Tony Perkins
Family Research Council
While America grows increasingly hostile to faith, Uganda is showing the world what can be accomplished when leaders embrace it. During the 50th anniversary of his country's independence, President Yoweri Museveni stood before the world and publicly led Uganda in a prayer of personal and national repentance. " I stand here on my own behalf and on behalf of my predecessors to repent. We ask for your forgiveness," he said. "We confess [our] sins, which have greatly hampered our national cohesion and delayed our political, social and economic transformation." After a lengthy confession that included everything from sexual immorality to pride, bitterness and rebellion, Museveni took the very powerful step of dedicating Uganda to God. "We want Uganda to be known as a nation that fears God and as a nation whose foundations are firmly rooted in righteousness and justice to fulfill what the Bible says in Psalm 33:12: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. A people you have chosen as your own."
It was an inspirational moment for the nation, which has stood--often alone--for traditional values, abstinence, and families despite tremendous pressure from the West. "The Museveni prayer is a model for all Christian leaders in the world," Rev. Scott Lively believes. Unfortunately, the media is so threatened by religion that it refuses to leave another country alone to pursue its own views on sexuality and faith. Since Museveni's speech, the press has ridiculed Uganda for bending its knee to a higher power--the same higher power that Americans have to thank for our great nation. In times like these, President Musevni's humility should be emulated, not criticized. It is faithfulness like his that will raise Uganda's status as a new power in Africa.