Proverbs 3:14 NLT
For wisdom is more profitable than silver,
and her wages are better than gold.
There are a few people in our lifetime that stand out as
great. They are the people who leave
their mark on people and serve by using their resources to make others
people. Nelson Mandela was such a
person.
Too many people idolize athletes or the proverbial “bad
boy”. We ought to be looking for the
people who are willing to use their lives for the good of others.
Mandela is such a man.
His life ended late last week. He
was put in prison for standing his ground.
He led his people as a great leader should. He was colorblind. What Nelson Mandela saw as important was the
success of the people around him. His
willingness to serve no matter the cost for the good of others made him a great
leader.
I share with you some quotes from Mandela.
"I learned that courage was not
the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers
that fear." Nelson Mandela
Conquer
fear, Mandela would say, by standing strong everyday. As a Christian we have much to learn from men
like this one. Jesus served in the same
vein and took it a step further by dying for us.
"Real leaders must be ready to
sacrifice all for the freedom of their people." Nelson Mandela
He sacrificed freedom for the good of others. Freedom took on a new price as he spent time
in prison because of what he stood for.
"A fundamental concern for others
in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world
the better place we so passionately dreamt of." Nelson Mandela
To
grow a great community you have to make others great by using what you have to
serve the needs of others and by helping them be successful in life. Zig Ziglar
said, “You will get what you want in life if you help enough other people get
what they want.” Jesus served
others. Greatness is seen in being a
servant for the greater good. Mandela
did that as well.
"For to be free is not merely to
cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the
freedom of others." Nelson
Mandela
I love
the thoughts Mandela shared about freedom.
God as well wants to give us freedom from the things that hold us
back. Let God forgive your sin. Believe what God says about who you are. See freedom as something that begins inside
you and is not derived from the situations of life that you find yourself in.
"Do not judge me by my successes,
judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again." Nelson Mandela
That
is a great quote to end with. I am
grateful for the life and the example of Nelson Mandela. May our lives emulate the good we saw, read
about and what others talked about through the life Nelson Mandela lived.
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