By Rep. Elijah Cummings
Last week, I was privileged to be included in a U.S. congressional
delegation that attended President Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in
South Africa. The experience was an inspiring one, just as Nelson
Mandela’s life uplifted so many of us in decades past.
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| Nelson Mandela |
I readily acknowledge that I was in need of the inspiration I received
in South Africa. President Mandela’s passing marked the end of a
difficult year for our world, and, especially, for those of us whose
lives are troubled by poverty, conflict, violence or personal loss.
Nelson Mandela’s life offered guidance and hope to us all.
The Power of Forgiveness
On the long flight from Washington to Africa, I kept recalling a meeting with Nelson Mandela that I was privileged to attend back in 2005. Of all the wisdom that he shared with me at that time, what moved me the most was his reflections about how he felt when leaving prison after 27 years behind bars.
It was a lesson in the liberating power of forgiveness.
“I knew I was free,” President Mandela observed, “but I couldn’t be completely free unless I forgave those who oppressed me.”
Nelson Mandela’s compelling insight into the forgiving power of the human spirit is expressed in virtually every religious tradition – the calling to love our enemies and those who have oppressed or spited us.
As we pause to reflect during this holiday season, each of us knows that this spiritual wisdom about the power of forgiveness is the truth. Yet, at times, we find it extraordinarily difficult to follow this guiding principle when we, ourselves, are being attacked or harmed.
Nelson Mandela’s example reminds us that our own struggles to free our hearts from bitterness and rancor are worth our engagement. He succeeded in harnessing our God given power of forgiveness – and that success allowed him to unite his country and serve as an example for the world.
The Power of Humility
Forgiving those who have harmed us allows us the clarity of mind to realize another essential truth.
Powerful and effective as a leader, Nelson Mandela touched the king and the janitor in the same way.
In the process of triumphing on the South African stage, he became a positive example for our entire world.
At the core of this continuing impact was his humility. His example reminds us that we all are ordinary people who are called to the extraordinary mission of forging a better and more humane world.
Nelson Mandela’s life offered guidance and hope to us all.
The Power of Forgiveness
On the long flight from Washington to Africa, I kept recalling a meeting with Nelson Mandela that I was privileged to attend back in 2005. Of all the wisdom that he shared with me at that time, what moved me the most was his reflections about how he felt when leaving prison after 27 years behind bars.
It was a lesson in the liberating power of forgiveness.
“I knew I was free,” President Mandela observed, “but I couldn’t be completely free unless I forgave those who oppressed me.”
Nelson Mandela’s compelling insight into the forgiving power of the human spirit is expressed in virtually every religious tradition – the calling to love our enemies and those who have oppressed or spited us.
As we pause to reflect during this holiday season, each of us knows that this spiritual wisdom about the power of forgiveness is the truth. Yet, at times, we find it extraordinarily difficult to follow this guiding principle when we, ourselves, are being attacked or harmed.
Nelson Mandela’s example reminds us that our own struggles to free our hearts from bitterness and rancor are worth our engagement. He succeeded in harnessing our God given power of forgiveness – and that success allowed him to unite his country and serve as an example for the world.
The Power of Humility
Forgiving those who have harmed us allows us the clarity of mind to realize another essential truth.
Powerful and effective as a leader, Nelson Mandela touched the king and the janitor in the same way.
In the process of triumphing on the South African stage, he became a positive example for our entire world.
At the core of this continuing impact was his humility. His example reminds us that we all are ordinary people who are called to the extraordinary mission of forging a better and more humane world.
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