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Divisions
in MDC are a betrayal of the masses
Christians
Together for Justice and Peace (CTJP)
February 19, 2006
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/read.php?path=./news/2006/February/Sunday19/&st_id=880
AS Church leaders
who share the responsibility of ministering to all the people of this
land we confess to being deeply troubled by the uncertainty, confusion
and widespread despair which have followed the collapse of the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) as a single and united, national opposition
movement. We are equally troubled by the increasing factionalism and tendency
among those committed to the struggle for freedom and democracy to allow
themselves to be polarised according to the particular leader each chooses
to support. The provocative and inflammatory statements made by some have
only served to exacerbate the divisions, and we condemn them.
Lest there be any
doubt we say again that we ourselves are non-partisan. We are concerned
with politics in the broad sense of the word which constitutes a significant
part of life and as such falls under the Lordship of our Saviour Christ.
But we do not take sides in party politics. We have no brief for any particular
party or faction of a party; we seek rather to bring every existing and
aspiring political party under the most searching examination and critique
of the Scriptures. The standards against which we judge the policies and
practices of every party are the most exacting standards of all, namely
those of the Servant King, Jesus Christ and the kingdom values of truth,
justice and compassion, especially for the weakest and most vulnerable
in society. Against these standards all parties fail lamentably of course,
but some represent honest attempts to serve the nation and are worthy
of support from individual Christians. Others are so far opposed to the
concept of servant leadership and the kingdom values that a Christian
cannot support them without betraying his or her Lord. In this matter
as we have said before we find the present policies and practices of Zanu
PF to be abhorrent to God - indeed to amount to an attack upon his kingdom
of truth and righteousness. It is our judgment that the Sovereign God
says to the present Zanu PF leadership as he said to King Saul through
his prophet Samuel: "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he
has rejected you as king." (1 Samuel 15/23)
When God rejected
Saul as leader of his people he anointed another to be servant king under
Him. That man was David, a man described by God as "a man after my own
heart". In the same way, just as the Sovereign Lord has rejected those
who now rule our nation we believe he waits to anoint another leadership
entirely, but they must be men and women after God's own heart - wise,
caring, humble and obedient to the word of God. They will be men and women
who aspire to leadership not because of what they can get out of it but
because of what they are willing to give of themselves. And they will
be men and women who are always willing to be held accountable by the
people for what they do or fail to do.
It is for this reason
that we view the disintegration of what was once a united opposition party
committed to the democratic principles of freedom, tolerance and non-violence
with such dismay. The disintegration represents a betrayal of the hopes
and aspirations of millions of peace-loving Zimbabweans who were looking
for a radical break with the politics of lies, violence and lawlessness
entrenched under so many years of Zanu PF misrule. Nor have those who
have assumed the leadership of the resulting factions of the MDC so far
demonstrated the qualities of godly leadership for which the nation looks.
At this moment of
indecision in the nation's history we urge our fellow citizens to commit
themselves with us to the search for a new leadership of Christian insight
and integrity. We urge our people to reject the rush to join one or other
of the factions or new parties and the making of shallow and superficial
judgments about who is right and who is wrong. Instead we urge a deeper
Christian reflection and a closer examination of all those who put themselves
forward for leadership positions and what each one represents.
It may be that the
sovereign Lord has rejected all those who now posture as leaders or potential
leaders of his people. It may be that the prayers of the faithful for
deliverance from evil during the last six years of crisis are about to
be answered in a new and altogether unexpected way. In any event it will
fall to us as mature Christians to consider carefully the character and
record of any who offer themselves for the task of leading this nation
out of Satan's hold and creating the conditions necessary for a new beginning
under Almighty God.
We take heart from
the promise of God which we understand to be directed to his people engulfed
as we are in deep crisis: "I know the plans I have for you … plans to
prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah
29/11) Let us then reflect carefully and exercise a godly discernment
as we wait to hear what the Spirit says to the Church today.
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