I rejoiced with the Egyptian people yesterday when I saw footage of them waving flags of victory and shouting for joy at the top of their lungs in Tahrir Square. It seemed unbelievable that Mubarak was actually gone after 30 years of iron-tight grip on the country’s population.
I asked myself, “How did the tables turn so quickly on this ruler that only a few weeks earlier appeared absolutely entrenched in power as ever?”
“The people lost their fear of him,” I responded. They no longer feared loss in standing up to him. They had suffered so greatly for so long and were living in such misery now that they had nothing to lose to fight for their rights.
But then I asked, “How did he stay in power for so long?” And the answer came, “Because people feared him.” Their fear of him kept him in power. When the fear disappeared, he had no more power base to support him. He had no choice but to flee or be destroyed.
There is a mighty spiritual lesson here to be learned!
Tyrants rule through fear. If we fear them, we allow them to exercise their rule over us. They take control. When the fear disappears, they lose their control over us. David facing Goliath is a classic example.
Do you face the “Mubarak’s” of your life with the same courage, fearlessness and confidence in right that thousands of Egyptians filling Tahrir Square had over the last two weeks?
The “Mubarak” could be a huge debt, a disease, a conflict, or another person giving you grief. Whatever form the error takes, don’t let it rule you through fear. Know your God-given rights, lose that fear, know you have nothing to lose and why you have nothing to lose in Spirit, fight for your freedom, and be free. Take a clue from the Egyptian people…
“A few immortal sentences, breathing the omnipotence of divine justice, have been potent to break despotic fetters and abolish the whipping-post and slave market; but oppression neither went down in blood, nor did the breath of freedom come from the cannon’s mouth. Love is the liberator.” Mary Baker Eddy
Thank you so much, Evan. I have closely followed the news, knowing some Egyptians personally and how they have lived with the despotism of the dictator. I was in Cairo, Alexandria a few years ago myself. I am also thinking of the power of HOPE – What happened in Tunisia gave people HOPE and showed what is ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE. Next thing they knew, Egyptians were on the streets for the freedom.
Well said, Evan and Anonymous #1.
The love for freedom that wiped out the fear, and the hope that the Tunisia example provided were both enhanced by the essential quality of moral courage, as this statement in Science and Health makes clear: “It requires courage to utter truth; for the higher Truth lifts her voice, the louder will error scream, until its inarticulate sound is forever silenced in oblivion” (S&H p. 97).
This blog by David Evans on TMC Youth is well worth reading:
http://tmcyouth.com/blogs/egypt-next-steps
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
To anon above,
Your comment would have been taken very offensively by many people, so I felt it best to delete it. I would like to encourage a spirit of brotherly love and kindness toward those with differing views that transcends political opinion. I hope you understand…
Thank you, Evan. This article puts the issue into perspective. Fear does try to raise its ugly head all of the time. It helpful to see it handled with a global perspective.
Keep praying. Lots of work yet to be done to ensure true freedom for the Egyptians. This was only step one!
Suggest you read this link on American Thinker (‘the time for thinkers has come’):
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/02/bh_obama_shameless_imperialist.html
Resist the kneejerk tendency to see the views in the link as ‘political’; they are a sobering reminder that media cheerleading and herd-labeling of Mubarak’s departure as a ‘victory for freedom’ and a ‘triumph over fear and tyranny’ does not make it so.
There is a naivete and blindness that engulfs most of Christianity, and at its core is a failure to go beyond platitudes in looking at Islamic theology and where it is leading in Egypt, Iran, Turkey and elsewhere. ‘Just another religion descended from the God of Abraham’ is elementary school pabulum.
Time to wake up! There is so much more and deeper prayerful work that is needed–
To Anon above
Of course there is more praying to be done.
Freedom is an ongoing demonstration not a one time event. Even in this country it has taken 235 years of struggling to figure it out….we’re still working to get it right.
But, it is not naive to rejoice in any example of freedom from fear or movement in thought away from accepted limitations.
We of all people know that! A CS has to stand up to the pressure of accepted mortality all the time. Facing down fear is always an important step in any demonstration of freedom.
Thanks for this post Evan.