Paint Me a Picture - Depravity of power

Yesterday, I saw a picture. It was of an elderly man bowing down before another man. I read that the man on his knees was a government Minister. The man before whom he bowed down was the President of this country I call home. Today, I read many arguing that in our tradition, there is nothing wrong with an elderly man bowing down before another. I also read many arguing that it is because of bootlicking that a Minister can bow down before a President. A President is not a chief or king, so the argument of tradition is a fallacy, the latter say.

Tomorrow, I asked an artist to paint me a picture of an elderly man kneeling before another. I took the picture to a group of children and asked them what they thought.

“That is Jesus, see he is praying before the lord,” says one.

“No. He must have done something wrong. He is now asking for forgiveness,” another says.

It is a beautiful picture, this picture of a government Minister kneeling before a President. Its meaning is as deep as the children eloquently understood the message conveyed by an elderly man kneeling before another. The beauty of the picture is that it shows the depravity of power.