Sermon of the week:Spare others the pain you had to endure

By The NewsDay | Mar. 23, 2013 | 4 Min read

Sometimes we make it in life after a protracted war against adversity.

Many people have made it to the pinnacle through extremely harsh conditions. You probably had to walk many kilometres to school barefoot and on an empty stomach. You would wake up early in the morning and till the land before you went to school. After school you probably went to the fields or herded cattle. There was no money for candle or paraffin and your homework and studies were under the light of the moon.

Your ladder seemed to have more stairs than what others had and your advice and treatment to all those you meet, live with or work with is that they have to go through the same channel. Mankind in nature has a revenge attitude. Please protect, support, instruct and help others that they may not go through the labour, pain, agony and hardship you had to endure.

While I respect that principles are necessary to get expected results in life, I also know that circumstances may differ. I don’t subscribe to microwave philosophy, but I believe in building upon the foundation laid by previous generations. From a biblical perspective I don’t believe in going back to Egypt again, but to stay in the Promised Land and pick it up on where the last generation left and maintain the legacy. However, it is wisdom to learn from what has been bequeathed to us by our forebears. Their mistakes should not be our mistakes. We perfect on what they did well. We cannot keep on inventing the aeroplane but we can develop better models.

Many people don’t want anyone to enjoy their sweat and labour. We have to be careful not to spoil the next generation, but should help them to reach their destination earlier. I know parents that would not allow their children to enjoy their (parents’) wealth and would rather go with it to the grave. We have to teach our children hard work and good ethics to handle what we are handing over to them so that it doesn’t go down the drain.

During my time as a student, bread or buns were a preserve for the elite, but these days if you pack bread without polony in your child’s lunchbox, they will return from school with the lunchbox unopened. So give them what they can eat so long as it is balanced eating.

Teaching Israelites laws of social justice, God notes in Exodus 22:21: “Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” God teaches His people to spare any strangers the agony they went through while they were slaves under Pharaoh’s iron fist rule. Maybe you had to go through the ranks from living in a shack, then lodging in one room and maybe an asbestos cottage at your high density stand until you finished building the house.

You could have walked long distances to and fro town for ages in search of a job in the industrial areas. When the job finally came, they paid you peanuts.

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Probably you now own many houses and mansions. Would you spare someone the hardship and give her/him one of those houses? Spare someone from walking those miles you walked and give them one of your many cars.

Some people had to almost lose life to set up their companies and they now want you to feel it and pay you the least wages in town. They say they don’t want you to benefit from what you didn’t work for. Imagine what Strive Masiyiwa had to endure to set up Econet and look at the works of charity he is doing. This syndrome of wanting others to go through what you endured has unfortunately got into the church as well. My plea to the big churches is there are other churches that will be very pleased to have the equipment you are no longer using. They will be okay with the benches, chairs, public address systems rotting in your storehouses.

Israelites knew what it meant to be treated unfairly and had to spare others the agony. You know how to go for days without food or years with one dress or one pair of trousers. Now that you are living in overflowing abundance, spare a thought for someone that is struggling.

This is not to encourage laziness or encouraging those in austere conditions to relax and wait for some miraculous coming of some Good Samaritan while you go to bed early and wake up late. Do that which you can do. Let God see you working hard. Reflect and think of others. You are going somewhere.