Maravi

From mourning to campaigning

From mourning to campaigning
By Editor
Wednesday September 10, 2008 [04:00]

Yesterday we came to the end of the 21 days of national mourning in honour of our late president Levy Mwanawasa.

The last 21 days, and the six weeks before that, have been characterised by prayer. We listened to many sermons and hymns. And everything seemed very well. There was peace and harmony in the nation. There appeared to be abundant love in our country. But things started to turn ugly when the battles for succession started and this made us start questioning what type of Christian nation we are trying to build in this country.

And listening to the Christian teachings over this period, we were all reminded of the fact that we are here on earth as pilgrims, on our journey towards heaven. Having come from the hands of God the Creator, we have to return to his presence. All our wisdom consists in identifying and following the path that leads to heaven. But how many deceptions? It is said that wide is the way that leads to perdition, and many enter into it. Narrow is the path that leads to heaven, and few take it (Matt. 7:13-14)! We are also told that God, Jesus Christ, and the Church cry out to us: “You have in front of you the way of life and the way of death; choose therefore life” (Dt 30:19).

Clearly, human life is a continuous battle on earth. And therefore we are told to fight like good soldiers of Christ and none will be crowned except the one who fights in the lawful manner. On Levy’s grave, engraved are these words: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

To us, these are the words which should take the lead in the present consideration. It is said that life is a battle, and in this battle there are those who fight like ordinary soldiers, they are the captains represented by the priests, and there is the forward sentry represented by the religious. There are also the deserters who, tired and lacking in confidence, flee the arena; there are the shirkers who, under a thousand pretexts, hide themselves; and finally there are those who idly stand, watching, applauding or sneering. There are also the traitors who take the enemy’s side. We are told to pray to the Lord so that He can give us strength and courage, so that all can conquer and on the day of the final triumph be with Jesus Christ. And far behind the conqueror will come, covered with shame, the traitors, the deserters. Life is a battle, and the day of universal judgment will be the culmination.

It will be very important not to forget the many good things our religious leaders preached to us over the last 21 days. Some of the sinful things they told us to avoid have the ability to corrupt our minds, overturn our sentiments and subjugate our will. Things like greed, vanity, selfishness are very dangerous. They show a disordered desire for temporal goods or for fortune or fame.

They consist not in actual possessions, power or fame, but in excessive love for these things. This occurs when one who desires to possess and to have, not with the right aim, but only with the human or selfish aim. The right aim would be to provide for oneself, for one’s neighbours, for one’s family, for the honour of God. By its nature, greed is a venial sin. This is so because it is a disordered love for a lawful thing: money. What matters is only the excess, and this excess can however lead to grave sins against justice and against charity. And so here is Ecclesiasticus which says: “There is nothing worse than avarice” (Sir 14:9).

The other thing which is a source of big problems and which we should watch for is envy. And envy is a sadness which one experiences because good things happen to others, as if the good of others were harmful to oneself. Moreover, it is a rejoicing in the evil that befalls others in so far as we almost think that it must bring some advantage to us. By its very nature, envy is a mortal sin. In fact, it is directly opposed to charity. What is more wicked than to rejoice in the suffering of others? However, very often envy is a venial sin neither because the act is imperfect nor because the matter is small. It is said that the daughters of envy are: hatred towards one’s neighbour, defamation, rejoicing in the evil that befalls others, grumbling, belittling others.

There will be need for us to meditate deeply over the lessons Levy’s death had brought us. We have been advised by our clergy and as sensible people, we should accept good advice (Proverbs 10:8).

It is said that someone who holds back the truth causes trouble, but one who openly criticises works for peace (Proverbs 10:10).

And on Levy’s grave, are also engraved the words: “This God-loving gallant and visionary leader inspired the nation to greater heights. He selflessly and diligently served with integrity, commitment and stood for rule of law.” These are good virtues to spend time on and assimilate. These are good virtues which we should at all times demand from our leaders and all those who seek public office. It is difficult for one to lead a nation to greater heights if they have no vision. Those without a vision cannot inspire others to anything of value. Those who are not selfless cannot be leaders of the type that subordinate themselves to those they are elected to govern or lead. And those without integrity and commitment cannot lead a nation in an efficient, effective and orderly manner because they will always resort to crooked methods and will have problems respecting the rule of law.

So as we move from the period of mourning our late president to that of trying to choose his successor, as a nation, let’s reflect deeply on the type of leadership we need to move our country forward and make it a country in which all can live in happiness, peace and prosperity. If we truly want to build a Christian nation in this country, we cannot avoid the sermons of the last 21 days. Let’s carry those sermons with us in our campaigns, in all that we do.

Labels: ELECTIONS, MWANAWASA

posted by MrK @ 4:38 AM