Monday, June 30, 2008

Nelson Mandela's one regret

Wife: Nelson Mandela has one regret - CNN.com

As part of the Mandela at 90 series, CNN.com's Robyn Curnow interviewed Machel Mandela, Nelson Mandela's wife. Interestingly, Machel mentioned one regret of the man who had arguably the greatest influence in defeating the South African policy apartheid. Alas, Nelson Mandela may be one of the world's strongest voices in the world when it comes to racial equality.

So what posible regret would this man have? He regrets not having as much "input in the development of his children" as he'd like. In other words, Nelson Mandela, an influencer of world policy, didn't have the influence that he'd like to have in the lives of his children. In Mandela's case, he sacrificed his paternal right in fighting for civil rights, particularly as he was imprisoned for his views about the racist policies of apartheid.

I think this is a good warning for parents. Often parents sacrifice influence over their children in seeking material things or career success. Mandela had a magnificent cause guiding him when he sacrificed his fatherly influence. I'm not sure, will owning another Lexus or making Senior VP of Money Making will seem more important when the typical father reaches his 90s.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

How to Pick a President | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

How to Pick a President | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

I whole heartedly agree with this way to pick a president. Forget the issues this election year. Look at the heart of the person you're electing. It's hard to cut that deeply in the lives of these folks since the media just wants to talk about the surface issue and anything that can cause the next controversy. Still, work hard to see the heart avoiding a bias that is formed in party politics. I think that's what Jesus would have us do in light of how he treated those he encountered. Heck, he usually chastised those that held the "right" position on issues of his day (i.e., the Pharisees) and welcomed those that the churchy type people would have announced to be wrong on the issues.

I'm not saying that I know that one candidate is more virtuous than the other. I don't know who I'd pick on that criteria at this point, but I'm watching.