NATIONAL RECONCILIATION

Unity in diversity is the challenge every nation face, and this is a needy thing because unity essentially is an inherent desire among men. The challenge is that we are different, and we bear scars from each other due to past and present short falls. Yet since unity is an inherent desire, the question remains, how are we to be united as a nation? What is the secret to ‘National Reconciliation’? Below is an address from 1993 that was delivered by Joachim Rieck (former pastor of Eastside Baptist Church, Windhoek) to the first Prime Minister of The Republic of Namibia, his excellency, Dr. Hage Geingob. I post this address for two reasons:

1. This address states the churches position on the matter of National Reconciliation which is still an issue. By church, I do to only refer to Eastside Baptist, but the whole church of Jesus Christ. What is reflected in the address in not what the churches think, but what God says. This remains the message of the church today.
2. This is to honour two men in their respective God-given roles. Firstly, I honour the late president Dr. Hage Geingob, for welcoming and listening to the subject from such a perspective. For him to stand such a perspective is a call for humility. Secondly, I honour pastor Joachim Rieck, for being faithful and not bending God’s word in such a context. He may easily have delivered a social motivation on unity, but he stood to his role, to declare the word of God as it is.

Below is the address as it was given.

PRIME MINISTER’S CONSULTATIVE MEETING: 28-29 JULY 1993

CHAIRMAN: His Excellency, Dr Hage Geingob 

 

SUBJECT: NATIONAL RECONCILIATION FROM A CHRISTIAN POINT OF VIEW—PASTOR JOACHIM RIECK (EASTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH)

At the outset of this paper, let me define the parameters/scope of the subject which has been allocated to me,

“National Reconciliation from a Christian point of view”

1. National
2. Reconciliation
3. Christian point of view

1. NATIONAL Reconciliation: ‘National’ suggests that there has been (and still is) conflict within the nation. Our country is composed of various tongues and cultural identities. Our country’s people have various political identities and socio-economic identities. Our country’s history has been marked by various levels of conflict, and many memories of our relatively short history still lie deeply embedded upon our people’s minds. And now the challenge lies before us: to be nationally unified and reconciled—to speak in idealistic terms: As Namibians we are called to have one heart and mind.
2. National RECONCILIATION: The word ‘Reconciliation’, defined by Chambers’ Dictionary means “to bring back friendship or union”, “to bring agreement/ contentment”. As has been mentioned previously there is, and has been a rift among our country’s nationals which needs to be mended, if our nation wants to be one in purpose and vision. But how do you bring people of diverse backgrounds together in national unity? Sir, I am glad that I can now address this issue from the perspective of our third parameter: the Christian point of view!
3. National Reconciliation from a CHRISTIAN VIEWPOINT: I am so glad that I may speak from this perspective, because, I believe with all my heart, that biblical Christianity, (that is, Christianity that is founded squarely upon the authoritative teachings of Scripture) can make a phenomenal difference to a nation’s unity.

Sir, the message of the Bible is ESSENTIALLY reconciliatory. Let me define what I mean: The Bible begins with the creation and fall of man in the book of Genesis. Man was created as ‘good’, but that all changed after he chose to disobey God in the Garden, and ever since that day, man has lived in rebelliousness, not only with regard to God, but also with regard to his fellow human beings. To this very day, nations all around the world have internal struggles. The history of mankind is made up of conflicts of national and international character. Conflict is fueled by something, and I will show that it is rooted primarily in man’s fall, and by implication therefore in man’s rebelliousness against God. The amazing fact revealed to us through the pages of Scripture is that, despite the fact of man’s rebelliousness, God makes a way of reconciliation. It is not, that man deserved this act of kindness. Scripture is in great pains to point out, that this act of God is an act of great mercy. He does it reconcile men to himself, not because they deserve it, but because God freely chooses to do so. The way in which God reconciles men is clearly spelled out in the Bible.  He reconciles men to himself through his Son, Jesus Christ, who on the cross bears the sins of men. Christ died, that sins might be forgiven. This substitutionary death of Christ brings peace with God to whoever accepts Christ as personal Saviour. Peace with God means reconciliation.

Sir, I am aware, that I am saying something utterly radical here. This is my central thesis:

 

TRUE NATIONAL RECONCILIATION HAS A STARTING POINT. THAT STARTING POINT TOWARDS TRUE RECONCILIATION IS FOUND WHEN INDIVIDUALS BECOME FIRST RECONCILED WITH GOD.

Why is this fact so important, that I should belabor it? Because all subsequent human action flows from it. Man left to himself and without God is utterly unable to do that kind of good that is so desperately needed to save our nation and our planet with all its wars, killings, political intrigues, environmental abuse etc. In science there is a law called the second law of Thermodynamics. Essentially this law states that ‘as time passes, anything that is left on its own will deteriorate’. That universal law may be applied to man himself: man left to himself, and without God’s intervention, deteriorates. Sir, I do not have to remind you, that every notable civilization, that this world has ever known, has come to an end through the disintegration of moral values. It is high time, that people everywhere recognized the biblical teaching on man’s total depravity. Man is not essentially good, but evil. By ‘total depravity’ we  do not mean, that man is as evil as he possibly could be. There is much good that is being done in our world today and it is not Christians alone who do it; but it is insufficient! It falls short of the mark! Falling short of the mark is the biblical definition of ‘SIN’.

 

Sin in turn has many facets, but primarily, they can be summarized by two key words: Pride and Self-centeredness. I want to invite you to empirically observe that phenomenon everywhere. I want to dare to say, that the problem of national reconciliation lies embedded within those attitudes.

1. PRIDE: Our tribal/cultural identities; our socio-economic status’s; our educational status’s etc. cause us to think higher of ourselves than we ought to. Pride raises oneself to a level above the other person. That is essentially the evil of apartheid and all class systems. The biblical truth to consider here is found in the book of Proverbs 3:34, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble’.
2. SELFISHNESS: Thinking of ourselves before we think of others. The perpetual drive to ‘feather our own nests’; to gain advantage above others. The Bible teaches not self centeredness, but Christ centeredness. When we look from Christ’s perspective, then we look from the perspective of One, who in coming to this earth ‘humbled himself, taking on the nature of a servant’. From that position we must learn to view others, through his eyes of compassion.

Now imagine a Namibian people without a false sense of pride and without selfishness. This is a recipe for national unity, because everyone will seek the good of the other!

 

A WORKING MODEL FOR NATIONAL RECONCILIATION

1. We need to pray for God’s hand of intervention in this regard. This is a call to all Christian churches.
2. Preachers of Christian Churches must preach the biblical message of reconciliation to their people, namely, ‘that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 5:19). Men must return to God, before they will turn from their selfishness and pride which hinders national reconciliation. I believe that the church of Christ has the only effective, actual message of reconciliation, precisely because it is a message from God. And it must be proclaimed! Reconciliation means forgiveness, and if God in Christ forgives us (Romans 5:8), who are we not to forgive one another? Love is the essential mark of the Christian. If that is true then God is seen as greater than our political differences, and our neighbour is seen as more important than our political differences.

By way of practical application, people in general, and Christians in particular, must recognize, that we do not necessarily have to agree with one another, to enjoy peaceful co-existence. The failure of so many political systems rest squarely on the fact that they do not recognize the individuality, or group identity of people. Now, I am not saying that every group or individual identity is beneficial to the country’s welfare or pursuit of national reconciliation. Nazi’s, or Right or Left wingers, or in the religious realm, Satanists or religious zealots such as the Jim Jones/David Koresh Cult of Waco-Texas are a danger to national reconciliation. They are at heart divisive movements. However, we recognize, that in our country, we have many people with diverse opinions and beliefs. As a Christian, I may not agree with people of different religious and even denominational persuasions, but that does not give me the right to persecute or force people to believe like I do. I think that the words of Prime Minister Winston Churchill are very apt: “Everything within me disagrees with what you are saying, but I will defend your rights to say it!” To see National Reconciliation become a reality, we have to become bighearted. That does not mean that Christians have to compromise their particular stand, but they recognize, that essentially, they should never fight with worldly weapons of destruction. The Christians weapons are the Word of God spoken in Love and Prayer. Our world, and our country will never be won by physical forces, but by the silent revolution, which the third Person of the Trinity brings about—the Holy Spirit.

 

CONCLUSION

Sir, these simple teachings from God’s Word constitute my humble contribution towards national reconciliation. They are spiritual truths, and they can be observed empirically. I stand here before you as a living example of one, who did not always know the God of the Bible. I grew up in a society of privileged Whites in Namibia, many of whom are guilty of the symptoms of pride and selfishness – very much like the rest of mankind. But when I became a Christian in 1978, things changed. I could no longer be indifferent to people – of whatever cultural background they came from. The love of God compelled me to accept them just as they were. I was able to be reconciled to them, because God reconciled Himself to me. Therein, I submit, lies the secret of true National Reconciliation.