I'm
getting a lot of posts both praising Mandela and emphasizing his terrorist
activities.
What is
the truth?
1) It is
known that the history books are mostly written by the victors of a conflict.
2) We can
read conflicting reports about Mandela: His his lack of bitterness,
integrity and wonderful leadership; and on the other side his refusal to
stop the violent struggle and his support for terrorism and violent dictators.
3) People
(and you) believe what you want to believe deep in your heart. (Even if
what you really really want to believe is in conflict with many facts, you will
still believe it!)
To decide
what to believe, first you have to look at what is in your heart and how does
that affect your judgement.
·
If you grew up with the idea that apartheid was wrong, and have
experienced its damage firsthand or have seen and heard the suffering of
friends and family, then it would be settled in your heart: Mandela is a hero!
·
If you grew up in a white South Africa, believing communism and
terrorism are wrong, and have experienced the damage of hatred and terrorism
firsthand; or have seen and heard the suffering of friends and family, then it
would be settled in your heart: Mandela is not so innocent.
In either
case, your emotions will rule over your rational mind. So with all these
conflicting "facts" surrounding Mandela, how can you determine
how much weight should each side's "facts" carry? You cannot be
totally objective.
There is
another alternative: Decide what you want in the future. Emphasis
those aspects that will encourage this and the next generation to build a
future worth living in. To be able to do this you need to get rid of
hatred in your heart. You need to experience the power of forgiveness and God's
healing of your heart. Only then would you be free to make a proclamation
without doubt, uncertainty, hurt, or hatred.
Most Christians have prayed: "Our Father in heaven ...
forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Jesus said in
Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
For me, looking at the facts I find - some are debatable, others
are certain; - I like some, some leaves me very uneasy, and some
prompt me to action.
The action I want to take and effect I want to see is that people
grow to be more like Jesus. Though Mandela was most likely not a Christian,
some of his later claimed characteristics were taught by Jesus. I want to see leaders follow those positive
aspects and will encourage it. On the
other hand any action or idea that promotes hatred, racism or terrorism should
not be encouraged.
May you
also have a clear picture of what values you want to build into your children
en fellow humans.
May God
bless you!
