Seventy times seven

Whenever you work closely with any government or country, your eyes become open to a new reality. The strengths and weaknesses of the government become known and any corruption is exposed.

The corruption has been the hardest for me to digest; to fully accept. Naively, I wasn’t expecting it; nor prepared to work through it.

I can’t help but feel angry when the paperwork we need processed or the supplies we need cleared keeps getting “delayed.” We are told that if we pay “so and so” or “this and that” we can get what we need. Not only are we here to help, but we are going to be providing thousands of free surgeries to their people, and their still trying to get money illegally from us! I can’t help but feel a little violated and used. Or discovering that the food from the world food program somehow “goes” to certain people first. Disgusting.

Then it makes me very, very sad. The sin--the corruption--has imprisoned this nation. They are trapped in this never-ending cycle. I have only lived in Africa just shy of two years now. I don’t, nor will not, claim to know everything about this dear continent. But, I believe part of their poverty as nations, even as a continent is in part due to the roots of sin and the corrupt ways of those on top. I use the word part, because there are of course many factors contributing to the poverty. I guess what I am feebly trying to say is that God honors honesty and casts his judgment on sin. He will bless righteousness. We see it all over the Old Testament. He loves righteousness and hates the wicked (Psalm 45:7). One reaps what one sows. And I am seeing it in a new way here.
(Please, don’t misinterpret. I am by no means, making a generalization. Not all of Africa’s leaders are corrupt. There are those in leadership positions who are desperately working to reverse this cycle. I know the USA isn’t entirely innocent either. )

I mentioned it in my last post…within our first week here we got fuel siphoned out of our generator-- by our security guards. Yes, the ones who are supposed to be watching over our house to prevent theft. Ouch! Even though theft is a big problem here, I didn’t see that one coming. I will admit my flesh wanted us to fire the guys then and there. We didn’t. But it got me thinking. What does it mean to really love? To truly forgive? God doesn’t call us to love and forgive when it’s easy. No, instead, He commands us to love when our whole being wants nothing but.

So, what does that look like for me? Even though it sometimes takes everything in me, we continue to bring them tea in the morning and our left-over dinner in the evening. I greet them with a smile and ask how they are doing.

Seventy times seven.