Friday the 23rd of October 2015. I don’t think I’ll forget that day or the week that I lived afore, easily.
I climbed into my friend’s car to join her while she did errands and it didn’t take long for our conversation to turn to the most recent topic on everyone’s lips: #FeesMustFall.
“What do you think about this whole thing?” I asked her.
“Oh, I think a lot. I’m just not going to say much – I’m scared that I’m going to get blasted for my opinion, you know? Social media is scary,” she said back to me.
Just before being with her I was surfing the extra news channels on DSTV waiting for our president’s address in Pretoria and scouring Twitter for reliable information about what was really going on at Wits University. Things were tense. Students were waiting to see if the President had taken the cries of their movement seriously: a movement started by South African students to resist the impending fee increase that many (many) South Africans cannot afford; a movement started to guard their rights and education as a citizen of this country.
I don’t blame my friend for responding the way she did. In fact, how she responded was pretty normal. I mean, when things initially started happening and I saw a few of my other close friends responding and posting very passionately for the movement on social media, I still hadn’t formed an opinion yet, and I had no intention of jumping on bandwagons unless I had informed myself. So that’s what I set out to do: educate myself and will myself into feeling something, understanding something and standing for something. Because this, this affected my future (I am still a student) and the futures of my children.
The country’s elections were not so long ago and I find that a lot of young people – or just people for that matter, either chose to hold their vote or make an uninformed voting decision. It always feels like it’s easier that way.
At the back of our minds we feel that if we don’t know, we don’t have the responsibility to care, and we feel that if we don’t know, then we don’t have to feel bad for the minuet difference we’re making (we think we are only making a minuet difference).
This #FeesMustFall episode was not going to be one of those times when I chose to stay uninformed because it was easier not to form an opinion of my own, and easier not to know because there ‘really wasn’t anything I could do about it.’ No, this time, I was going to actively take part in history being made in my country – and speak out.
So, yes, you may be asking: How can my small voice make a difference?
And, I’m going to save you the cliché but true, ‘every voice counts’ – because every voice does count, but sometimes we don’t want to hear that – because it’s something we’ve all heard tons of times before.
I’ve recently been reading through 2 Samuel and was amazed once again at the story of Absalom, King David’s son. Absalom had a whole lot of thing’s going for him – and was very rebellious, but very clever. He knew that the people wanted someone to hear their petitions. So, he stationed himself and about 50 other men at the city gates (Jerusalem) and they said to all the people coming through the gates with petitions: “I’m sure your claims are truthful and have merit, but the King has not appointed anyone to hear your case. If only I were appointed the authority in the land! Then anyone with a petition could come before me, and I would give him justice” (2 Sam 15: 3-4, THE VOICE)
The people eventually voted him into power while his dad was still king and he overthrew his dad – Which is not GOOD (but, I have something good to say, so just hear me out)! I mean, David wasn’t even a bad king – he was a great one! If anyone knew the petitions of his people, it was David, but… he had one disadvantage to Absalom: He wasn’t at the city gates.
To me the city gates speak of accessibility. Absalom understood one principle: If he was going to reign like he wanted, it was not going to happen from sitting in his palace, it was going happen by him meeting the people as they brought their needs, hearing them out and offering them comfort.
To me, my home represents ‘comfort’: where I can carry on thinking about myself and my dreams and my things and things that concern me, and be totally frustrated by anything that happens outside of my walls. Or, if I really want to rule and make a difference in culture around me by infiltrating with a godly standpoint (biblical worldview), I can sit at the proverbial gates and hear people out.
Psalm 72: 4 (THE VOICE) says, “May the king offer justice to the burdened and suffering, rescue the poor and needy and demolish the oppressor.”
Anyone who wants to rule in their respective field, has to first serve. There’s no way that you’re going to get to the top without serving someone else. Your service (whatever that service may be) is a gate for you to get to another level.
In this case, service is justice offered to the burdened and oppressed.
I’ve learnt a lot from all of this. The main lesson being: We’ve all been given ears, we’d better use them – and if you’ve been given a voice, then YOU SURE AS LIFE, BETTER USE IT!
I’ve been given a voice and I dare you to move with me this week. The first way to move towards using your voice is finding it, and the first place you can find your voice is by finding your identity when you accept the new life that Father God offers to anyone who’s willing.
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