Great nations of the world prioritise armaments in their national budgets. Greatness is measured by how sophisticated the accumulated arsenal would be, against the similarly equipped rival nations. Poor nations are sustained in poverty by corrupt leaders, externally manipulated by those Superpowers. The so-called Superpowers facilitate dictatorships in suppressing internal opposition in poor countries. Such titanic nations supply weapons to corrupt dictators in poor countries when serving their hegemonic interests. The militarily equipped Superpowers support despotic governments for strategic reasons.
When analytically observed, the behaviour of Superpowers and poor nations is similar. The instigator of rivalry and corruption among all peoples cannot be divisible. The respective armament budgets of poor nations are facilitated by the so-called Superpowers. Those superior nations strategically align themselves with corrupt leaders, in return for mineral resources.
Generally, it is the so-called poor nations that finance the staggering armament budgets of those Superpowers of the world. Ironically, the poor nations would be rich, in terms of mineral resources, but manipulated by powerful nations to be superintended by the intellectually challenged leaders. Such leaders’ elevation to power would be facilitated by the militarily equipped so-called Superpowers.
From this viewpoint can be observed as impossible for poor nations to ever reach the status of greatness. Either of the antagonistic Superpowers would not allow impoverished nations to ever attain greatness that may undermine their greatness. The existence of poor nations is, therefore, considered necessary for sustaining the relevance of the so-called Superpowers.
The rise to greatness of a considered poor nation is viewed as problematic when strategically assumed as sustaining either of the great nation’s opponents. This portrays the bad conditions of this world. For instance, most of those from poor nations do not envisage their respective nations contributing to the threat of WW3. But they would be used as pawns by either of the feuding Superpowers.
We live in a world where success is interpreted as outcompeting competitors as opposed to serving humanity. There is no other reason for propagating hard work, except to attain greatness ahead of others. Accessing great fortunes attracts admiration. However, those achieving such successes become depressed at death. Never was such a condition ever accurately depicted, better than by the Old Testament legend of King Solomon:
“I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness, but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Then I thought in my heart, ‘The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?’ I said in my heart, ‘This too is meaningless.’ For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten.
“Like the fool, the wise man too must die! So, I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 2:13-19 NIV).
Most human characters are sustained by pride. The irony is that no one wants to be identified as being proud and yet commonly projecting being proud. Only children, when not influenced by adults, can be observed as not projecting pride. Children of all races and in different languages can easily mingle and communicate on friendly terms. Pride influences the desire to become greater than fellow humans. This promotes pleasure in observing peers’ failures, rather than obtaining pleasure in their successes.
While great nations can be blamed for behaving in that manner, this is a sentimental behaviour across the world. Pride remains undetected but is a scourge that ravages humanity across the world. Was it not pride that caused Cain to kill his brother, Abel, only because Abel’s offering had attracted favour from God? Is that not the same behaviour that causes humans to feel threatened by their fellow men’s successes? The truth remains ensconced in that the despised person’s success causes discomfiture to those assumed to be great.
Blaming others for the prevailing sins is itself, an indicator of living in pride. One can receive adulations for conducting life ethically when compared with others. But the same person remains in trouble, as long as his fellows would remain unethical. The truth of all time is that humans cannot live in isolation. This world is shared among people of diverse backgrounds and languages. From this is observed the aspect of communication being necessary, without which, humanity is doomed.
Diversity degrades communication. One thing means something else to those of different languages or backgrounds. Pride causes a person to wrongly conclude that the intentions of a person from a different background would be sinister. Rather than accommodate a stranger, the easiest is to treat him as an opponent, even without proof. That is exactly the behaviour of animals, commonly unable to share the same territory with those from elsewhere.
However, humans were created differently from brute animals. The only effective tool innately granted to humanity is reason. When using common sense, humans can coexist, even with a cobra, or anything considered most dangerous in this world. A human being is at home with everything observed in his surroundings, as long as educated about handling such objects. It is a question of how one uses reason to utilize surrounding objects for his and the referred object’s benefit.
Common sense can enhance the survival of the object, which then sustains one’s own survival. Without reason, that person would destroy everything in his surroundings, assuming that to be necessary for survival. Having destroyed vegetation, and causing river siltation, the same person vanishes into oblivion. He discovers too late, the impossibility of surviving without the destroyed objects.
A searchlight is necessary for revealing causes of avoiding common sense. Ignorance is as good as darkness makes it impossible to travel safely. Without the light, one uses assumption as the basis of concluding decisions. Nevertheless, the most dangerous condition is in making decisions based on assumptions. The searchlight is Jesus, revealed in the first chapter of the Book of John:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through him all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:1-5 NIV).
In verse 14 Jesus is revealed as having directly come from God, bearing the truth for the benefit of human survival. It becomes extremely unnecessary to continue walking in darkness, after the revelation of Jesus, as the light of the world. Dispersal becomes unnecessary, when the light leads the way, as also accurately projected by John the Baptist:
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel” (John 1:29-31 NIV).
The focus ought to be on establishing the reason for John singularly mentioning a sin of the world, rather than sins of the world. Knowledge is power. But it is quite disturbing to notice that people like Steve Jobs, having had to experience serious opposition from traditional authorities in the communication industry. The Prophet Hosea revealed that God’s people perish because of lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). When Jesus exhibited the unprecedented knowledge, instant apprehension arose, among His people:
When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t he Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offence at him (Mark 6:1-3 NIV).
Confusion is characterised by mistaking one thing for the other. Common sense suggests that those people ought to have rejoiced that God had raised someone like Jesus in their midst. Rather than rejoice, they took offence. Jesus had to restrain Himself from continuing with His works in that region, stating: “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honour” (Mark 6:4 NIV).
When diagnosing the cause of offence, we find their low opinion of Jesus. Having a low opinion of one’s own people is common among corrupt African leaders. To them, great achievements ought to come from elsewhere. This explains the mystery of looting and stashing looted resources abroad. Corrupt leaders are happier seeing their own people in poverty. To them, that is necessary for maintaining subservience to their leadership.
This may sound strange when unaware of the problematic human mind. This confusion is embedded in insanity but accepted as normal in societies. It is a question of what should be done with insane people. Killing them cannot be the answer, as that suggests succumbing to their level. They have uneducated followers behind them. Henceforth, can be realised the urgent need for proper education.
But, according to Hosea, God’s people, comprising every human being, reject knowledge. We cannot limit this degraded behaviour to a few communities. It is a common scourge, even among families of the same parentage. Jesus “could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith” (Mark 6:5-6 NIV).
Wishing the destruction of evil dictators, known for stashing looted resources abroad, is missing the mark. Their behaviour is endemic, and neither emanates from the so-called Superpowers, taking advantage of the activities of corrupt African leaders. Jesus was revealed by John the Baptist as having come to take away the sin of the world. It is, therefore, the endemic sin that needs eradication, rather than humans.
The mission of Jesus is precise and straightforward in dealing with that single sin of the world. Hence, Jesus could not revenge against those treating Him badly on the cross. Simon Peter revealed his ignorance of this endemic felony, for which Jesus likened him to Satan. The poor fellow had portrayed the effect of being influenced by the same, irresistible sin of the world:
From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you.” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (Matthew 16:21-23 NIV).
Simon Peter exhibited humanity’s ordinary behaviour. Only the hypocrites would rush into condemning Peter. Jesus revealed that this type of behaviour was symptomatic of human behaviour. Simon Peter simply revealed the poisoned human mind, which Jesus had come to handle. That behaviour confirms the virally emblematic sin across the world.
Pointing at America, Russia, or any other superpower, is misdirecting the identity of that paranormal sin. Rather than witch-hunting, the light of the world is available to show the way forward. This is just as the same light was available at the time when Simon Peter engaged in an altercation with Jesus. The West against the East; One country against the other; One tribe against the other; brother against brother; are symptomatic of that singular felony of humanity.
There is nothing like a great or inferior human being in this world. All humans were created in God’s image. Blindness to this fact is no longer necessary. Jesus unveiled the answer some two thousand years ago. What was created in God’s image is God. The confusion arises where pride is existent. Good things are viciously fought against, by the proud people, using the uneducated pawns to advance their nefarious agenda. The idea of superiority is as stupid as King Solomon said it is chasing after the wind.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing relief to those having witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
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