The “Sabi” Disease
One Disease that has attacked modern Christianity, especially amongst my generation ‘Gen Z’ is the “Sabi” Disease.
Allow me to define “Sabi Disease”
According to Nenkinan Deshi (2024), Sabi Disease is the desire of young people, especially those of the Christian faith to show or feign allegiance to the system of the world. A close synonym is the phrase “coded”.
Lol. What definition! You can’t define this in English. It’s simply that desire to be a ‘Sabi guy’. To be the guy or babe people talk about when they want to venture into ‘not so good’ things and say ‘He/ She Sabi’. I used ‘not so good’ in quote because a close brother of the sabi disease is modernization and its blurring of the lines between wrong and right. Right now, the world claims the bible did not explicitly forbid anything from Alcoholism to homosexuality. God loves you regardless is the gospel.
I’m drifting, back to the topic at hand. Sabi Disease is a silent cancer that seeps in. It attacks us when we least expect and if we are not prepared beforehand to fight it, we fall easily. I’m probably sounding abstract. A few examples;
- You are a DJ, MC, Event Planner etc and your client wants an event that involves things and parties that don’t align with your Christian beliefs. You want to say no but you need the money.
- You are a baker or food and drink entrepreneur and a client wants you to lace their order with drugs or substances. You want to say no but economy hard!
- You are at work and everyone wants to cross a line claiming it is not clearly defined. You know it is but something inside your head says, “If you can’t beat them, join them”.
- You are invited to a hangout or event by a colleague or boss and you know the crowd that will be there and the venue are not places you should be seen with/at but you follow because you can’t appear uncool.
I think you get the gist now. The He/she sabi disease is the elder, adult version of peer pressure and it’s killing the church quickly.
Well. Dear Young Christian. I just have a simple reminder for you.
You were called to be salt, not sugar.
You were not called to be sugar; to be sweet, acceptable, everybody’s fave. You are not chocolate. Your lord and saviour was the most cancelled being of all history. He was completely rejected and even killed. If your master suffered that, who are you?
You are called to be salt. To preserve. To flavour. To be offensive even.
Salt is not always welcome but it accomplishes wonders. You are the ORS of the world. The world Is sick and purging to death. You get to save it. I remember this practice when I was younger. If pepper entered your eyes, my mom would give you salt to lick and the pain would neutralize. The world has pepper in its eyes. We are the neutralizers. We keep the world sane.
And when they come at you with accusations of you feeling morally superior or better than them. Remember 1 Peter 2:9. You are a chosen generation and royal priesthood SET APART. That thing they’re accusing you of, if you look am one way you actually are.
But you know all these already. I just thought to remind you. You were not called to fit in. You were called to influence. So go, influence.
You can’t want to go to God’s heaven and aspire to spend forever with him but pursue your interests and reject and deny him in this world. Choose your struggle. It’s either you’re with us, or you are not with us.
One of the most heartfelt chapters in my book Bended but not Broken (well, the whole book is heartfelt but for the purpose of this post) is titled “Misfit”. I am proudly a misfit. You should be too. Misfit gang forever.
Download Bended but not Broken for free at https://selar.co/bendedbutnotbroken.
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Here’s an extra special from me to you. The song Misfit Anthem from the Social Club Misfits
