Mandela's Resolve Under a Surface of Dissent

 

 

“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.” ― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom 

 

Nelson Mandela was responsible for much of the success of South Africa's anit-apartheid movement. He acted on his convictions. He suffered for acting on his convictions. He forgave those who made him suffer for acting on his convictions. He was a truly remarkable man.

Mandela's death this afternoon seems to have people comparing their lives to his. Nobody wants to be all-talk and no-action. I've heard several say: "I wish I was more like Nelson Mandela."

No doubt. But nobody ends up "like Nelson Mandela" because they "wish" they were like him. 

Anyone "wishing" to be "like" this man, this symbol of resistance, this world-wide icon of struggle against apartheid, must be willing to suffer - and after suffering, to offer forgiveness, reconciliation and amnesty to your enemies.

Mandela became Mandela because he traveled the roads Mandela traveled, endured the isolation he endured, suffered the decades of imprisonment he suffered and after all that, forgave the enemies he forgave. His decisions and actions changed his world. 

"Wishing" doesn't change things; action changes things: things around you and things inside you. Behaving (taking steps one way or another) changes you!

A "long walk" lies ahead for those willing to accept responsibility and stand against injustice. 

 

Proverbs 24:23  -  It’s wrong, very wrong, to go along with injustice.