Life, from a different angle.

stumbled upon these video clips of spoken word from a guy called David Bowden which i thort were too powerful not to share…

this is the first one…

and this second one on scripture i think is even more powerful

Take ten minutes and enjoy and be inspired and challenged.

who i voted for…

i am busy trying to get inspired to write some more of my book which looks like it is heading towards the end quadrant of it’s being writtenment [just for you, Lisa!] and i have half an eye on Twitter where @sharnefinn and @mattnixonjames are keeping me well upto date on how well the DA is doing most places… my other half eye and click finger keep bouncing to the game of http://www.news24.com/maps which has a map of election results which shows you who is doing what where in terms of winning different wards and cities and provinces.

[my best at the moment is Amahlati [Stutterheim] where in the middle of these regions where 74000 votes have been counted and 36870 votes have been counted, it says “The ANC is leading in Amahlati with 48.72%” which sounds really impressive until you carry on “of the 312 votes counted thus far.” – is it a tiny region peoplewise or are they just counting really, really slowly i wonder?]

and then i decided to get properly inspired by picking up my purple Bible and reading on where i’ve been reading in John. i have been reading more recently than i have for a while which is great cos i went through a bit of a not-getting-round-to-it patch and then was quite inspired recently by a bunch of big name Christ-following writers who have been talking about working through one of the gospels in their time with God and so i decided to go for John and try read a few chapters at a time and it’s been great.

and also contained the answer to who i voted for, which is why i assume you were reading this in the first place.

John 13 must be one of the most powerful pieces of Scripture in the Bible and the kind of passage that backs up the authenticity of the Bible to me – if you were going to be making up or fabricating a religion to try and con a bunch of people into following you, you wouldn’t write John 13.

This is what got my vote: ‘Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.’ Before that, it describes the actions that are about to happen by saying, ‘Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love.’

The passage continues with this command from Jesus: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

And a little bit later: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. BY THIS SHALL ALL MEN KNOW THAT YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, if you love one another.”

In John 14 Jesus makes His party statement, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” But He has already set up His party ethos and strategy and it is an enticing one.

And so Jesus gets my cross. Fitting, really, since that’s the call He makes on my life and yours – “If anyone would follow Me, He must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me.” [Luke 9.23]

the malzumbenray files part judging the (tangled) knot

THE SETUP

so i have been thinking about this quite a lot lately, especially after i received a mail immediately after my last you-got-to-be-kidding-malema post from my friend mel lovingly rebuking me or at the very least challenging me on my bash-the-leader stance [if the Bible says respect and pray for your leaders who God has putten over you…] which was really great and a whole thort in itself

[the confrontation from Mel i mean, which was completely done in love and although not necessarily what i wanted to hear – who likes to hear ‘you are the man!’ statements about being out of line – very definitely largely, if not completely, correct. Imagine if the whole church took her role of rebuke-in-love seriously, how much chaos – and some included in the role players of this note – would be avoided]

I don’t really know the answer. There are definitely some principles. And some verses from the Bible that confuse me. And so i am trying to make sense of it all. Hoping my theologically minded original-greek-of-the-word ‘flatulatolos’ friends will throw in some light (cough Sean du Toit cough!)

So here are the situations – president of the country Jacob Zuma who i believe has made some outlandish and potentially dangerous statements (both in word and action) especially with regards to Aids (as previous head of some Aids forum he stated during one scandal that he had a shower after having sex to prevent himself from getting Aids) in terms of the man-in-the-street seeing that and thinking it is truth (so potentially life threatening)

Julius Malema, head of the ANC Youth League who is in the newspapers almost daily for some or other next scandal (the latest which was allegedly – i say ‘allegedly’ because the ANC denied he sang the song after explaining why it was okay that he sang the song and despite a reporter having it on tape – singing a song containing the phrase “kill the boers, they are rapists” followed by a few unrelated incidents in the news of Afrikaans farmers – boers – being killed on their farms)

Then there are two Christian leaders – Ray Macauley and Bennie Hinn who are both very public figures with huge public ministries who apparently are both getting divorced (Ray for the second time and Bennie Hinn after apparently stating in an interview that nothing gets in the way of his ministry, not his family etc.)

THE SCRIPTURE

And here are some verses i could find (in the original English translation of the original Greek):

‘Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake, to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.’ 1 Peter 2.13-15

‘Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith… Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage for you.’ Hebrews 13.7, 17

‘Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.’ Titus 3.1-2

‘Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. … therefore it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect, if honour, then honour.’ Romans 13.1-7

‘Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two of three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.’ 1 Timothy 5.19-20

THE DILEMMA AND SOME SCATTERED THORTS

I’m pretty sure there is another verse somewhere saying we should pray for our leaders and i know i don’t do that enough or maybe at all, often cos i’m too busy shaking my head at them or rolling my eyes. And that is not good in itself. Maybe it’s true that you get the leaders you pray for. Cos i would imagine there are probably more Christians poking fun at JZ and Malema than praying for them… or i could just be the only one. So definitely a place i need to start.

My biggest dilemma is not thinking they are worthy of respect, but then i’m not sure the Bible gives us freedom to make that call and so maybe obedience to God is a sense of being respectful and honouring despite it not being earned?

The Hebrews passage at least i would assume is speaking about spiritual leaders and it does speak about considering the outcome of their way of life and as men who must give account. Both Ray and Bennie are definitely going to be held accountable to God one day (as am I, and you!) but i do think there is a certain need for accountability to take place while here and occupying positions of authority in leadership – and there are some pretty strict guidelines for how elders and deacons ought to be and also on the topic of marriage and divorce – and so i’m not sure there is not the space to stand before them like Nathan the prophet to David and proclaim ‘you are the man’ (um and go read 2 Samuel 12 cos i’m not talking about modern day usage of the phrase ‘you’re da man!’ but the time when Nathan rebukes the king.)

I think in terms of Zuma and Malema there has to be some kind of holding to account as well – as both of them have made statements that i think could cause serious injury to people either by example or by insinuation or role-modelling and there has to be a place for us to speak into that and cast the question (and whereas i may never get a forum to publically challenge either of them on their stuff that doesn’t necessarily mean that us gossiping about it in cell is the best way either – so it can be addressed and even preached upon perhaps, but we have to be so careful of bringing it to light from a place of arrogance or pride or selfrighteousness)

There is a lot more stuff here but this is getting long and i just wanted to provoke your thorts and mine so let’s try wrap it up a little:

SOME MORE SCRIPTURES

‘Woe to you, teachers of the law, you hypocrites!… Woe to you, blind guides… Blind Pharisee… You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean… You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?…’ [Jesus to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, Matthew 23]

So Mathew 23 has this passage where Jesus just lets rip at the spiritual leaders of His day and it must be okay for Jesus was without sin. So one of the principles in this dilemma is possibly that respect/honour your leaders does not mean that there is never a time to call them on stuff (and this was a public exchange i imagine!) when led by God. And that is some pretty strong language Jesus uses. John the Baptist was put into prison for (publically?) accusing Herod (political leader) of outlandish sin.

And so my point is there may be a time or a place with political and spiritual leaders for us to call them on stuff but it has to be very much led by the Holy Spirit and we have to be completely in touch with God’s heart in the matter. But I think a good place is to look at what is written directly after the Romans passage i quoted earlier:

‘Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.’ Romans 13.8

Greatest commandment? Love God, love people (Matthew 22) and when i was chatting to tbV about this last nite that is one of the things that came out strongly. What is the fruit of our conversation when we are discussing these things – with each other? Publically on blogs and wall notes? Is it being motivated by love for the person or even the audience/followers of the person or is it simply us trying to get a laugh or working from our place of pride/self-righteousness/smugness/gossip/slander?

The bottom line for me is i definitely need to be praying more for my leaders, both politically and in terms of those who lead spiritually. How can i expect them to have a hope of leading effectively if i haven’t at least got their back. They will all stand before God one day and they will be accountable to Him for every single thing they have done or failed to do. I will stand before God and explain to Him why mocking/pointing/laughing/sharing-for-prayering etc was more important than getting behind, uplifting, praying for, encouraging…