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LOOKING FOR A HERO?
Monday Morning Message, May 9, 2011
E. D. Morel or as he is listed in Wikipedia, Edmund Dene Morel, originally Georges Eduard Pierre Achille Morel de Ville, was basically an Englishman who had a great job. If he could just have kept his mouth shut and buried his Christian faith, he could have made a lot of money. He was in a position in a company that had a monopoly on the shipping rights from Belgium to Africa. It was so lucrative that even the lowest paid members of the crew were being paid almost double what was paid to others in the same working status.
Morel discovered to his surprise, that all of the shipments coming out of Africa contained valuable merchandise that was worth huge sums of money. All of the shipments going to Africa, the Congo to be specific, contained only weapons and munitions. After seeing this pattern repeated for several trips, he decided to see what the weapons were being used for in the supposedly “humanitarian” work of the Congo. To his dismay, he discovered the most insidious forms of slavery being invoked on the African natives. Workers were rounded up along with their families, and the families were placed in prisons while the workers harvested the latex from rubber trees and slaughtered herds of elephants for the ivory alone. Any worker who resisted would watch family members killed on the spot.
There was also a symbol of this tyranny that involved the chopping off of hands to show that the allotted bullets being used were not wasted. Morel was incensed that he had been an unwitting and unwilling part of aiding and abetting this outrageous behavior in the mask of profits at any cost. When he tried to speak out about these atrocities, many would not believe him. He started to write articles and books and release as much information as he could to bring salt and light to this situation. It was not until missionaries confirmed what he was saying that government officials took serious notes. Of course, he lost his job, he was criticized and marginalized as a kook but undaunted, he just kept on telling the truth and bringing light to the tragedies. He was also facing the onslaught of pressure from King Leopold II from Belgium who was profiting the most from these atrocities, and wanted to hush and eliminate Morel.
The source of Morel’s courage and character stemmed from his faith in Jesus Christ. He was far from a perfect man. He was just a guy who happened along at a time when opportunity knocked on his door and offered him a chance to make a lot of money. We may not be in that same position as Morel was, but we all find ourselves in places of knowledge and authority. What do we do and how do we react when we see sinful activity and know that we could do something about it? It is the strength of our faith and how we conduct ourselves that will make a difference. If you want to read more about how Mr. Morel handled his conflict, feel free to read about his exploits and then ask yourself if you would do the same as he did. It is time for Christians to be Christians in the marketplace. What are the things you know about but choose to ignore because it might make some people uncomfortable?
II Corinthians 5:6-7 (RSV) “So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
Many thanks to all of you who have purchased and shared copies of Kingdom Gains to share the messages of BRI. We are delighted that we now have four (4) reviews on Amazon and one on Barnes & Noble.com. Keep thinking about what God would have you do with all of this. Coming soon, will be a study guide that will help to bring BRI alive in small group Bible studies.
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