Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” No more apt a phrase could be used to describe the conceit of Russia’s dictator.
Vladimir Putin recently appeared wearing a $13,160 jacket, $11,582 watch, and $796 trainers. [2] In sharp contrast, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has been viewed in numerous interviews wearing a simple green T-shirt. [1]
The image of Putin’s out-of-touch opulence invokes the embarrassing decadence of the spoiled princes of bygone centuries. Zelensky’s humble image is one of bare-knuckled, popularly supported resilience that is reminiscent of America’s patriots in 1776.
As an opinion article recently reported:
“Though right now, Zelensky is likely less concerned with his legacy and more focused on keeping his citizens alive. It's one thing to arm your soldiers with advanced weaponry -- the importance of which is unquestioned. But it's a gifted leader's responsibility to arm their people with something equally powerful: inspiration, motivation and national pride.”[3]
Zelensky is has given his people hope.
That is an idea that is hard to grasp in a cynical post-modernist world. But hope is exactly what President Zelensky has provided for his nation.
Zelensky has also provided hope to the rest of the Western world. As one Ukrainian philosopher put it, the conflict over Ukraine’s borders is “about whether democracy, rule of law, are spreading farther to the east.”[4]
For too long the West has sleepwalked through the world in a stupor, hesitant to believe in the beauty of freedom. But maybe it is time to finally rid ourselves of the autocrats like Putin who live in their gilded cages and dress in fine clothes bought with stolen wealth.
There is a piece of artwork being circulated on Facebook of a pregnant woman who represents the nation of Ukraine. One Ukrainian user captioned the image, saying, “it portrays that Ukraine is pregnant with the new world [where freedom is the norm]…Ukraine is fighting for it under missile attacks, with blood, sweat, and tears. And it will give birth, because we know that when the time comes, labor cannot be stopped.” [5]
This imagery is reminiscent of the way the Apostle Paul describes his efforts to spread the Kingdom of God to the gentiles in Galatians 4:19: “I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.”
Although Christians know this world will always be clouded by evil and darkness, there are times when the light can shine through. The “darkest hour” will not last forever. It is time for people to stand up with a renewed hope in freedom.
Foundations of Truth hereby waives all claim of copyright (economic and moral) in this work and immediately places it in the public domain; it may be used, published, edited, and distributed in any manner whatsoever without any attribution or notice to Foundations of Truth.
[1] Molly Clayton, “Putin shows off yet more designer wear: After outrage over Russian President's £10,000 jacket, high-fashion leader is also spotted wearing £8,800 watch and £605 trainers,” DailyMail (March 21, 2022), https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10631441/Putin-shows-designer-wear.html
[2] Colin Campbell, “Zelensky draws line in negotiations: We're not giving land to Russia.”YahooNews (March 20, 2022), https://news.yahoo.com/volodymyr-zelensky-fareed-zakaria-cnn-ukraine-165552475.html
[3] Bill McGowan and Juliana Silva, “Putin's PR game is falling flat. But in Zelensky's hands, the pen is mightier than the sword,” CNN (March 22, 2022), https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/21/opinions/zelensky-wartime-speech-communications-pr-mcgowan-silva/index.html
[4] Michelle Goldberg, “Why Ukrainians Believe They Can Win,”New York Times (February 28, 2022), https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/opinion/ukraine-victory.html
[5] Iryna Kochubey Wiggam, Facebook (March 21, 2022), https://www.facebook.com/iryna.wiggam
