It may not be clear how Zimbabweans appreciate the work of Tinashe Mugabe. But in my view, Mugabe’s DNA program is greater than the entire body of Christians donning our country. Couples, having struggled for years, have been helped to get matters of paternity handled peacefully, through Mugabe’s DNA tests. There ought to be more of such programs, to bring sanity in marriages, among our people.
Many people receive the DNA testing result with mixed feelings. That is understandable, in a country with a political environment, where cheating is considered virtuous. There are couples who would have lived some horrible lives, due to lack of trust. The DNA test results serve to settle matters of paternity.
Many couples and relatives get relieved of the trouble associated with suspicions, having clouded such marriages. The general excitement that comes with the DNA test results is more than imaginable. Yet, after some DNA test results, some couples may be confronted with the most traumatizing experience.
Some, apparently, solid families have been ripped apart, due to DNA test results. Should Mugabe’s DNA program be terminated, or be allowed to continue? Regardless of how comfortable one might be, the condition of staying with falsehood is the worst thing any normal person should seek to avoid.
As I have written about this before, the worst thing in this life is to sustain one’s condition of mixing truth and falsehood. There is generally no problem in falsehood, just as there cannot be any problem in the truth.
The most important thing is to know what falsehood entails when compared to what would be true. All troubles of humanity are a product of the mixture of truth and falsehood, contained in-between truth and falsehood. This is just like the negative and positive electric wires are not problematic, as long as not touching each other.
The electric explosion results, only after combining the dichotomous flows of electricity. Equipped with this scientific knowledge derived in the understanding of electric flows, engineers have solved problems in many ways. However, it seems those associated with the subject of humanity are failing to adopt and apply this scientific discovery into the livingness of humanity.
There is no religious deliverance in Mugabe’s DNA program, necessarily. But a person can be delivered spiritually, due to the scientific truth that comes with DNA test results. Many Christians are known to vehemently denounce scientific discoveries, in the belief that they are not from the Bible. However, this confirms the existing problems in Christianity, which could be solved scientifically.
Even as he spoke, many believed in him. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:30-32 NIV).
Everything said by Jesus was from the vantage point of truthfulness. The Jews who could not get along with Jesus were not entirely opposed to the truth. They would have had no problem with Jesus if they had been honest enough with either truthfulness or falsehood.
Their problem had been the idea of settling in-between falsehood and truthfulness. Even though they could not authenticate their lack of belief, the Jews still held the possibility of Jesus being regarded as their enemy. The Jews reflected the common erroneous reasoning in humanity.
Let us now get into the shoes of a woman whose child would be assumed to be not biologically related to his current father. She would have tried in vain, to convince her husband that the child would be his. The husband may have even violently denounced everything said by the wife, but sticking to the falsehood coming from the informers.
Many families have been unnecessarily torn asunder, due to falsehoods, peddled by pathological liars. And yet many families have also been solidified in falsehood, only to create unforeseen problems in the future.
The troubled families may have sought counselling with the men of God, known to also end up compromising with women in such predicaments. Prayers get conducted, but without solving the problem of trust, bedevilling the couple.
The truth lies in appreciating the technology of the condition that weakens the concerned families’ relationships. Could trusting without evidence be workable? Consider this other scenario, which might be the case with some families. The woman knows very well that the child belongs to another man, but does not disclose this truth to her husband.
With the support from her husband, she may refuse to entertain different assertions. The husband, regardless of flying rumours from gossipers, sticks to the position that the child would be his. He solidly believes that the child is his, even though others observe clear evidence to the contrary. In that scenario, there may be falsehood believed to be true.
Such couples may happily get on with their lives without problems, whatsoever. The illegitimate child may, actually, turn out to be the pillar of that family. Whether the actual father knows it or not, the illegitimate child would totally believe that the one by whose surname he/she is identified, is the father. This may be the case with most apparently good families out there.
Scientifically, there is no problem in falsehood, on its own, just as there is no problem in truth, on its own. The guilty woman may only receive the consequences of her wrong behaviour in God’s judgment, for her undisclosed sins. Otherwise, in this life, problems arise, only when the husband becomes suspicious. Doubt is a mixture of falsehood and truth, which creates problems. Without suspicion, the couple would be in a blissful marriage.
This is different from a man who denies the truth, even where the wife confirms it. Although, in a matter of good communication and understanding, the matter carries no problem, as long as the wife confides in her husband. I suppose there are families living under those conditions. Problems come where outsiders interfere, in such relationships.
This world carries scandals that can be too difficult to disentangle. But peaceful coexistence is possible when there would be trust, even with some reason to doubt. Falsehood can be sustained and serves to keep families in this life happy as long as doubt does not come to spoil it. Scripturally, this was confirmed by the apostle Paul.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres”(1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV).
The statement: “It takes two to tango” is true. But it is also true that it takes one to trust, for peace to prevail, in this world. I particularly like the last line in Paul’s rendition: “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres” (verse 7). That describes the man who would be the custodian of a child belonging to another man.
People are free to provide their own opinions as to whether there would be merit in trusting without evidence, or not. But that does not take away the fact that the couple concerned would be blissfully enjoying their marital relationship. The affected family could, actually, be happier than those in marriages, with no reason to doubt paternity.
From the Apostle Paul’s rendition, we can perceive that one of the components of love is to always trust. In other words, trust disqualifies the idea of suspicions. You cannot love a person you suspect to be sleeping with other men. The rejoinder to this remains on the question of trusting, where doubt is entertained.
Just as it would always be the case with all matters of existence, in this world, suspicions should never be entertained. Rather than sleeping on the bed of suspicion, one should get the facts. This is where Tinashe Mugabe’s DNA testing program is ideal. The revelation of truth does not invite fighting. It invites making informed decisions.
If the child you have all along assumed to be yours, turns out to be another man’s product, what would you do? Depending on the circumstances, I suppose it should be a collective decision between the two spouses. There is no sin or any wrong-doing committed by that child. The dishonest mother would be responsible. But, her case could be considered on circumstantial conditions, by the other spouse.
She may have been abused by some irresponsible relative, or whatever the case may be. For a believer, the starting point would be to empathize with her. The forgiving person might reason: “How could I have handled this if I were in her shoes?” The empathetic consideration might include her naivety. A loving husband would then forgive and bear the responsibility.
The problem of dishonesty should not be limited to marital conditions. Our day-to-day lives are affected by dishonest people in general. The most important datum, in resolving such problems, according to Jesus, is forgiving. The opposite would be to seek revenge. Problems are solved by carrying each other’s burdens. Jesus died in the place of a worst criminal, known to exist at that time—Barabbas (Matthew 27:16-17).
This was a case of a good man bearing the consequences of sins committed by the worst criminal, put forward by Governor Pilate. The woman might be adjudged as having been so foolish, especially, when failing to disclose her dark past, to her new spouse. But she should not be adjudged as worse than Barabbas.
A loving spouse is one who seeks to understand and bear with the stupidity of his spouse. Each of us carries our own share of stupidity, anyway. Forgiving is not condoning what is wrong, necessarily, but it is to do with understanding.
Most of us carry the stupidity that might not be publicly displayed but, a condition of stupidity, nevertheless. This is why there is no power that surpasses the power of forgiving. This is why the great men and women are sustained in those having been able to love, even with good reason to hate.
Agreeably, this is not easy. If it was easy, Jesus would not have died on the cross. Christianity would be as easy as most people assume it to be. However, Christianity is as cumbersome as Jesus insinuated surrendering one’s dignity, to follow Him (Luke 14:25-33).
Most of what is observed in Christianity is practised by people associated with it, for what they can get, rather than what they can give. This includes those faithfully giving tithes, so as to receive God’s blessings. What is tricky is assuming being Christian, under those circumstances. The formula of giving, in Christianity, was meticulously articulated by the Author of Christianity:
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:1-4 NIV).
All problems of humanity are triggered by the effects in between the conditions of truth and falsehood. Jesus said only the truth sets people free. Regardless of how uncomfortable the truth might be, it is the only prerequisite for freedom. This requires total submission to foolishness, before becoming wise.
However, for Christianity, only the teachings of Jesus serve to straighten up the crooked ways. There is no need to believe in Jesus because another person proclaims to believe. There is no need to use imagination, except to take the words of Jesus as authentic. Believing in Jesus is an individual decision, without necessarily involving other people.
Christianity has got nothing to do with the opinions of others, except when in agreement with one’s own belief system. Considering the truthfulness of that reality is as good as considering the reality of DNA results. Truth is truth, regardless of the person’s dogmatic position.
Day and night, most people are known to pray for God’s deliverance. But the same deliverance is as available as becoming willing to confront the truth and adopting it wholeheartedly. At the point of appreciating the truth, as long as applying it, one becomes free, according to Jesus.
To be in bondage implies continually existing in the comfort of mixing falsehood with truth. There is no substitute for freedom, which comes only as a result of confronting the truth. The price of freedom is quantified in the ability to confront the truth, rather than succumb to lies, for expediency purposes.
There cannot be any freedom without the truth. This should be found true by those claiming to have fought for freedom. The problem of falsehood haunts those mixing falsehood with truthfulness. There can never be a mixture of falsehood and truth, without calamitous consequences.
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. In a simple conversational tone, most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long-awaited providential oasis of hope.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
Also available as an e-copy at Lulu.com for $6.99
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