The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Jack H. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Reading - Book Report on God's Politician: William Wilberforce's Struggle by Garth Lean
William Wilberforce was perhaps the greatest politician in Britain's history. He was an excellent example of what a statesman should be. Through his relentless attack on slavery, the evil trade was abolished by Britain, the most powerful empire in the world. The theme of the book, God's Politician and of Wilberforce's life was perseverance; continuously fighting and striving for the goal. His life reminds me of a verse in Proverbs 24: "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity." Wilberforce fought for over twenty years in the House of Commons to bring an end to the commercial selling of slaves, and eventually, slavery itself. Countless times his bills failed to pass. Then he would work, plan and strategize, and try again.
Wilberforce is most remembered for his work to abolish slavery, but to him, that fight was only a part of a larger battle, which he called The Reformation of Morals. His ultimate goal as a statesman was to correct the unscrupulous behavior of the upper class of Britain. When he entered the political arena, politicians and lords lived extremely vulgar lives, and religion and righteousness was on its way out. Wilberforce's conversion to Christianity led him to see the incredible need to reform the behavior of his fellow statesman. He began leading by example. He protested poor behavior, and he brought up bills that would encourage upright behavior, all the while living out a wonderful picture of how a statesman ought to conduct himself.
This book as a whole leaves me in awe of William Wilberforce and his numerous accomplishments. How could I even come close to completing half of what he did? Yet it also gives me hope to know that he was not alone. He had the same God on his side that I have on mine. Wilberforce heard the Lord's call in his life, and dropped all else to follow that call. The most impressive thing about his work to me is the time that it took, and the perseverance it must have taken. He struggled for over fifty years to see the final abolition of slavery throughout the empire. How many people would work for fifty years on a single issue without giving up? How many people would have even worked twenty-five years, or ten years? His health was a continuous burden for him. He battled illnesses and disease for years. He was a very small man and quite weak. His illnesses were a constant distraction from his goal and purposes. The perseverance of Wilberforce in the face of opposition from all sides, political and physical is absolutely astounding.
"Wilberforce lived that higher statesmanship which consists of serving not his own interests but his God's. His obedience to what he believed to be the will of God brought freedom to millions. Wilberforce, by his persistence, but above all by the spiritual element at the root of everything he did, again and again made possible in the future what had seemed impossible when he first tackled it. Such is the statesmanship needed in his and every age." - God's Politician, pg 183
