Were they black?
That is the most common question you will be asked if you are a victim of crime in this country.
On the 22 November Katherine and I were hijacked. Since then I have once again been disgusted at peoples racism and prejudice.
Ok... so I had someone hold a gun to my head, pull the ring off my finger and rob me of an mp3 player, cellphone, keys and wallet containing R800 in cash, bank cards, id book and drivers license. And then Katherines car was taken (which had her bag, sunglasses and some cd's).
Why is everyone's first question (after a gasp of surprise and horror), "were they black?".
In this case one of them was... the second probably as well. But so what. What has that got to do with anything.
Here I write as a white male I have been done more harm and wrong by other white males than any other people group. And I'm pretty sure that so has every single other white person in this country.
Well now I think as someone that has been through a hijacking I can share the following:
Within 3 hours after the hijacking (that is after all the police statements etc...), Katherine and I proceeded to forgive the hijackers and pray that they would come to know God. We asked God to counsel us and release us from any bitterness.
And guess what.
It worked. I am not a bitter twisted cynical South African. I am not paranoid. I am not scared of townships... and I still have the greatest respect for my pastor (who is black).
If you are bitter and twisted and fearful because of being victim of crime and call yourself a Christian then I have a rebuke for you.
Take your eyes off yourself. Live like a Christian. Live like one who knows and is concerned about eternity. I know what it is like to have a gun pointed in my face while thinking "Could this be it... do I get to finally go be with God... or is something cool about to happen like him pulling the trigger and the bullet bouncing off my face".
God says in the bible "I have not giving you a spirit of fear but of love, power and sound mind".
I will not fear my hijackers... I will love them. Don't get me wrong... loving doesn't mean I don't want to see justice. Their act deserves punishment... but should they ever get caught they can know they are forgiven and loved... plus I have the added benefit of not allowing bitterness to ruin my life, my sleep and the awesome relationships I have with people from other cultures.
On the 22 November Katherine and I were hijacked. Since then I have once again been disgusted at peoples racism and prejudice.
Ok... so I had someone hold a gun to my head, pull the ring off my finger and rob me of an mp3 player, cellphone, keys and wallet containing R800 in cash, bank cards, id book and drivers license. And then Katherines car was taken (which had her bag, sunglasses and some cd's).
Why is everyone's first question (after a gasp of surprise and horror), "were they black?".
In this case one of them was... the second probably as well. But so what. What has that got to do with anything.
Here I write as a white male I have been done more harm and wrong by other white males than any other people group. And I'm pretty sure that so has every single other white person in this country.
Well now I think as someone that has been through a hijacking I can share the following:
Within 3 hours after the hijacking (that is after all the police statements etc...), Katherine and I proceeded to forgive the hijackers and pray that they would come to know God. We asked God to counsel us and release us from any bitterness.
And guess what.
It worked. I am not a bitter twisted cynical South African. I am not paranoid. I am not scared of townships... and I still have the greatest respect for my pastor (who is black).
If you are bitter and twisted and fearful because of being victim of crime and call yourself a Christian then I have a rebuke for you.
Take your eyes off yourself. Live like a Christian. Live like one who knows and is concerned about eternity. I know what it is like to have a gun pointed in my face while thinking "Could this be it... do I get to finally go be with God... or is something cool about to happen like him pulling the trigger and the bullet bouncing off my face".
God says in the bible "I have not giving you a spirit of fear but of love, power and sound mind".
I will not fear my hijackers... I will love them. Don't get me wrong... loving doesn't mean I don't want to see justice. Their act deserves punishment... but should they ever get caught they can know they are forgiven and loved... plus I have the added benefit of not allowing bitterness to ruin my life, my sleep and the awesome relationships I have with people from other cultures.
posted by Gareth at 10:37 AM
1 Comments:
Jus, bro, you are a legend. You always challenge me with your views. Keep going, you're doing well. And congratualations on the courting thing. From the photo, you guys look happy together.
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