Eyes to See, Ears to Hear
I am so excited for Cape Town! As the final in-person advance of our doctoral program, I’ve been eyeing this moment since the beginning, and it’s hard to believe it is finally here. I love to travel and experience new places, to learn their history, culture, and people—and South Africa has no shortage of those things. This week I’ve been hastily making trip preparations: packing, finishing tasks at work and home, setting up support for my family while I’m away, and trying to prepare my head and heart for this time and place.
As I’ve been reading through Waldmeir’s and Russell’s works on the end of apartheid and where South Africa has gone since, I’ve been overwhelmed by the complex web of people, places, and conversations that brought about the “miracle” of transition—a momentous event in human history. I’m also a fan of comedian Trevor Noah, and I devoured his book Born a Crime these past few weeks in preparation. Noah’s personal take on growing up under apartheid was eye-opening. The organized way in which people were divided, ranked, segregated, and entrenched in broken worldviews was heartbreaking and illuminating. In his story, Noah and his family had little agency to change apartheid itself, but they changed their response to it. His mother’s resilience had a tremendous impact on his life.
In a similar way, Nelson Mandela’s views on forgiveness and reconciliation were shaped by his experiences and enabled him to lead his country toward peace. Two quotes from Long Walk to Freedom stood out to me. The first reveals his humility as a leader: “I have always endeavored to listen to what each person had to say before venturing my own opinion. Often, my own opinion will simply represent a consensus of what I heard in the discussion. I have found that a leader loses nothing by being able to listen, and he gains much thereby.” (pp. 25–26). His upbringing in a culture of consensus-style leadership shaped this posture.
The second reflects his ability to separate individuals from the system of apartheid: “In prison, my anger toward whites decreased, but my hatred for the system grew. I wanted South Africa to see that I loved even my enemies while hating the system that turned us against one another.” (p. 464). This echoes Paul’s admonition to the Ephesians: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:11–12, NIV). Apartheid was emphatically a broken system in a broken world—and such systems persist today in South Africa and around the globe. The principle remains: see the image of God in others, and seek reconciliation and forgiveness, even toward those who “do not know what they are doing.”
During our time in Cape Town, my prayer is that God will help me to listen and to see. To listen to the people, the culture, the land we are visiting, and to my fellow classmates, who are much wiser than I. And to see—to see clearly the transformative power of forgiveness, the downfall of corruption and power-centered leadership, and to recognize those things both “out there” and “in myself,” that God might shape me into a healthier and more Christlike leader.
So here we go! Next week in Cape Town!
About the Author
Ryan Thorson
Follower of Jesus. Husband. Father. Pastor. Coach. I am passionate about helping people discover the gift of Sabbath and slow down spirituality in the context of our busy world.3 responses to “Eyes to See, Ears to Hear”
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Ryan, I also read a good bit of Trevor Noah’s book two years ago, just before my first trip to SA. I plan to finish it on the plane this time!
I also appreciated your view of Mandela from his own words. What do you think, in retrospect, were some of the leadership skills or abilities that contributed to Mandela (and other leaders) being able to transition (albeit, slowly) from complete apartheid, into something closer to representative government? (As I found out while there two years ago, it’s not a complete project…)
Ryan,
Besides the books we read for this week, the book on Colonialism mentions several things about SA that I did not realize. I love the mental preparation we have been assigned to help us experience the country and its people.
I appreciate your comment “The principle remains: see the image of God in others, and seek reconciliation and forgiveness, even toward those who ‘do not know what they are doing.’” On a scale of 1 – 10, (1 = absolute failure; 10 = wonderful success) how would you rate how we as a nation are adhering to that principle? Using the same scale, how is the church doing?
Hi Ryan,
I am excited for Cape Town too!
I often ask myself this question – What does it mean to love your enemies while resisting unjust systems? Do you have any thoughts on this?