No Longer Slaves

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Phew. 

What interesting times we live in. 

Chaos seemingly reigns.

Every news item is an article on some big happening. North Korea, Syria and the like. Here, at home in South Africa we have some enormous obstacles to navigate. 

Obstacles of the heart.

 Of all the beautifully, painful things that are slowly emerging, among the many, this one stands out as most useful. 

Honesty.

Hard, real and vocal. 

People in South Africa of all cultures and colours are publicly beginning to share what is truly on their hearts. 

What is truly IN their hearts. 

Social media is alive with honest reflections both helpful and unhelpful. 

Some kind and others cutting. 

From deep anger through pain and frustration and of course the old friends.... guilt, shame. 

Our attitudes of the heart are being exposed. 

Including the racist heart. 

In truth, those who are the children from Apartheid, sit somewhere on the racist spetrum. 

We may not be hard core but every now and again, it's ugly head shows itself. We may never show it outwardly, but oh boy it lerks inwardly.

It is time to take a long, hard look at yourself. 

Face it, own it and deal with it. 

In Christ we can do this well, with his help. If we are in Christ we MUST do this. 

In Christ we are free and we are able to live lives that are ever changing. 

Free from the bondage of sin. Free to live for Jesus. 

This new found honesty is, I think,is a good thing. It has created a space for white South Africans to really challenge one another. 

With patient kindness but with honesty we can call one another on our racist attitudes and actions. 

Let us hold one another accountable. 

We have to face up to the reality which exists where white South Africans live on the fruits of Apartheid. We need to think through social justice and creative, sustainable ways to be a part of the solution that redresses the wrongs set up by our past.. We may not have been perpetrators but we are benifitiaries. 

The long legs of the result of apartheid live on today. 

So, if we call ourselves a Christ follower what are to do. 

Trust in Christ

Pray 

Ask for forgiveness

Repent 

Live in step with Gods word by his spirit

Live in the freedom Christ has bought for you.

Act justly. 

I think that really learning to listen to the stories of people who lived life under Apartheid and who suffer now as a result, is an excellent way to start understsnding. 

Developing empathy and kindness towards those who suffer daily is part of the good works God has planned for us to do. 

True Christ followers are actually able to get this right. Why would I say this? Well, we have been set free from bondage to self and sin and have Gods spirit within us. We CAN and MUST patiently listen to the OTHER voices. The voices of the broken and angry who have been left out in the cold. 

We are also set free to pray. And on our knees is where we need to be. Pleading before the father for his work to change our hearts and our minds.

To root out racism in our own hearts that may lurk there. 

Why do we need a mind change? 

In relation to ourselves we need to change and in relation to how we thing about others, we need to change

South Africa is a deeply divided country. Divided in any and every way possible. We do division really well. We were taught well. To change this narrative seems impossible. In Christ we can be part of the solution. We must be part of the solution. 

Seemingly insurmountable barriers to relationships exist. Colour, class, gender, culture. You name it. We have it. 

And even in the church , among Gods people, we are divided. 

Should we march or should we not?

Should we travel to Bloemfontein to join in the giant prayer meeting or should we not?

My feeling on these issues is this...

In Christ we are free. Free to march and free not to. Free to travel and free not to. However, the issue for me is HOW we march and HOW we pray and what good works that leads us to do.

The attitude of our hearts is where we need to be challenged. Talking and sharing and really listening so that we can grow in our understanding of poor people and their issues or students and their point of view. :middle class black people and their view. 

We, dare I say , white Christians have an obligation , in our freedom, to not be sloppy with our thinking. Nor to be complacent in our living out of the gospel. If Jesus loves us into death, and he did, then we must love generously, sacraficially,, a costly kind of love.. A love that counts. 

Let's begin. 

Dear Teenager

Dear Teenager

There are so many qualities I enjoy about you. Your energy and buzz ; the way you throw yourself into something that is interesting or meaningful to you. The fresh way you view the world around you.

Spending time with you in conversation is  mostly great fun and engaging. I for one, do enjoy they way you tick.

My mind is so full of many ideas, hopes and dreams I long to share with you as you journey on to full adulthood. 

I wonder what you make of us? 

The adult world ?

I guess , that much like anybody else, your private thoughts of us, the adults you encounter, are made public in your interactions with us.

Now, I get the hormones; the fatigue; the moodiness and bad day stuff and hey, I even get the "cool" factor although just saying it is over ratted and fades in time, so try not to spend too much time with it.  The so called cool kids at school simply don't stay cool at all.

Here are some observations!!

The woman you encounter in your day; your mother, your domestic helper ; teacher ; friends mothers - well they are actually all real human beings. They might wash and cook and lift you wherever your heart desires, but they are actually living , breathing people who have hopes, dreams, lives.

Treating one human being as human, well that is simply good, healthy human behaviour. Now I realise, we, the adult world have not modelled healthy human behaviour well and I appologise for this, however, I am sure YOU can do better.

So, when you encounter adults, men and women,  as they serve you, perhaps decide to greet them and treat them as fellow human beings.    Simply taking what you need from adults, especially women adults, might render you one of those adult males who go around treating woman as if they are a piece of dog poo on a shoe.

I realise this needs to be modelled and once again we have not don't this well either, BUT surely you can be the change!!

If you desire at all to be a person of Character, start while you are in your teens. Research shows that habits formed now stay with you into adulthood.

Can I encourage you to take a look around. I realise you are in that self phase, but do yourself an enormous favour and lift your eyes up out of the self. It would amaze you what you might discover. 

A hot tip from one who has been there before , after all we were all teenagers at one time or another, you will never say, " Boy I was so glad I only thought about myself only when I was a teenager. "

Yours in hope

a fellow human being

'

Whites in black

This week has seen some history in he making in South Africa. The call for our president Jacob Zuma to step down are not new but we saw them reach a new level during this weeks protest marches which took place on Friday. Social media is a wash with photos,  articles and posts. To march or not to march, this was the question ! Middle class, aging, hippy , (Doug calls me a liberal  and thats ok, christian and wife ... mother of 4 white sons. All these hats collide in this one decision.

Honesty it was painful. I umed and aaed. Jacob Zuma is not a worthy president and I do want him to step down. The complex issues around land and ecconomy and social justice have all  found a home in my indecision. And so I asked God for his insight and direction.

I landed on a prayer meeting in our home to start the day which was attended by a few dear woman. We wresteled and asked our requests of the Lord. As we sat in the comfortable lounge , sipping coffe and praying we could begin to hear the hooting and whooping from main road.

And so we went to check the lay of the land.......

I am no stranger to protest marches. My young adult days were in the heiht of the 80/90 when the country was in chaos . The struggle for freedom had reached its heiht and deals were beeing struck. It was a heady, scary, war time. Dougie was invovled with the NC as a representative on the JHB sub region. We were in the thick of things.  Marching back then was not for sissies but at least our white skin sort of saved us. Soldiers in big, yellow war machines looked on in disgust as we shared the way with the other but the same. These protesters meant business. Collecting stones to defend and break down.
It was always a risk to march pre 1994 . And yet if felt right. It was right.

One Unday afternoon, I remember the radio announced aother bomb...... Do0ugs feelow comrade Susan Keen had been killed. We wept and held each other. We went to the ANC lead funeral and wept some more. Oh cry for our beloved country.

And yet,.... here we are. How did we get here. I mean this collectively and personally.

And so I stood on the road side while Doug stayed away. It felt to me like a rugby game tour or one of those 2010 world football matches or perhaps a concert of sort. It felt like that more than a protest despite the calls and hoots. When it was over, we walked back to comfy suburbia . I did not feel like I personally accomplished much. You see my fellow white people and I have never really been on the same page politically. I have spent much of my life alone in my ideas . Except for Dougie. Of course. It is difficult being white and radical and christian. It is lonely.

This week the most exciting thing that happend was that on FaceBook, I stumbled upon great conversations and challenging conversations. There are in fCt other whiteys who are Christ followers who "get it".

Thank you Lord. The struggle within  and without continues.