Small heroes can cause big changes. You may immediately think of David and Goliath when I talk about small heroes. And if you didn’t, you are now. 🙂 But no, not David today. Today it’s Nataliya.
One day around election time, Nataliya was at work. She worked in communications. Her superiors had decided on a certain false announcement to be sent out to the world, and Nataliya knew that if she just followed their orders, she would be lying. So instead of the orders, she followed her conscience. She didn’t communicate the lies, no, she communicated the truth.
Big deal, you may think. Well, in this case it was. You see, Nataliya was the sign language interpreter for a Ukrainian national television station. The message she was supposed to translate told the people watching that Yanukovych had won the elections, but in fact, as everybody sort of knew already, another guy named Yushchenko had won. This is what she signed: (although there are different versions of this story, this is what I found to be consistent after some research)
“I am addressing everybody who is deaf in Ukraine. Our president is Viktor Yushchenko. Do not trust the results of the central election committee. They are all lies…. And I am very ashamed to translate such lies to you. Maybe you will see me again.”
The people of the deaf community and others that use sign language reacted quickly. I can imagine them, sitting in front of their tv and seeing the different versions of reality that are being presented. They start texting, calling and basically telling all their friends, contacts and wider networks what had just happened. This event was part of different similar acts that lead to the Orange revolution. One Million people got together in Kiev, dressed in orange, to protest against the fraud that was committed. A new election was held and the right person got the job. Nataliya’s message was small but well aimed. The consequences were huge.
Actually, I just wanted to post this story because I think it’s a cool story, but if you really want, we can turn it into a little lesson. Haha…
There are at least three things to learn from Nataliya’s act of bravery.
-Follow your conscience, always. Don’t sell out.
-Small decisions have big consequences.
-Truth will always come out.
Follow your conscience, always. I do not know how many times I have not done it, but I do know that if this happens, my conscience will haunt me until I make it right. Sometimes you can’t make it right, then all you can do is tell Father God and ask Him to cleanse you. But if you CAN make it right, DO IT. Yes, it hurts, yes, it humbles, yes, it is difficult. And yes, it is needed and rewarding.
Small decisions have big consequences. One tiny cigarette can lead to 50 years of smoking. At today’s prices, that can add up to the immense cost of € 146 000. That equals to 3 Ford Mustangs, 14 600 Bibles or 97 550 kilograms of potatoes at the Albert Heijn supermarket. As a chef, I happen to know that you can serve almost half a million meals with that. All silly facts aside: Thinking ahead, praying ahead, can save you a lot.
Truth will always come out. Ah, here we go: David, after all. Yes, King David. He knew it.
Here he says it:
“When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” (Psalms 32)
As someone who is part of the human race, I know what it is to try and hide the truth. I would translate David’s well chosen words to: “God squeezed me like an orange, and the truth-juice flowed out.”
Let’s end with a cheesy ‘end-question’:
How can you be a small hero today?
Photo by rompalli harish from pexels
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