A NEW DIRECTION FOR MY BLOG WRITE-UPS
Where to from here with
my blog write-ups?
Am I still on track with my chosen path to follow Christ
Jesus in my daily life? Am I still pursuing a renewed mind every day of my
life? Or had I somewhere gone off track?
I think I have gone somewhat astray in how I conduct the direction of my BlogSpot. It is a kind of national sporting event in the circles where I found myself in, to trash my country the Republic of South Africa. It is easy to join the fray by telling these horrible stories of our country going down the tubes very fast and how everyone is misbehaving. Crime is rampant. There is almost no work ethic amongst not only governmental employees but it impacts the civil workforce as well. I am sure that you can fill in the gaps and expand this list – don’t do that.
I am sure that there is an answer to most of our
problems to be found in the Christian ethic in the broadest sense possible. It
is somewhat akin to a ship on the ocean with the captain always alert to make
corrections. Sometimes it needs major corrections; at other times it needs
minor adjustments - if the overall direction is still within the overall scheme
of things it is going fine. You can read an interesting article on “HOW DO SHIPS NAVIGATE FROM PLACE TO PLACE ON
SEA?” Click here.
How can I make a
difference? I am not doing crime. I am not in an adulterous relationship with
another person, be it male, be it female.
The next question is:
Is there anything else and beyond living an upright life that I can do to make
a difference? I suggest to you that there is a myriad of other things over and
above the normal "good life" that I can do. Don't freeze into inaction and withdraw from society because you are disappointed or because you became cynical - do something over and above your good upright life you are living.
I want
to explore new ways to get involved from now on in my blog write-ups.
Zuma, I dubbed him the
Contortionist, is enemy number one so called. Or is he? I am not going to try
to suggest an answer.
I stated above that I
am positive that there is an answer to most of our problems to be found in the
Christian ethic. You should, however remember that I don’t have all the
answers; I will suggest some guidelines and will offer some suggestions. I
suggest to you that even Viktor Frankl's logo philosophy supports this view.
We have to live
ethically and morally upright lives.
The Bill of Rights in the Constitution refers to
inter alia equality, human dignity, life,
freedom and security of the person, slavery, servitude and forced labour, privacy,
freedom of religion, belief and opinion. You can download the Constitution from
this website and go to the Bill of Rights to read it yourself.
I don't need a Bill of
Rights to inform me that we ought to treat people with dignity. Or that women
and children should be protected.
Government released a draft national action plan
on how to counter xenophobia, racism and other problems you can download it here. You can get in touch with governmental officials to find out more about what you can do by clicking here and here and here. Your response should be filed before 30 June 2016 - I dare you to read it and make some suggestions.
I don't need the United
Nations' Conventions to inform me that foreigners/refugees need living space.
Why should I be guided by International Treaties to try and stop genocides? Or
to know that it is evil to the very depths of these acts.
Maybe you
will say that one has to look at the facts! Be real, man! Well, I am acutely
aware of the facts - you can just have a quick look at the contents of my blog.
Just remember that it is not everything that I know. I practised at the
Johannesburg Bar during the 1990's and have seen a fair number of people who
died violently on the streets of Egoli; there were bombs that exploded in
buildings whilst I was in it.
Let me put my money
where my mouth is with this BlogSpot of mine.
It gives me great pleasure
to tell you about Afrika Mhlope. No I haven't met the guy yet. I was referred
to a video recording of his speech some time back. I to me via a friend, via a
friend, via a friend and eventually
it landed on my laptop via my wife.
I was reluctant at first to watch the video
recording. After some beating around the bush I decided to give him a chance. I
am amazed at what he has to tell us. He spoke about black pain and white guilt.
Now, I can almost hear you objecting, you cringe and say: "Please, man!
Another one of those!" And your eyes roll around in your head. That was my
reaction and perhaps a little bit worse than that.
His message is challenging. So was Dietrich
Bonnhoefer's. Dietrich's classic THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP is extremely
challenging! If you haven't got the book, get it. I cringed when I read
Dietrich's book; when you click here, you can read about it on the web.
I experienced more or less
the same feelings when I listened to Afrika. You can look at Afrika’s video at
this link.
Why are these two
gentlemen's messages so challenging? Because it is based on the Sermon on the
Mountain to be found in the Gospel of Matthew
chapters 5-7. You can download Bibles from the internet and can even have it on
your smart phones. Go this website and you can pick and choose which version
you want to download.
If you haven't got a
Bible, get one. Go to the Bible Society’s catalogue on their website at this link and order your copy.
And so is Christ's Sermon
on the Mountain challenging and radical. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is
challenging. I overheard a gentleman the other day stating categorically:
"If someone says that he is a Christian, you know for sure he is telling a
lie!" That is challenging!
I challenge you to take up the Gospel message
and run with it.
