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The end of 1 John is like the 4th of July fireworks finale, a sudden eruption of pyrotechnic power. After discussing the love of God, the love of neighbor, the humanity of Christ, and the nature of prayer, John tags on this final line: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." And that is where the letter ends. As a postscript. Sort of an "Oh, by the way, guard your heart from false gods" farewell thought.

Idolatry is at the root of most of our problems -- worshiping as God that which is not God. We don't think often enough of our own struggles with idolatry because we confine idols to carved statuary sitting on someone's mantlepiece. We tend to consider idolatry either an ancient or a distant problem, limited either to people who lived long ago or to those now in faraway places -- such as Tibet or Thailand. But idolatry is our own battle, here and now. Political loyalties, national mythologies, consumerism, sports, our careers -- when any of these attempt to rival God, they become our idols. They make totalizing claims. They demand our allegiance. They ape the true kingdom and the true hope and the true power of the world. To these idols we give our money, our time, and our constant attention.

I was reminded of this in reading Martin Meredith's recent book, Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe. In 1980, when Mugabe became president of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) after the successful campaign against white minority rule, he was widely hailed as a revolutionary hero. He pledged the pursuit of justice and opportunity for all. He spoke of the need to forgive the sins of the past, even as he described the promise of the future. But the hope quickly faded as the revolution to right the wrongs became a wrong in itself. Mugabe's revolution centered, not on real justice, but upon himself -- his power, his wealth and his bitter hatred of his enemies.

Since 1980, Mugabe has ruled with an iron fist, crushing out any and all political dissent. He has created a society that is governed by fear. Corruption is widespread as Mugabe and his cronies live extravagant lives while 70 per cent of the population lives in abject poverty. Meredith documents the abuses. What struck me in reading this book is how much Mugabe's political program rivals the claim of the Church with its proclamation of Christ's Lordship.

Mugabe speaks of the cause of Zimbabwe in a way that challenges the claims of the cause of Christ. He uses the language of sacrifice for the great cause of Zimbabwe. At a political rally in 1982, he ordered the crowd to take off their shoes as a sign that they had rejected European civilization. He talks about the measures that will be taken to assure the success of the cause. In a speech to Parliament in 1982 he said, "Some of the measures we shall take are measures which will be extra-legal. . . . An eye for an eye and an ear for an ear may not be adequate in our circumstances. We might very well demand two ears for one ear and two eyes for one eye."

He chides the Church for not promoting the cause of Zimbabwe: "The Church of Zimbabwe, whatever the denomination, must abandon forever the tendency or temptation to play marionette for foreign so-called parent churches whose interests and perspectives may, and often will be, at variance with the best interests of the people of our country. It should 'attune itself' to the realities of the new Zimbabwe" (68).

And as in the church, where hymns are sung to God, so it is in the case of Zimbabwe: hymns are sung to the particular god named The Almighty State. Political dissidents, who are not obedient to "the realities of the new Zimbabwe," are "trained" to learn the tune. If the dissidents haven't been killed, kidnaped or tortured, they are forced to attend political rallies and chant party slogans and sing party songs. In one case, a group of white farmers who saw some of their loved ones killed by Mugabe's thugs, were forced to stand atop the fresh graves of their loved ones, and sing the songs in praise of Mugabe's ZANU party.

There is even a basic confession of faith. The way to get ahead in Zimbabwe is to believe in Robert Mugabe. Meredith tells of one zealous member of Parliament who likened Mugabe to "the second Son of God" (80). Shortly after this confession of faith, the man was promoted to deputy minister. Those who don't bow the knee to Mugabe face the consequences from a man who once boasted that he had a "degree in violence" (76).

After reading Meredith's book, one is reminded of the way in which the early Christian message rivaled the claims of the Roman empire. Caesar made totalizing claims. He was worshiped as the "sovereign" of the world, the defender of the pax Romana, the liberator of mankind. The Christians began talking about another King to whom all earthly kings must pay homage. They began celebrating another kingdom to rival the imperial message of Rome. They confessed Jesus as the true and rightful sovereign of the world.

Mugabe, for his part, is on the wrong side of history. He is siding with Caesar. He rebukes the church (and her white and black dissident ministers) for not remaining behind her walls and keeping her mouth silent. Mugabe has stated, "The most insidious side of the resurgence of white power came by way of the pulpit and in the form of human church figures who do not hesitate to 'render unto God' the things that belonged to Caesar" (193).

Mugabe thinks that what belongs to him as Zimbabwe's "Caesar" is the force of power to do what he wants when he wants. The church has reminded him that such is not the case. The lasting kingdom of peace and justice is that which is founded upon the One who is the true Prince of Peace and rightful Sovereign of the universe.

Things could have been different in Zimbabwe. But it would have taken a different kind of man and a different ambition for power. Mugabe earned his degree in violence after witnessing the injustices of British colonialism. He described growing up in white ruled Rhodesia this way. The white man:

was infallible. He was the ruler to be obeyed. Whoever was white therefore not only had the power but also the privilege of demanding respect from every black. And so we feared the white man. After the defeat of the blacks in 1897, our parents and grandparents accepted rule by the white man as something unavoidable. There was no way we could get rid of the white man. He was power. He had guns. He had subdued everybody through the security forces. And therefore all we could do was to seek from him the removal of our grievances. If we could get some form of justice within the system, that was all that people sought to be achieved. And we accepted this as youngsters."

When one is wronged, it becomes so very easy to perpetuate that wrong. Having lost one ear to the sword of our enemy, we demand two ears from them when we come into power. And therein lies the tragedy of Zimbabwe. One man's crusade to end the grievances has become a campaign of revenge and injustice. How different Zimbabwe would be had Mugabe learned something from his neighbor to the south. Alan Paton, the South African novelist wrote in Cry, the Beloved Country:

But when a black man gets power, when he gets money, he is a great man if he is not corrupted. I have seen it often. He seeks power and money to put right what is wrong, and when he gets them, why, he enjoys the power and the money.

Now he can gratify his lusts, now he can arrange ways to get white man's liquor. I see only one hope for our country, and that is when white men and black men, desiring neither power nor money, but desiring only the good of their country, come together to work for it.

I have one great fear in my heart, that one day when they are turned to loving, they will find we are turned to hating.