KZ7 and the oppressed

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 22, 28 October 1986, Page 8

KZ7 and the oppressed

The America's Cup preliminaries have been very popular on television. We have been thrilled to see New Zealanders battling the elements with the best in the world — real sportsmanship.

That was all on the surface. The real drama came when the Americans wanted to look closer at our "plastic fantastic" KZ7, even to taking a core sample. What are we, sportsmen or cheats? When we face up to life, we need to take core sam-

ples, because things may not be as they appear on the surface. A good way to take a core sample in life's situations is to ask: "Who has the power? Who are the oppressed?" These questions can reveal a lot of manipulation and cheating. Recently, I attended a conference. The experts had everything at their fingertips, the right words, the experience of other places, pre-set ideas and arguments. When I ventured an opinion about my work, I was so outsmarted that I felt I was a country yokel, powerless to change things. Normally, I am the one with the expertise. I have the knowledge, so I have the power. Maybe I need to take some core samples in my life. But what should we do with the result of the core sample? Well, Jesus Christ took a core sample of the society that he lived in. He saw who had the power and who were the oppressed. Then he freely went and stood among the oppressed and died as one of them. Identifying with the oppressed is what made Jesus Christ so attractive in the first century A.D. The Roman Empire survived on slavery and tyranny. The official gods were aligned with the ruling powers. So the people knew that a god who faced up to the oppressed and identified with them had to be truly divine. At the bottom of our core sample of life, among the oppressed, that is where we will find God working. "Blessed are you poor: yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:20) Neal Wilson S.M.