My dear friends
A recent BBC commentary on former American president Richard
Nixon made a deep impression on me. Nixon was lauded as a man with wonderful attributes
but who was unfortunately ultimately destroyed by 'his demons.' How tragic!
Today whenever Nixon's name is mentioned the Watergate
scandal automatically props up. In spite of his otherwise wise strategic decisions that
benefited America Watergate is what made him to go down in history as the first ever US
president to resign from the Oval Office. Wicked demons.
In my heart I sighed with France on Sunday evening when they
lost the World Cup in the dying minutes of the game. Sports is sports but sports can be
very cruel.
It would seem as if France's loss began around the 110th
minute when their champion and captain Zinedine Zidane was shown the red card and sent off
the pitch after head-butting a defender from their rivals, Italy. Now, regardless of the
nature of the provocation, that is definitely not how Zidane would have liked to end his
illustrious career. As someone said Zidane's action in a feat of rage turned him within
minutes from a hero into a villain. A French fan remarked, "But that's just not
Zidane." Was it his demons that did it?
There is a beautiful tenor voice from my Dlangezwa High
School days that I miss. The young man was known by his nickname, Mario Lanza. I believe
that he was potentially world class stuff.
Mario Lanza's voice still rings in my ears, hitting the
notes perfectly as he sang Georg Haendel's 'Comfort ye my people' and led us in the Negro
spiritual 'I'm seeking for a city.' That hauntingly beautiful voice was abruptly silenced
in a tragic set of circumstances. Demons of marital infidelity and greed led Mario Lanza
into a serious crime that earned him the death penalty. Even as I write my eyes get misty.
How can I forget how the demon of alcohol and its siblings
nearly destroyed our parents' marriage and with it our future? Well-known Afrikaans
politician and author C J Langenhoven remarked about people who liked to talk about his
drinking, not his thirst. Was it his thirst or his demons'?
In my almost thirty years in the ministry I have had cause
to weep as I saw people with wonderful gifts that blessed many a heart succumb to some
fatal folly from within themselves. That humbled me and I kept praying that the Lord would
have mercy on me.
Demons that seek to destroy each and everyone of us have
been described in different ways. Most probably you have heard the story of the two
wolves.
'One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a
battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between 2 'wolves'
inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret,
greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride,
superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity,
humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked
his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you
feed."'
Paul, great apostle that he was, knew about the two wolves
within.
"So I find this law at work: When I
want to do good, evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;
but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my
mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members." (Romans
7:21-23)
Just like the old Cherokee said we face the daily decision
as to what wolf we feed. Listen to what Paul says to that,
"You, however, are controlled not by
the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." (Romans 8:9)
"For if you live according to the
sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the
body, you will live" (Romans 8:13)
A song, a prayer, that I often sing in my heart is
"Breathe on me, breath of God."
"Breathe on me, breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do.
Breathe on me, breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with Thee I will one will,
To do and to endure.
Breathe on me, breath of God,
Blend all my soul with Thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.
Breathe on me, breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with Thee the perfect life
Of Thine eternity."
Have a blessed weekend.
Pressing on!
In His love
Fano Sibisi
