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sure just wages for everyone, no exploitation and a
fair value put on all commodities. Every laborer will
be worthy of his hire when God rules.
As all nations feel the benefit of capable, consis–
tent government, prices will s tabilize, so that nations
can plan their economies with confidence.
Aid will be readily available in the world tomorrow
to help development-but with no unfair strings at–
tached. The aid will be competently administered, and
based on real needs. In an economic system based on
lave and cooperation, nations will help each other be–
cause they
want
to--not because they are afraid of los–
ing influence toa rival power.
The Human Potential
Africa's greatest resource is her
people. They have been greatly
underrated. This region was in
A
pair of impala feed
in
a game preserve in Tanzania
(left); elephants cross stream in the preserve (middle); a
lilac-breasted roUer bird in Botswana (right).
recent centuries considered a reservoir of cheap labor
and slaves. Then it became a quarry, a mine and a
plantation for each of the colonial powers.
This was a mixed blessing. The Europeans
brought sorne benefits of modero civilization, but
left their colonies pitifully ill prepared for
nationhood.
lt
could be argued that African nations
often asked for trouble by demanding independence
befare they were ready. Be that as it may, many of
those new nations now teeter on the edge of collapse.
l s it any wonder that sorne African peoples have
begun to lose confidence in themselves?
"What's wrong with us?" a West African
businessman once asked me. "Why do we always
mess things up?"
T he answer, of course, is that the whole world is
February 1985
living the wrong way. Africans have simply borne
the brunt of it. Sometimes it is by the greed and
thought lessness of outsiders. Often they have
brought it on themselves.
Under the kind and thoughtful rulership of Jesus
Christ, Africans will find a new confidence and
self-respect. That may be hard for sorne to accept,
for in the T hird World many have become
disillusioned with Christianity (or rather what they
have been taught as Christianity).
The late Kenyan Jeader, Jamo Kenyatta, once
observed: "When the white man carne he had the Bible
and we had the land. He taught us to pray with our
eyes closed. When we opened them, we had the Bible,
and he had the Jand." There is, unfortunately, a great
deal of truth in that. "Spreading the gospel"
has often been the entering wedge for later
exploitation of weaker populations, not only
in Africa, but around the world.
Initially, sorne may have trouble trusting
God's appointed ruler Jesus Christ. But they
will learn fast, as he leads them into a new era
of peace and prosperity (Matt. 12:21 ).
A Continent Restored
What a difference a millennium of stable
government will make. Never again will
African fathers have to see their sons
grow up without education or opportunity. Never
again will African mothers watch helplessly as
their babies become ill or starve. All children will
grow up into strong adulthood, their eyes bright
and their minds filled with ideas, ready to begin
a life of success that will be a credit to their
parents and their nation.
1 could go on, for the Bible gives many more
details of God's new society. There is a plan to unite
all men with one common language. Also a
redistribution of land, banishing forever the
hopelessness of the landless poor.
There is the assurance that war and armies will be
ou tlawed, and the weapons of destruction turned to
peaceful use. There is even the outline of a fantastic
plan that will, later, give life back to the millions
who have died through starvation, misery, war and
disease through the ages.
But Jet this suffice. Perhaps most of our
readers will have trouble believing even this much.
Most people today do not believe God. Fortunately,
it is going to bappen whether they believe it or not.
This unhappy world must continue for a while
longer. But not
much
longer. We are heading for a
great final conflict centering on the Middle East.
There is not much that the smaller countries can
do to prevent this-there is
nothing
they can do to
avoid its consequences. Only God's intervention will
prevent the destruction of all life. But he will
intervene, and
this
age, with its frustration,
humiliation and despair, will end.
Look past the bad news of today, for just beyond
it is the bright hope of the wonderful new Africa of
the world tomorrow.
- John Halford
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