How the World Works

At times it is hard to understand how the world works. Canadian soldiers are in Afghanistan as part of a military team fighting for the freedom of the Afghani people. The Americans and British are there as well. We know that the U.S. and Britain are embroiled in the terrible mess in Iraq where a despot was deposed only to see civil war wrack the country.

Meanwhile another tyrant, Robert Mugabe continues his systematic oppression of opposition parties in Zimbabwe. The people of that nation live in abject poverty and have lifespans that reflect the stone age rather than the 21st century. The economy is in ruins and children starve. Yet Western nations have essentially turned a blind eye to Mugabe's personal excesses and his brutality, issuing occasional admonishments.

This photo is of Morgan Tsvangirai, an opposition leader who was arrested at a prayer meeting recently and badly beaten. When he walked into the courtroom a couple of days ago his face was swollen and some of his supporters were in casts for broken bones. This situation cries out for justice.

I'm grateful that the United Church has been a ministry partner with the churches in Zimbabwe through the years and we have done a great deal to support the Christian community there, along with a long history of education. I wonder if this is enough. I would never advocate violence as a solution, but this simply seems wrong.

How do our governments set priorities for intervention in distant places? What should we be saying as the church? What does God require of us?

...what does the Lord require of you but to do justice,
and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8