Cheryllyn Dudley (former MP, author, and political advisor)
Thursday 2 December 2022
Breaking a country is no different than breaking a man - all you have to do is take away hope! In South Africa, we have witnessed the best and worst in our leaders and each other. We have experienced generosity, forgiveness, and a unified effort across society. We have also seen selfish ambition, protectionism, hardened hearts, and, retaliation at its worst. These things are not new, the best and the worst of mankind will be with us no matter which party is in office or who calls the shots. This however creates unending opportunities for standing in the gap and doing our best to inspire the best and not the worst in each other.
How we face what we face is more important than what we face - ‘overcomers’ will find life is full of opportunities to overcome. We are not called to wave ‘magic wands’ but to face many challenges and to be courageous as we dare to love our neighbours and our enemies. Beware of people, politicians, and political parties that create in us an ‘us and them’ mentality. It may only depend on one person let alone significant numbers of believers operating in a Caleb spirit, a different spirit, to make the difference.
“I have high hopes for South Africa and am proud of this country with its courageous and passionate people. Even our idealism, which sometimes sadly manifests as pessimism, has the potential to set us apart to attain excellence, if only we can look up long enough to notice what we have achieved...
With President Ramaphosa and former health minister Zweli Mkhize, both having corruption scandals in their way the possibility of ANC party treasurer/acting general-secretary Paul Mashatile coming to the fore as the next ANC President is evident. This makes him the likely person to lead our country in the near future. Whether immediately if President Ramaphosa resigns or after the 2024 elections!
I am sure many of us can relate to the disciples as they prayed, “Increase my faith!” Jesus however didn’t tell them how their faith could be increased. He answered by reassuring them that what may feel like insufficient faith, when authentic, is enough to do miracles. He was encouraging them and us to use the faith we have and to let go of excuses that limit our effectiveness. Luke 17:5–6
It is of course unwise to put our trust in human beings other than to expect them to be human, flawed, and potentially awesome. We are to love people and trust God. To trust Him in them and Him in us to love them!
FAITH IS A DECISION, NOT A FEELING
To have hope that things will improve is a conscious act of choosing optimism above cynicism… we cannot expect to start having hope for South Africa when change takes place, because even change for the better will never be enough, and corruption will always be with us.
Instead, we can choose to be a people who are brave enough to believe that whatever we face we face with God and let our words and deeds inspire hearts and lives to change for the better. We can stop allowing the column writers, who get paid to be cynics, or opposition politicians and political parties blinded by their ambition to speak on our behalf. Instead, let us, individually, start doing our bit to model who and what we believe we should be as people and believe God will indeed heal our land.
Now is a great time to pray for our nation, for its leaders, the ANC decision makers, President Ramaphosa, and whomever God allows to take us forward as President of South Africa.