We're hungry, angry, and depending on a sovereign God.
By a Zimbabwean pastor-scholar | posted 7/24/2008 08:24AM
How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence ...
I wept as I read this very moving sermon. I have never been to Zimbabwe but my heart has been there often through the people I have known and worked with. Our gas has gotten expense and we almost grieve over what is is costing us. How little our cost is compared to that of the people of Zimbabwe. How can I as a concerned Christian stand with my brothers and sisters who are being so ravished by a political system and by a leader, who knows the better way, yet has yielded himself to the powers of evil? I resolved today to pray more for these people. I will also explore ways Christian aid is getting to the people and will give as I can where it will help. May God grant relief, very soon, to the people of Zimbabwe.
John
Posted: July 25, 2008 7:45 AM
At some point you have to get past the "sovereign God" is going to help me or get these bad guys in the end and ACT! If you're mantra is "what would Jesus do?" Jesus did not sit around and watch represssion and say, Gee, my Father will take care of this in the end, he acted over and over again. And the history of Christianity is filled with folks like William Wilburforce or the Quakers who pointed out injustice and eventually got action. Zimbabwe (and Sudan and other parts of Africa) need prayers but they also need bullets and bombs from Western and pro-Western African nations to depose their thug leaders and bring order and stability to their countries. And we need to hear the cry from the Christians in those countries that that is what is needed. "Gentleness" is the last thing the kleptocracies that run these countries need!
Spencer
Posted: July 24, 2008 10:54 PM
I am a South African. I see the reluts of land reform in Zimbabwe and wonder and am painfully aware that more than 80% of the land (South Africa) is in the hands of maybe 5% of the minority white. A Zimbabwe about to happen. Unless Jesus intervenes in a big way, having the same mindset as the author will lead to the same situation in Zimbabwe. How can I say that? Taking the land away from families some who have been living in the area for 200 years just to undo injustice that was perpretated 100 years ago will bring forth double injustice. Injustice cannot be fixed by injustice! So many productive farms given back have already litterally died. Keep this up and there too soon will be no food left in South Africa. There's got to be a different way. Please help us figure it out before it is too late!!!
Deborah Solomon
Posted: July 24, 2008 4:22 PM
We know that Jesus Christ was perfect. As for the rest of us humility and accountability are really good words to live by. It may sound like an oversimplification, but people holding each other accountable for the way they treat others really does bring resolution to many problems. These problems can be in our own communities or in the International community, such as what has gone on in Zimbabwe. May God continue to give each of us the courage and wisdom to speak up and hold each other accountable for the way we treat others. President Robert Mugabe and his regime have conducted themselves shamefully. We must continue to insist on humane treatment for our fellow citizens no matter where they are in the world.
To M Ball
Posted: July 24, 2008 3:45 PM
Rom 13:3-4 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. ..for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.
When a ruler of a country turns bad, rewarding evil and promoting wickedness, its time to get rid of him/her. Kill him if they have to, as in the case of what Oliver Cromwell did.
M Ball
Posted: July 24, 2008 3:01 PM
Additional notes relative to applying Habakkuk and Romans 13 to current national/political situations:
When the prophet Habakkuk implored God to deal with the corruption of his society, God's answer was the Babylonians . . . who Habakkuk had good reason to think were worse than the citizens of Israel! When applying Habakkuk to current situations, it is important to see what "living by faith" meant to the prophet Habakkuk.
When the Apostle Paul penned Romans 13, the immediate application was to the current government power and ruling system - Rome and Nero! It is not appropriate to apply the instructions of Romans 13 only to "good" governments.
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