it’s sinister, kill
it. It was made for man and not the other way round.”
If any
man or woman foolishly decides to take-on the form of a lower creature like a
cat, as a witch and terrorizes me or my family, I’ll kill it without
hesitation. But what if it pleads for mercy? Well, until then.
I was very happy for the Dreamland kids
when they killed and burnt that cat. Don’t hate me, I grew up with pets and
love them. We have two dogs here. But there’s nothing one can give in exchange
for the sense of victory those children felt after killing that cat. It greatly
boosted their prayer life and faith in Jesus.
May Abba gift us landmark testimonies and victories
that will lift us to the next level.
Kingdom Exploits With Uche 
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