Ukraine bleeds. I sit here in relative safety and I carry people in Ukraine in my prayers. I struggle to understand, and give up. I had such hopes that people in the West and East could have more contact, more openness towards each other. I was thinking we in the West were too stuck in our cold war mentality, and I was hoping for a more normalised interaction with Russians and other former East-block countries. Now that opportunity is lost, unless the common Russian causes things to change, over time. Putin will go down in history, not for the progress he has allowed in Russia, but as a thug, a mean, simple thug.
I see headlines and articles trying to analyse the current events, but soon into the article I notice name calling, stereotyping, reference to other evil historical figures. That does not help much. Putin is Russian, of sorts. And he is a modern day thug. What do we know about Russia, the people groups, the sentiment in people? At a quick glance of history I can se a population used to strong leaders, used to despots and thugs. I wonder if the people within the Russian border will find strength to seek a better way than submitting to tyranny. Putin will go down in history for this war on Ukraina, for causing all the suffering war brings, for creating fear and instability, for creating another ice front to the rest of the civilised world. Russians, as seen from my perspective, are cultured, intellectual people with much to give and share with the rest of us in music, dance, art and architecture, and many other performing arts. But their leadership, with Putin at the helm, is tyrannical. Thugs.
What will the reaction to this be, from ordinary people to responsible leaders of nations? I am no politician, and in times like this, I am thankful that I am not one to make the calls. It never hurts to pray, though, so I pray for the ones who are in the position to respond to this aggression. Jesus said: pray for your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. Yes, I admit that I had to say a prayer for Putin, too, although my heart was like Jonah, the prophet. He did not want God to show mercy on Nineveh, for the evil in the city was so great. In the end, he did preach, and they repented and turned to God. I guess I should pray for the thug and his helpers in Kremlin.
I think many react like I do: with deep sadness, bewilderment, grappling to understand but cannot, wanting to help, turning to God, and sifting through information and dis-information, facts and propaganda, for, as someone rightfully said: the first to die in a conflict is truth.
