Daily Topic for April 15, 2011
No matter what culture you live in, music is a part of life. We all enjoy some form of music. God has made music something to be enjoyed, but there is also a much higher purpose for it: to praise His Name! If you have ever experienced an African worship service, you will know the exuberance of worshipping Him with music.
Pray that soon, all the nations will find a deep love of God that will be expressed through music and worship.
by JS
The line outside the club wound around the corner. The young Parisian couples gyrated to the music reverberating from inside the densely packed hall. Because the club is always popular, many would not be admitted that evening. The venue was Mande dance music, a musical genre originating with the Maninka people of Mali. Sixty-two thousand Maninkas have immigrated to France and have brought with them their strong rhythmic music featuring the bala (a kind of xylophone) and the kora (a harp-like instrument).
The interesting paradox is that the French enthusiastically welcome the Maninka music, while at the same time they reject the cultural lifestyles the Maninkas bring with them. Along with the Soninke people we read about yesterday, the Maninkas are marginalized in French society. France finds itself overwhelmed with immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa that have resisted acculturation. Their meager French salaries are enough for Maninkas to send money to their families in Mali. The government’s hard line “get French or get out” decrees bring with them discrimination, but also opportunity. Instead of going to Mali to reach the Muslim people, missionaries have the mission field on their doorstep in Paris. One mission agency’s goal is to reach all West Africans living in Paris by 2015.
Learn more at joshuaproject.netPray that Maninka people who are musically talented will become believers and adapt their traditional music to tell the story of Jesus.