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Themes: "There is only one right way, Religion's Inability to save From the window of the hospital storeroom in Africa, Doctor White, a missionary, saw a horrible sight. Sitting under a baobab tree was Majimbi, an old African witchdoctor. She propped up her week-old grandson with one hand and held a bowl of porridge in the other. To Dr. White's disgust, Majimbi forced the thick gruel into the baby's mouth. When he choked and coughed, Majimbi used her long, dirty finger to push the grey porridge down his throat. This wasn't the first time Dr. White had see this happen. Even though the hospital nurses told the African mothers to give their babies only milk for the first few months, many didn't listen. They still fed tiny babies solid food, which made them sick. Many African babies died before their first birthday. The doctor walked over to Majimbi and asked, "What are you doing?" "Is this your grandson or mine? Leave me alone," Majimbi snapped. "What good will a dead grandson do you, Majimbi? Why don't you listen to the nurses? Isn't it true that the infants who eat only milk are healthier than those you feed gruel?" "Our tribe has done this for hundreds of years. Our way is right!" The old woman turned, spat on the ground in anger. She walked away, her crying grandson slung over her shoulder. As Dr. White watched her go, he shook his head sadly. That baby and many others would be laid on the hard floor that night, where worms and ants could crawl all over them. Soon the baby would be sick, and would probably die. If only their mothers would listen. "Doctor, Majimbi will follow the ways of her mother and grandmother." The voice was Simba's, an African hunter. "She is a witch doctor, and will never change. She believes that her necklace of lion's teeth protects from sickness. When a child from the tribe is brought to her with a bad cough, she rubs his chest with goat fat. In time, the child dies, unless he is brought to our hospital, where he receives medicine to cure his cough." "The trouble is that she thinks her way is the right way," said the doctor. "Simba, doesn't it say in the Bible that "There is a way that seems right unto a man, but it ends in death?" "Yes, Doctor. We should not be foolish like Majimbi. If she had listened to us, many children would be alive today. Just as the hospital helps save lives, the Lord Jesus can save us and give us eternal life." Spiritually, some people would rather follow the traditions of their parents that learn the truth of the gospel. Baptism, good works, church attendance and rituals do nothing to fix the root of our problem - our sin. Open your mind to the Bible to learn the true way of salvation. John 3 says "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
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Shelly McKenna
