I have been thinking about what if God is saying anything to South Africa at this time. Does God speak to nations? Does he care about human society in that way. Is he interested in how history unfolds - does he have a part to play. What’s he saying? What is God saying to the church of South Africa at this place in time. I believe that God is profoundly interested and involved in the unfolding of history or the future (whichever way you look at it) – and that if we were to seek him, he would answer us. He would express himself to us - his heart. Its hard not to have your attention drawn to South Africa as a nation at this time. This has been a year of crisis upon crisis.
The riots, the politics, the food crisis, the power crisis. Each one worse than the next. Yet, all the while, in our pride and in our greed we drunkenly are staggering toward the 2010 World Cup, singing victory songs, sloshed on the wine of optimistic greediness. What vain imagination! What would the Lord say to that? Why would he care to say anything? He cares - there’s proof enough in the Bible that he cares. Daniel 2:21 says that God determines world events - and that his ultimate plan is to bring his kingdom to earth. More than that - all through the Bible is this one desire of God’s whispered and echoed, spoken and shouted, finally declared, that God will dwell with man on earth, that he shall be their God, and we His people. We shall dwell together. So we are his future, and he is ours, and that is why he determines world events, raising and deposing kings, revealing his plans in detail. He will come and dwell with us soon - He shall return.
I believe, the Lord Jesus is saying – “wake up, look to me and see that I am the only solution”. They are like plagues, these crises – the plague of power, the plague of famine, the plague of thirst, the plague of murder, the plague of idolatry, all from man worshipping himself. In his boastfulness and depravity he builds himself an idol to worship. South Africa is building an idol, but God is saying you may not build this idol to worship, you may not plan this idol to worship, you may not execute your plan – it’s the idol of Afro-humanism – the idol that says I will not be trampled afoot anymore. I will also be superior, I will also be great, be worshipped, be equal with the west, but better than too. I will show you that I am really much better than you – even while I fear I am nothing. See this nation – in the halls of government and in the media, in the halls of power trying to build the idol of African self redemption and self worship. Its so important for Africa to redeem herself, to show she has the power save herself, to show that she is also to be worshipped in the way the West worships itself. In her pride she says no-one will save me. I will save myself.
The Lord says no, you can’t and you won’t. in his kindness, he allows these crises to draw us back to himself. For us to say God I am powerless, I can do nothing. I give up. Forgive me - perhaps all things being equal and following the logic above we should suggest the West in its “strength” should say, “God and Father, I am weak” and we here in Africa should say, “God and Father I am weak, my strength is in you”. Slave or free, rich or poor, man or woman, Jew or Gentile, advanced or under-developed, we all are equal in our complete inability to be free, good, redeemed and glorious. God alone.
So what place is there for pride or shame?
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