As I've reflected on it, I've become increasingly uncomfortable with what happened. Let me first say that I am NOT a supporter of Ahmadinejad, and find him to be one of the most disturbing world leaders today. That said, I think what Columbia did was BRUTAL. On the natural level of things, it was brutal, but on the spiritual level, it was simply stupid!
Columbia extended an invitation to Ahmadinejad; he did not ask for the platform. So for the President of Columbia U. to then proceed to tear a strip off an invited guest, whom HE invited, is in matter of fact, in extremely poor taste. It smacked of an attempt to save face in response to the huge uproar of protest that Columbia received for inviting Ahmadinejad in the first place.
What exactly did he think would be accomplished by such a public humiliation? Clearly Ahmadinejad was not going to change his mind, nor put his tail between his legs and run away. Did the President of Columbia U. really think it would do anything except provoke the man and likely cause many people in Iran to hate the United States more than they already do?
All the introduction accomplished was to humiliate a world leader on an international level and further polarize relations between the two nations.
On a spiritual plain, things are much worse. Now I don't expect the President of Columbia U. to operate in these terms, but from a Christian perspective, what he did was make matters worse. Thousands of people protested and hurled all sorts of verbal insults, spewing anger and hatred. The problem is that all this does is increase the anger and hatred in both countries and likely in other countries around the world.
Looking at this in the reality of Ephesians 6, the problem with what happened at Columbia U. comes into focus:
Put on the full armour 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. (Eph. 6:11-12)Ahmadinejad is not the problem. The spiritual forces of evil are the problem and they are working on BOTH sides of the issue. Thus, to publicly humiliate and insult a man such as Ahmadinejad, is neither helpful nor wise! It betrays a complete misunderstanding of what is really going on, which is that spiritual forces of evil are at work here! Creating a stage where massive amounts of anger and hatred are stirred up in people only serves to strengthen those evil forces.
Do I expect that the President of Columbia U. would operate from this paradigm? No, not unless he was a Christian.
Nevertheless, as I've reflected on these events, my spirit has grown more concerned over what I witnessed. We may now dismiss what happened, as it has faded from the headlines, however the damage has already been done and it is very real. There is no way that Ahmadinejad will forget what happened that day at Columbia University. It will now be more difficult than ever to more forward toward understanding and peace.
We often are tempted to speak words that are bold and brash, but very often such words create more problems in our lives than they solve. We may feel better in the short term, but in the long term the issues remain as strong as ever.
When Jesus was being led towards his crucifixion he was insulted and yelled at and spit upon. He was deliberately shamed over and over again and humiliated beyond imagination. Yet he remained silent towards those who attacked him. Indeed, the words he chose were a prayer, asking God to forgive them, because they did not understand the true significance of what they were saying and doing.
I pray that I will continue to learn from His example.
2 comments:
Yes, he really did stick it to the Prez...
I see your point.
Can we put this on clarion?
bj
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