Last week I wrote an article about the amazing exploits of Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea. I dug a bit deeper this week and found out that it is alleged that his book contained fabrications. And that he mismanaged the charity he co-founded. He was forced to resign from the charity. I’m so jaded to the frailties of the human condition that this bit of news didn’t even disappoint me. Broken monks are all around us. It’s the new normal. What intrigues me more than our acceptance of the brokenness is how does someone with lofty ideals and good intentions falter and fall.

1. Volksrust Recorder - Column / Rubrieke8 Recorder 13 January 2017
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Broken Monk
~ Jacques de Villiers ~
Last week I wrote an article for this
publication about Greg Mortenson, author
of Three Cups of Tea. I dug a bit deeper this
week and found out that his book contained
fabrications. And that he mismanaged the
charity he co-founded. I’m so jaded to the
frailties of the human condition that this bit
of news didn’t even disappoint me. Broken
monks are all around us. It’s the new normal.
What intrigues me more than our acceptance
of the brokenness is how does someone with
lofty ideals and good intentions falter and
fall. The first broken monk I came across
was my own father. He was an ordained
Dutch Reformed Minister. I’m assuming that
all he wanted to do was preach God’s word
and help his community. He ended up
having an affair when my mother was
pregnant with me and divorced her when I
was only a year old. I’ve seen and read
about sheikhs, imams, rabbis, pastors and
priests that have fallen at the alter of lust
and lucre. I think we’ve all read about great
men and women that have faltered and
failed when it comes to the moral high
ground. Our own president, Jacob Zuma is
an example. He has captured (or caused) the
mood of our time - disillusionment, disgust,
uncertainty and disappointment. This man
couldn’t have started out to become corrupt
and self-serving, could he? I’m sure that
like most well-intentioned individuals he
wanted to serve his community. I’ve heard
that he was a major influence in stopping
the bloodshed in the war between the
Inkatha Freedom Party and the African
National Conference in KZN, in the early
90s. There’s no doubt that due to his efforts,
he saved countless lives and is owed a debt
of gratitude for this and more. Did president
Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe set out to
become one of the worst mass murderers of
the 20th Century? More than 20 000 Ndbele
were massacred in the early 80s under his
watch. Did he set out to turn the ‘bread
basket’ofAfrica into the dustbowl ofAfrica?
I doubt it. I think he genuinely wanted to
serve his people. Why do some CEOs lie,
cheat and steal? Why do some teachers
molest and rape those under their care? Why
do some doctors rip off medical aids and
their patients? I have to believe that in the
beginning their intentions were good. I have
to believe that they were working towards
something bigger and purer than
themselves. I have to believe that they
started their enterprises because they put
others first. Of course, I need to take the
log out of my own eye before I take the
splinter out of anybody else’s eye. I’m no
saint and I’ve faltered and fallen more times
than I care to remember. I suppose I can
sleep at night because my actions don’t
impact on millions. Of course, the reality is
that I don’t sleep well at night because guilt,
disappointment and disgust gnaw at my
soul. I’m the harshest judge of me.
Mortenson, Mugabe, Zuma and de Villiers
are all human failings. Is this the lot of the
human stain since being expelled from the
Garden of Eden? Are we programmed to
falter and fail when it comes to morality?
Heck, I hope not. What gets me out of bed
in the morning is knowing that even broken
monks still manage to do good for others.
So, even though we limp and crawl through
this existence we are still useful. Now just
imagine what we could do if we all stood
erect and claimed our true and pure monk.
There’s a thought that I cherish.
Muurbalnuus
Ons klub kampioenskappe begin weer op
die 6e Februarie, almal wat belangstel moet
voor 30 Januarie n epos aan een van die
komitee lede stuur, of vir John Venter
kontak by john@volksrust.com
~ TG ~
* Evangeliese Gereformeerde Kerk se nuwe herderspaar. Proponent Ruan en Lorinda
van Vuuren. Proponent Van Vuuren word op 21 Januarie 2017 georden en ontvang in
die gemeente. Die verrigtinge begin om 15h00.
Nuweherderspaar
virEvangelies
Gereformeerde kerk