William Wilberforce - A Man of Courage and Conviction
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?"
(Isaiah 58: 6)
Captain Sensible writes: It’s incredible to think that William Wilberforce faced such strong opposition in his fight to abolish slavery, not only from trade barons with economic vested interests in perpetuating the status quo, but also from within the church.
As Nicky Gumbel, vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, London, puts it, Wilberforce faced “rejection from his friends, vilification from his enemies”.
When faced with opposition – from friends and foes alike – let's take courage and say, as Wilberforce did, that it “animates rather than discourages” us.
After all, "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?"
(Isaiah 58: 6)
Captain Sensible writes: It’s incredible to think that William Wilberforce faced such strong opposition in his fight to abolish slavery, not only from trade barons with economic vested interests in perpetuating the status quo, but also from within the church.
As Nicky Gumbel, vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, London, puts it, Wilberforce faced “rejection from his friends, vilification from his enemies”.
When faced with opposition – from friends and foes alike – let's take courage and say, as Wilberforce did, that it “animates rather than discourages” us.
After all, "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
posted by Captain Sensible at 12:32 PM
3 Comments:
Glad to see yet another serious issue being address on this blog.
Great post on another blog by Candice Watters, which I have pasted below. Just a shame that Candice insists on using the unbiblical term "gift of singleness". She should really have said something along the lines of renouncing marriage for the sake of the kingdom (completely different to just being "single" and obviously a conscious, self-sacrificial decision as opposed to a "gift"!) or used a term that indicated a gifting towards celibacy. People usually know if they have that rare, but true, gift or not, and in contrast to the human teaching of a "gift of singleness" it is therefore unlikely to sow anxiety and confusion in the minds of some single Christians.
It's interesting that Suzanne noticed William Wilberforce was a single man when he started his campaign to abolish slavery. What caught my eye is that even though he was a man consumed by a righteous passion for human freedom, a passion that fueled his life work in politics and social influence, he still found the capacity, and time, to marry and have children. Six of them in fact.
Biographer David J. Vaughan writes in Statesman and Saint:
"Wilberforce's star was rising: he was financially independent, politically well connected, and socially influential. He was, as we might say today, a most eligible bachelor.
"Notwithstanding, only a few months earlier he had expressed his growing sense of loneliness. At age thirty-seven, he conjectured that his marital status would probably never change. "But I must not think of such matters now," he wrote, "it makes me feel my solitary state too sensibly."
"As it turned out, the day after his book was released [his friend] Babbington "strongly recommended Miss Spooner for wife for me. We talked about it." Two days later he dined with her and noted in his journal, "Pleased with Miss Spooner." The next week was a whirlwind courtship. ... Thus, only ten days after Babbington's prompting, Wilberforce was engaged.
"Over the span of thirty-five years, she brought him six children and much joy. One of his chief blessings, he later wrote, was "a domestic happiness beyond what could have been conceived possible." He never regretted his hasty decision."
I agree with Suzanne, it is noteworthy that Wilberforce began his campaign with all the vigor, determination and focus of unencumbered youth. But he didn't stop there. As he matured, he coupled his work with the stability and support that a wife and children can supply. Who knows but that their influence on his life enabled him to stay faithful to the cause to his very end.
If ever there was a single who could have claimed the gift of singleness for the purpose of serving wholeheartedly God's purpose on this earth, it was Wilberforce. But he didn't. He also fulfilled the call to find a wife and be fruitful and multiply. His was a highly productive life both professionally and personally.
But wait! The latest on the "gift of singleness" by those that are trying to twist Scripture even further in order to save each other's careers, is either "the gift of the circumstance you are in" or along the lines of "well, if you woke up single today, then you have the gift of singleness today."
So surely then there is/was a gift of slavery?
Bad Wilberforce! Denying so many slaves the opportunity to glorify God in their slavery!
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