Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is another term familiar to those in South Africa. It is from the Nguni Bantu language, but it is a concept found in many African languages. It means, “I am only because you are.” Ubuntu is not about just being nice to people. It is about bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), about working together (Romans 12:4-5), and about reflecting the unity of God (John 17:20-21). Ubuntu is about recognizing the ways that we need one another, and are called to empower one another.
When this book was written two years ago, the author wrote how ubuntu helps guard against loneliness. She wrote, “It is ironic that at a time when the digital revolution and social media have brought more interconnectivity into our lives, many people feel more disconnected than ever before and loneliness has reached epidemic proportions. Coming together is vital. But coming together through screens does not make up for good old-fashioned human-to-human interaction.” (page 35)
This is the challenge of the particular moment in which we find ourselves. Even if we know how much we need each other, we still need to be physically distanced from one another to stop the spread of COVID-19. So how do we practice ubuntu these days? How do we bear one another’s burdens when we are apart? How do we encourage and spur one another on as we are called to do?
We will each answer those questions differently. We have an incredible opportunity to try new things as God’s people–to find new ways of connecting with one another to offer support and accountability. God is inviting us to be creative! Hear God’s words from Isaiah 43:18-19 as a challenge this week.
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
This week’s devotional reflections are based on the book, Everyday Ubuntu: Living Better Together the African Way by Mungi Ngomane. Harper, New York. 2020.
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is another term familiar to those in South Africa. It is from the Nguni Bantu language, but it is a concept found in many African languages. It means, “I am only because you are.” Ubuntu is not about just being nice to people. It is about bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), about working together (Romans 12:4-5), and about reflecting the unity of God (John 17:20-21). Ubuntu is about recognizing the ways that we need one another, and are called to empower one another.
When this book was written two years ago, the author wrote how ubuntu helps guard against loneliness. She wrote, “It is ironic that at a time when the digital revolution and social media have brought more interconnectivity into our lives, many people feel more disconnected than ever before and loneliness has reached epidemic proportions. Coming together is vital. But coming together through screens does not make up for good old-fashioned human-to-human interaction.” (page 35)
This is the challenge of the particular moment in which we find ourselves. Even if we know how much we need each other, we still need to be physically distanced from one another to stop the spread of COVID-19. So how do we practice ubuntu these days? How do we bear one another’s burdens when we are apart? How do we encourage and spur one another on as we are called to do?
We will each answer those questions differently. We have an incredible opportunity to try new things as God’s people–to find new ways of connecting with one another to offer support and accountability. God is inviting us to be creative! Hear God’s words from Isaiah 43:18-19 as a challenge this week.
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
This week’s devotional reflections are based on the book, Everyday Ubuntu: Living Better Together the African Way by Mungi Ngomane. Harper, New York. 2020.
