In his book, Saved by the Lion [1], Dr. Johannes Malherbe tells the story of the lion who came home with a gazelle kid in his mouth. It was barely breathing and there was blood all over the little wilting body. For days the animals talked about nothing else. They could not believe what the lion said: “I saved the kid from the crocodiles.”
“Did you hear that – a lion ‘saving’ an antelope?”
The question echoes through history. For thousands of years people have come to Africa. They came for different reasons and all of them left footprints – not only on the landscape, but also in the homes and hearts of the people of Africa. In his book, Johannes Malherbe explores the impact outsiders have had on Africa’s children. I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to work in Africa, especially if it involves children (https://www.amazon.com/Saved-Lion-children-encountering-outsiders-ebook/dp/B01HOE5Y4Q).
So did the Lion save the gazelle?
And did the many outsiders who came to Africa succeed in saving its children?
Unfortunately, the reality is that after centuries of outside involvement, too many of Africa’s children still grow up under appalling conditions.
So did the lion really save Africa’s children?
In the following post(s), I want us to reflect on this idea. I want us to unpack the many assumptions on which this idea is based and ask ourselves the hard questions. Questions like:
Why does the lion want to save the baby gazelle?
Who said the baby gazelle needs to be saved?
What does it need to be saved from?
But let’s start by asking ourselves: can the lion save the gazelle… and I want to invite you to ponder on each of the following statements…
Reflection 1: Lions are not made to save baby gazelles
Lions are made to rule. Lions are made to kill.
Lions are made to protect their territory. Lions are made to operate from a position of power.
If you are an outsider coming into Africa, you are coming from a position of power. Even if you don’t mean to…
With your passport, you have political power.
With your currency, you have economical power.
With your degree, you have educational power.
With your smart phone you have social power.
With your church, mission organization and cell groups, you have strategic power.
It is not something that you can hide. Or leave behind.
Don’t get me wrong – being a lion is not bad in itself.
It is just who you are.
And you should acknowledge it.
Here’s the catch: as strange as it sounds, saving does not happen through power. You can read it over and over again in the Bible.
Do you remember?
The weak will be strong.
The last will be first.
The foolish things of the world will confound the wise.
But Power does something else.
Power builds empires, increases territory.
Power controls.
Power enslaves.
Power works for itself.
In the process it can help people, even “save” people. Wonderful work has been done through all the years.
But it is all for the sake of the lion and the empire.
History tells this story and the realities in Africa prove it to be true.
After years and years of many different efforts, the lion could not yet save the African child.
Because that is not what lions are made for…
Or do I miss something?
Could be.
Or maybe I am too quick to judge?
When the animals were tired of arguing about the lion saving the baby Gazelle, a group of them turned to grandma elephant for an answer. She listened patiently to all the animals, closed her eyes and then she said:
Did the lion save the kid?
The answer is hidden in the forests of time
Grazing with the kid’s ancestors
Grazing with it’s offspring
You may ask the kid to guide you there
But you will need wisdom and patience
For it cannot talk to you today
Grandma elephant challenges us to listen to the gazelles , past and present.
I want to invite you to share your story.
As a gazelle.
As a lion.
And who knows,
maybe in telling our stories,
listening to one another as lions and gazelles,
about the struggles, fear, failure, disappointment…
we can move closer to the day that our stories become interwoven into one beautiful story of hope.
I am waiting to hear your story…
[1] Malherbe, Dr Johannes (2016-06-26T22:58:59). Saved by the Lion?: Stories of African children encountering outsiders . Aboutchildren.net. Kindle Edition.
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