Aug 18th, 2021: Have We Learned Anything?

 


The news concerning the collapse of the government in Afghanistan is another example of how we cannot rely on political power to transform anything. It reminds me of what happened in Vietnam in 1975. The American government decided to pull out and withdrew from South Vietnam after more than 20 years of involvement. Soon after April 29th, 1975, we witnessed the tremendous display of human suffering and tragedies (concentration camps, killing fields and boat people). According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, between 200,000 and 400,000 boat people died at sea. We don't fully know the accurate number of people who died after the fall of Saigon in 1975. It might be in the millions.


What will happen in Afghanistan now the Taliban has officially declared a new government? How many people will have to die and suffer? We don't have the answer to that. We need to pray that the atrocity of war and hatred will stop. Raging a war against one another will never provide the answers we hope to find. Surprisingly, American Foreign Policymakers have not learned much from their Vietnam experience. Even more, they didn't learn well from the Soviet Union's attempt to take over Afghanistan from 1978 to 1992.


There will be no peace in the world when humanity continues to go to war against God. We can come to another country with all of our military might only to discover that we cannot sustain that forever. We can intimidate people, but we will not win them over. The real power is in prayer. So how do we pray?


Here is what we can learn from Daniel: 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding...'" (Daniel 2: 20-21)


Leaders will not be able to lead their nations with wisdom and might until they have the courage and the willingness to honor God. We are reminded that when they fail to do so, God will remove them. Learning to have the knowledge to understand the mind of God and His will for the world is essential in leadership. Somehow we fail to accept that the West has absolutely no moral authority over any other part of the world. America will need to humble herself before God if she wants to make a great impact in this world. Otherwise, God will use someone else and won't wait for us.

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