― William Wilberforce
Yesterday was the 149th anniversary of slavery finally being made illegal in the
United States, thanks, in a huge way, for how God used one man in
England about 60 years beforehand... a man named William Wilberforce.If you have seen the 2007 movie, Amazing Grace or read the biography by Eric Metaxas by the same title then you need no introduction to the greatness of this man.
William Wilberforce is most notably remembered and revered for leading the fight for abolition in all of Great Britain's Empire. What motivated him through this long, stressful, and very painful ordeal though was not a desire to get his name in a history book, nor was it just about helping people find freedom. William Wilberforce felt a genuine call to do this because of his faith in Jesus Christ and his belief that ALL men and women and children were created in God's image and therefore deserved the dignity of being a human being.
Well, of course.
In today's society, even those who do not believe in God or an endowment from a Creator, they at least share the ideal that all deserve human dignity.
But this was not the case for a majority of the world's history, most notably in the British Pre-Victorian Era.
The world was only "Christian" in the most superficial of ways. Morality was dictated by government, not by the Bible. This sense and disinterest in religion or Christian teaching was mostly due to the bad taste the religious wars of the previous century left in the mouths of the elite.
To take the Bible in any way serious was to be deemed a fanatic, barely acceptable for the poor and common folk, and socially prohibited by the cultural elite.
This certainly put Wilberforce in a tight spot, because he himself came from a very high profile, elite family, was rich, well-educated, and well-liked.
I encourage everyone to read more about his childhood, his faith journey, and his overall story, due to the shortness of this post I cannot go into detail here.
He, though it was frowned upon, took his faith seriously. And by doing so, seriously challenged the idea that religion was only for the "poor class", the "ignorant", or the "common people".
He gained many friends who learned to tolerate and eventually accept his "fanatic" practices of meditation, prayer, and attending church, not only to worship, but also to serve.
After gaining a seat in Parliament, Wilberforce flew up the ranks and gained a high profile position, meanwhile his close, lifelong friend, William Pitt the Younger became Prime Minister.
The pomp and circumstance was only quickly lived because not long after these great achievements Wilberforce was soon brought face to face with his destiny.
In 1787, He penned in his diary 20 words that would direct the rest of his life:
"God Almighty has set before me two Great Objects: the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners."
Wilberforce would spend the next two decades fighting for the first great object, and the rest of his life fighting for the second.
There are so many things we can learn from Wilberforce's resolve to finish the task God put before him. Though he had many a reason to give up, one being his constant attacks to his health, the death threats by slave ship owners, threats against his family, and the tarnishing of his own reputation that he worked so hard to build.
He went through times of doubt, times of huge discouragement, times of pain, sadness, and grief. But we remember him as the man who took the task seriously to bring back proper perspective of what the human identity is.
Wilberforce is not a great among greats because of this one fight, though that would certainly be enough to value him as a role model. But as Eric Metaxas points out in "7 Men", Wilberforce "was the most successful social reformer in the history of the world."
He went on to successfully change many other elements of British society, Wilberforce advocated legislation to improve the working conditions for chimney-sweeps and textile workers, engaged in prison reform, and supported campaigns to restrict capital punishment and the severe punishments meted out under the Game Laws. He recognized the importance of education in alleviating poverty, and when Hannah More and her sister established Sunday schools for the poor, he provided financial and moral support as they faced opposition from landowners and Anglican clergy.
With others, Wilberforce founded the world's first animal welfare organization, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He was also opposed to dueling, which he described as the "disgrace of a Christian society".
Wilberforce was generous with his time and money, believing that those with wealth had a duty to give a significant portion of their income to the needy. Yearly, he gave away thousands of pounds, much of it to clergymen to distribute in their parishes. He paid off the debts of others, supported education and missions, and in a year of food shortages gave to charity more than his own yearly income. He was exceptionally hospitable, and could not bear to sack any of his servants. As a result, his home was full of old and incompetent servants kept on in charity. Although he was often months behind in his correspondence, Wilberforce responded to numerous requests for advice or for help in obtaining professorships, military promotions, and livings for clergymen, or for the reprieve of death sentences.
"true Christians consider themselves not as satisfying some rigorous creditor, but as discharging a debt of gratitude"
His life stands as a staggering example of what one human being- submitted to God's purposes for his life- is capable of doing.
Above all the great things that Wilberforce did, I personally believe, the greatest of them all was his daily practice of seeking God.
He took serious the call to come to Christ, carrying his cross daily, and follow Christ.
It is said that Wiberforce would wake up early every morning and in the quiet he would pray on his knees for the world, for his family, for Grace to reach everyone.
"This perpetual hurry of business and company ruins me in soul if not in body. More solitude and earlier hours!"
He timed his walk from the House of Commons to his home in Clapham perfectly so that at halfway, he would begin to recite from memory the 119th Psalm... no easy feat if you are familiar with how long that particular psalm is. William Wilberforce was a man of meditation, memorization, and prayer.
My prayer is that among all the things we can learn from the life of William Wilberforce, we would first and most importantly realize that great men have humility and wisdom to know that whatever strengths they may possess, it is impossible to win their battles without a total and complete reliance upon God. At its very core, they realize, that every battle worth fighting is a spiritual battle. Great men and great women succeed only because in their humility they entrust the battle to God.
"When people speak of great men, they think of men like Napoleon - men of violence. Rarely do they think of peaceful men. But contrast the reception they will receive when they return home from their battles. Napoleon will arrive in pomp and in power, a man who's achieved the very summit of earthly ambition. And yet his dreams will be haunted by the oppressions of war. William Wilberforce, however, will return to his family, lay his head on his pillow and remember: the slave trade is no more."
-Amazing Grace
For further reading I HIGHLY recommend the chapter on Wilberforce in 7 Men or the full biography, Amazing Grace both written brilliantly by Eric Metaxas.
Wilberforce wrote quite a lot, including devotional, apologetic, and political books, here are some quotes from his work to think about...
"Christianity has been successfully attacked and marginalized… because those who professed belief were unable to defend the faith from attack, even though its attackers’ arguments were deeply flawed."
"We can scarcely indeed look into any part of the sacred volume without
meeting abundant proofs, that it is the religion of the Affections which
God particularly requires. Love, Zeal, Gratitude, Joy, Hope, Trust, are
each of them specified; and are not allowed to us as weaknesses, but
enjoined on us as our bounden duty, and commended to us as our
acceptable worship."
"Let true Christians then, with becoming earnestness, strive in all things to recommend their profession, and to put to silence the vain scoffs of ignorant objectors. Let them boldly assert the cause of Christ in an age when so many, who bear the name of Christians, are ashamed of Him: and let them consider as devolved on Them the important duty of suspending for a while the fall of their country, and, perhaps, of performing a still more extensive service to society at large; not by busy interference in politics, in which it cannot but be confessed there is much uncertainty; but rather by that sure and radical benefit of restoring the influence of Religion, and of raising the standard of morality."
"If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to
be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to
be at large."
"Accustom yourself to look first to the dreadful consequences of failure; then fix your eye on the glorious prize which is before you; and when your strength begins to fail, and your spirits are well nigh exhausted, let the animating view rekindle your resolution, and call forth in renewed vigor the fainting energies of your soul."
---
Nathan Bryant
Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our causes.
Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our boundaries.
Follow him on Twitter: Follow @nathanpbryant
Nathan's Website
Follow him on Twitter: Follow @nathanpbryant
Nathan's Website
No comments:
Post a Comment