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"Come eat with me this evening," said Karim one afternoon. The invitation came rather unexpectedly, almost mid-sentence in a conversation I was having with this young French-speaking man in the village.
Eager for the opportunity to meet another family, I accepted the invitation almost at once. Still, I was a little curious. My exposure to West African culture had led me to believe that formal invitations to meals were a rather rare phenomenon, occurring only on special occasions. I asked, "Is there some special occasion this evening?"
"Yes," he replied. "We've sacrificed a goat."
"Hmmm," I mused. "A sacrifice. . . . "
"Yes. Every year we do this in honour of Mohammed's birthday."
"And this sacrifice, is it a fairly important event?" I asked.
"Oh, yes indeed."
Wanting to understand more of the significance of the event, I queried. "What exactly does the sacrifice accomplish for you, or for the community?"
"Well, it brings the blessing of peace and harmony to the village for the new year. . . . "
It was one of those highly awkward, yet critical moments, the kind of moment when you wish so hard you could evade the issue at hand, for fear of offending the very person you wish to reach. It's the kind of moment when something dear to your faith is put in the forefront and tacitly challenged. I say "tacitly" because the person standing before you is completely unaware of your inner turmoil. Why wouldn't someone eat meat sacrificed to bring about peace?
Some readers may also be asking, "What's the big deal? Peace is a good thing, isn't it?" Indeed it is, but the critical question at hand was and still is: How is true peace brought about, especially the inner peace that comes from God? To go along, giving credence to the effectiveness of a goat sacrifice, would be tantamount to betraying the Lord Jesus Christ. Do the Scriptures not say, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace" (Ephesians 2:13-14)?
After a brief moment of mental deliberation, I finally said, "Karim, I gladly accept your invitation to dinner, but I regret that I will not be able to participate with you in eating the sacrificed meat."
"No meat? Why not? That's the best part!"
"Karim, it's a question of my faith," I replied. "You see, I place my trust in only one sacrifice, a particular sacrifice, one which was offered once and for all because it was a superior, perfect sacrifice. And having accepted that sacrifice, I now have everlasting peace with God. That sacrifice was Jesus."
Initially incredulous as to my insistence on this point, Karim eventually came to respect my point of view. In the end, it was a "win-win" situation; my faith was not compromised, but also a friendship was not hindered from developing. That evening, as I ate from the bowl of rice and sauce with Karim's family and friends, we talked about the Christian faith, and when the meat was passed around the circle, I very politely declined.
Colin and Dot Suggett are members of Waterloo (Ont.) MB Church. They are serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Burkina Faso.
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