TOO MUCH HATRED, VENGEANCE
…Be instruments of peace, forgiveness amid lies and falsehoods – Archbishop Banda
By Tony Nkhoma
ZAMBIA is becoming toxic full of hatred and vengeance, Archbishop Dr Alick Banda has said.
Archbishop Banda, head of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lusaka, advised citizens not to be combative towards others because life was not always predictable.
He warned Zambians to be always on guard about what they did and said when things seemed to be in their favour.
“Hence, there is no need to be condescending, abusive and offensive. Life is not always predictable. Thus, let us be on guard of what we do when things seem to be in our favour,” he said.
Archbishop Banda urged Zambians to strive to become instruments of peace and forgiveness in a new era of lies and falsehoods.
In his homily to the faithful during Pentecost Sunday mass at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Roma, Lusaka, he said Christians should become instruments of tolerance in a new culture of hypocrisy and deception.
“Transcend out complexes, overcome our fear, clear out prejudices, resolve trauma and bridge our differences. And let us be instruments of discernment and right judgement in an environment of great provocation,” he said.
Archbishop Banda urged Christians to be a blessing to each other by loving without reservation.
“To the contrary, we can become better when we are together because the insufficiency of one is resolved by the unique giftedness of the other,” he said.
Archbishop Banda urged believers to forgive without measure and to lend a caring hand without counting the cost.
“Whatever is new will certainly become old. Whatever seems to be glittering now will soon corrode and it will no longer be worth seeking. As they say, time passes too quickly,” he said.
Archbishop Banda said differences, be it of opinion or ideas, ought not to necessarily be combative.
“A child becomes a parent; a benefactor becomes a beneficiary. A medical doctor becomes a patient, and a teacher soon becomes a learner. Let us seek, therefore, that which lasts, that which transcends the unholy trinity of “I”, “Me”, and “Myself”,” he said.
