Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path – Proverbs 3:5-6
OVER THE LAST THREE WEEKS, I wrote about making firm decisions to be at your brightest as a person, partner, and parent. I want to throw out a fourth challenge, that as citizens we need to be at our brightest nationally.
It’s no secret that Barbados is currently going through an economic crisis. There are several facets, factors and formulae for the economic woes and we can be candid or comfortable, critical or compliant about it. We can make several decisions as it relates to the challenges:
• We can make such difficulties our ally or our adversary; friend or foe.
• We can decide to meet them with fear or faith.
• We can choose to be whiners or winners.
• We can become strong against the crunch or be consumed by its munch.
• We can confront the malady or fall prey to its misery.
The choice is ours. Reality dictates that the unfortunate situations will not go away unless as citizens we all make decisions, some of which may not necessarily be popular, to unite for the forward movement of our country. Successive governments, religious as well as other institutions, and individuals like many of our celebrated National Heroes, known and unknown, have made sterling contributions to the stability of our country.
Many of them would also admit that they made some errors along the journey. However, the positive, heroic, relentless and determined efforts of these groups and individuals created for all Barbadians a standard of living of which we can be justly proud. These outstanding individuals agitated for the very best on the behalf of all Barbadians.
All of the hard work done to make our country what it is today should act as a motivation for us to see the “dark” economic clouds as another opportunity to close ranks and be the brightest in fighting for the survival of our nation. This may be another time for us to “write our names on history’s page with expectation great and be strict guardians of our heritage and firm craftsmen of our fate”.
God has given us diverse capabilities academically, socially, spiritually, politically and economically, just to name a few. We have a responsibility to use such strengths to be practical in this challenging time. Each of us has a significant role to play in bringing to bear our God-given creative genius to assist in manoeuvring through these troubled economic waters. We must not bury our talents and blame the existing conditions for not making personal progress, but with a positive attitude commit ourselves to being the brightest possible lights as we fight together for the future of our lovely land.
In Ezekiel Chapter 16, of the Holy Bible, God, in condemning the nation of Israel for not reaching their full potential, compared their behaviour to a once small successful developed country that suffered economic collapse. He said one of the main sins of that nation was their “abundance of idleness”.
Though it was very rich in human resources, bountiful in its financial possessions, and beautiful in its infrastructure, laziness had created sizable cracks in the walls of that country’s economic structure that resulted in its unfortunate collapse. The practice of idleness, therefore, must not be once named among us as citizens.
Every trace of lethargy and sluggishness must be discarded from our lives and replaced with diligence, dedication, and determination so that together we all can be driven by a sense of destiny in seeking to preserve the stability of this fair land we love.
Striving to ride through the rough seas of these testing times does not mean we may do everything perfectly, but we must always see success as an achievable reality.
Jeffrey Immelt’s words caught my attention. He said: “I’m an optimist. I’ve always believed the future is going to be better than the past. And I also believe I have a role in that. The great thing about human beings, myself in particular, is that I can change. I can do better. If you can get up every day, stay optimistic, and believe the future is better than the past, those few things get you through a lot of tough times.”
It is not a question whether the economic challenges will continue to impact us for a while to come, but the same Lord who has been the people’s guide for more than 300 years, with Him still permitted to be on the people’s side we need not entertain doubts or fears.
The same God who gave us this beautiful land to enjoy, has an excellent track record of planning, organising, staffing, motivating, and controlling. He also knows our country’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
He can release His knowledge and wisdom to keep us buoyant as we pass through the murky waters of this present malaise. He is not ignorant to the political, economic, social and technological climate in which we all find ourselves; therefore He has a game plan to help us succeed if we would permit Him to do so. His ears are not closed to our prayers. However, as we continue to pray, we must also get up and work.
I believe that if every concerned citizen at every level exercises every muscle and pulls together in the best interest of our beloved country and meets the current challenges with a winning attitude, then we can admirably ride through this current crisis.
On November 9, 1954, Winston Churchill, in reflecting on World War II, said:
“We shall provide against and thus prevail over the dangers and problems of the future, withhold no sacrifice, grudge no toil, seek no sordid gain, fear no foe. All will be well.
“We have, I believe, within us the life-strength and guiding light by which the tormented world around us may find the harbour of safety, after a storm-beaten voyage.” I am confident that with a proactive and positive approach as citizens, we will successfully climb out of this economic well.
Let us therefore be at our brightest as citizens in outlook and action and, with the grace and guidance of our Lord Jesus Christ, rise from the ashes of our dilemma.
Reverend Haynesley Griffith is a marriage and family life consultant. Email griffitharticles@gmail.com