Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes
before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” No more apt a phrase could be used to describe
the conceit of Russia’s dictator.
Vladimir Putin recently appeared wearing a $13,160 jacket, $11,582 watch, and $796 trainers. In sharp contrast, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has been viewed in numerous interviews wearing a simple green T-shirt.
The image of Putin’s out-of-touch opulence invokes the embarrassing decadence of the spoiled princes of bygone centuries. Zelensky’s humble image is one of bare-knuckled, popularly supported resilience that is reminiscent of America’s patriots in 1776.
As an opinion article recently reported:
“Though
right now, Zelensky is likely less concerned with his legacy and more focused
on keeping his citizens alive. It’s one
thing to arm your soldiers with advanced weaponry – the importance of which is
unquestioned. But it’s a gifted leader’s
responsibility to arm their people with something equally powerful:
inspiration, motivation and national pride.”
Zelensky has given his people hope.
That is an idea that is hard to grasp in a cynical post-modernist world. But hope is exactly what President Zelensky has provided for his nation.
Zelensky has also provided hope to the rest of the Western world. As one Ukrainian philosopher put it, the conflict over Ukraine’s borders is “about whether democracy, rule of law, are spreading farther to the east.”
For too long the West has sleepwalked through the world in a stupor, hesitant to believe in the beauty of freedom. But maybe it is time to finally rid ourselves of the autocrats like Putin who live in their gilded cages and dress in fine clothes bought with stolen wealth.
There is a piece of artwork being circulated on Facebook of a pregnant woman who represents the nation of Ukraine. One Ukrainian user captioned the image, saying, “it portrays that Ukraine is pregnant with the new world [where freedom is the norm] … Ukraine is fighting for it under missile attacks, with blood, sweat, and tears. And it will give birth, because we know that when the time comes, labor cannot be stopped.”
This imagery is reminiscent of the way the Apostle Paul describes his efforts to spread the Kingdom of God to the gentiles in Galatians 4:19: “I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.”
Although Christians know this world will always be clouded by evil and darkness, there are times when the light can shine through. The “darkest hour” will not last forever. It is time for people to stand up with a renewed hope in freedom.
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