Do Not Detour
The bure (Fijian house) was full of half-naked men performing the traditional kava ceremony honouring the cult leader. Cryptic ceremonial symbols were used that only the initiated understood. The leader desired to communicate with an individual 24 kilometres away, up in the hills of the Navosa district. Without bidding a messenger, the leader simply dipped his fingers into the kava bowl and summoned the man to his presence.
Not long after the man arrived and appeared before the cult leader. At some point a spirit inhabits the leader, taking over his consciousness. What follows is a ritual in which every individual seated in the bure drinks a cup of kava.
No one knows that also within the bure—seated next to the fireplace—is Sakiasi, a newly baptised Adventist. The evil spirit sees this as an opportunity to threaten Sakiasi to surrender his loyalty to God. He first, through the cupbearer, demanded that Sakiasi give due honour to the cult leader by drinking the kava. When Sakiasi proved relentless in his faith, the leader stood to bear the cup to Sakiasi himself. This act on the part of any leader is a sign of terrible consequence for the recipient. Defiance, from that point, is punishable only with severity. However, despite the promise of imminent punishment, Sakiasi remained firm in his decision and refused the kava. Sakiasi’s steadfastness agitated the leader. Another participant clapped his hands together in acceptance to drink in the place of Sakiasi, much to the leader’s disapproval. The clap however could not be retracted.
Sakiasi made a strong impression in the mind of the cult leader, for later that day, he secretly visited Sakiasi to commend him for his faithfulness. He gave Sakiasi a piece of advice that would echo through the hills of Navosa, as more and more people are converted and baptised into the Seventh day Adventist church: “Hold fast to the truth of your God, and do not detour to the left or to the right, for if you do, you will meet me there.”
The descendants of Sakiasi continue to echo this advice down through the generations. Today it echoes through the Dakua family of Navosa and will continue to do so until our Lord Jesus returns to take us home.
How right is evangelist Mark Finley, when he wrote “If you don’t stand for something, your faith isn’t worth very much”
Verse of the day:
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV).
