Sacrificing Bitterness

Author: Ps. Hillary Kenyi

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My name is Pastor Hillary and I want to share with you a story of a fellow South Sudanese man (belonging to tribe “Y”), who witnessed his elder brother being killed by the members of tribe “Z”. He grew up with bitterness in mind and a feeling of revenge. Any time he’d see a “Z” tribe member it would set his blood on fire. But God called this man to be a shepherd. So he went on to graduate from theological school and start and pastor a church. However, the bitterness in him remained unchanged as he refused to let go the past.

In 2013, after only a year and a half of independence, another civil war broke out between the “Y” and “Z” tribes, which was marked by targeted killing. During this time God led six “Z” brothers seeking refuge inside this pastor’s fence. Here marks the beginning of his turning point. Faced with the ultimate dilemma of seeking vengeance for his brother’s death or offering these men refuge, he had no choice but to choose. The pastor chose to sacrifice his bitterness and offer protection to help secure the lives of the six “Z” brothers seeking refuge.

Today as I share with you, this Pastor has good number of “Z” converts in the church. This man chose to be a part of the solution rather than create more problems for our country. I value this example because in my homeland of South Sudan, we need this kind of heart to bring back the fractured relationships caused by senseless wars.

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