They knew the peace-child concept was their best. Now they were finding what I too had found nine years before - man's best is not enough! They were approaching the realization that everyone's true self is waiting for him in the Son of God...Once again, there was stillness in the manhouse. -Page 187-
When I read this specific passage, there was a stillness inside of me. 'Wow' I thought to myself, 'Even our best is not good enough... How imperfect and harried are we in the first place?' This one short excerpt from the book challenged and radically changed the way I perceived humanity.
Even though there were many times I shook my head in disgust about all the cruel wars and crimes in the world, I had always held a strong faith that humans are genuinely pure and good-hearted beings. I thought that mankind had the ability to return back to its tranquil and congenial ways whenever it needed to, even when it was in the midst of all the sin and woe in life. That was why , I believed, celebrities and famous personages, like Leonardo Di Caprio and Oprah Winfrey, found joy and satisfaction in donating momentous amounts of their fortune to the less fortunate, even when they were exposed to so much monetary temptation and lavishness.
If the Sawi's best is their trading of Peace Children, then the best of the modern society is most likely peace treaties and reconciliation. However, if we think about it, even our best originates from some things that are utterly diabolical and disturbing: war and conflict. The reason why these 'bests' exist in the first place is because we want pacify all the brutality and cruelty that occur when we disagree and argue. The army alliance between Korea and America during the Korean War was initially made because South Koreans desperately needed aid from the American army to restore all their wounded soldiers and to take revenge on the North. After having this epiphany, I felt ashamed and embarrassed that we people confidently flaunt and wave around our 'best' for the whole world to see, when our greatest feats are actually superficial masks that cover up all the ugliness inside of us.
Humanity, I felt, has no such thing as a good heart. Although it was painful and depressing to do so, I concluded that people are genuinely as imperfect and harried as all our crime, sin, and outer appearance are. Even the Bible seemed to exclaim that we are brought forth in iniquity, and that we branch from innate sin (Psalm 51:5). However, the next portion of the passage comforted my disappointment as it assured me that our 'true' pure selves await us in the arms of God's Son, Jesus.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that whoever should believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more. (John 12:43)
As these two Bible verses explain, God has been merciful enough to give us the one and only opportunity to escape from our innate and genuinely faulty ways by giving us Jesus, God's Messenger and Son. Only after tyeing the meaning of the passage and the Bible verses together was I able to discover the profound truth that left the people in the manhouse silent in awe. There is no such thing like our "bests" in our world. The closest we can get to the "best" is by approaching and believing Christ.
I agree with your blog posting here.
ReplyDeleteWe automatically consider ourselves as superior and good creatures. We are so smug at the fact we are able to end conflicts with treaties and apologies.
However, since we started these conflicts, we are able to end them. If we didn't start them in the first place, we wouldn't need to end these problems. So, we are able to be our best because we have messed up and done some horrid things. If we look at this idea in this perspective, we realize that our "good" isn't really... good. Like you said, our good becomes a mask or a sheet to cover our bad. I think you have made a really good point here, Samantha. I haven't thought of this idea until I read your blog post.
I also agree with your comparison of the Peace Child ending wars in the Sawi tribes with peace treaties ending wars in "civilized" societies. If we compare these two together, we learn to realize that we are actually not very different from these "uncivilized" people.
Your blog post is extremely deep and contains some profound ideas. It really made me realize how our "good" isn't entirely good but is really just a cover-up. It inspired me to find our best in Christ rather in myself. Good job!
Your posts show a depth of thought. I appreciate the research that you have put into this assignment. VERY well done!
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