Talk less act more: A country in spiritual decay

There has been a lot of discussion about the issues that have been plaguing our great nation of Trinidad and Tobago, i.e. kidnapping, murder, human traffic, road fatality etc. the last ten years. From the general public to religious groups have weighed in on the issues and are of the belief that the problems that plague the nation can only be conquered if prayer is elicited. First, I would like to bring about the point that I do agree that prayer is needed. I say my prayers every morning; a rosary, bible readings, hymns etc. So I am not against this argument at all, however prayer needs to follow action.

We can all sit in our homes and like I said say our Hail Mary’s, go to bible study but that isn't sufficient. It is a great start but there needs to be some form of behaviour modification. We can’t just close our bibles, Quran and other religious texts then go about our days engaging in the activities that got us to the point where we are today. Throughout the world there is a lack of love. Man has lost his respect for one another; however we can’t use that as an excuse to behave the way we do. Some believe that we are living in the last days. True or not, it is not for us to just sit back on our seats and be like “Okay well Jesus Christ is coming soon. It is the last days people.” I would like to think that He would prefer to come back to something or someone or people who are indeed alive. He is coming to judge the dead and the living. I would like to believe that if He is to judge He would want to have some good people to bring with Him to heaven. My stance is that it is not enough to simply say a prayer but does your actions mirror your prayers? How can you pray for peace then turn around and curse out a man who gives you a “bad” drive. The term “law abiding” citizen is used way too loosely for my liking. All of us may not be murders, bandits or thieves, branding guns, shooting and intentionally killing others but when we sit behind the wheel and we have zero respect for our nations’ roads, for our lives or the lives of others what exactly are we? Oh our favorite thing, walk in the middle of the road as if we are a Victoria Secret supermodel, strutting the runway in Paris, France with the attitude “bounce me nah”. Not only are we putting ourselves at risk but the driver and passengers as well.

I am not a mother but I have one and many mothers in the country are now fearful for their innocent children, both boys and girls. No sex is spared. It is sad to me that those of us who aren’t engaging in nefarious activities are afraid, some people never leave their homes, are like animals in a cage while criminals roam free. Even in my own house, I am in my twenties and my parents can account for my whereabouts at all times. Imagine we have parents even in this crime ridden society we live in, have no idea what their underage children are up to. Taking for instance, I have had jobs where I interacted with children and young adults. I understand some parents work long hours, trying to provide for their children. You my friend, I salute you. I support you 100% for that. Good job. Unfortunately it comes at a price. I have worked at events where we have students across the country coming in on educational school field trips. On numerous occasions we had parents dropping in to see the child or to give them something. One incident comes to mind where the parent had no idea what school the child attended. All the parent could say was “Ah think it is a plaid they does where.” That was it. I just shook my head while the personnel at the information booth just took the money (mind you $500 to buy a sneakers. Why couldn’t they just purchase the shoes themselves? Are we really giving a child that level of responsibility?). I would be lying if I said I lacked for material possessions, shoes or anything. I always had what I needed and I had the Barbies, the doll houses etc. But no way in hell would I be given money especially that amount just so especially when they could just purchase it for me. I have seen children with the latest shoes, cell phones, best hair styles but ask them if they have a ruler, compass or any of their textbooks. Nope. I never did without but I didn’t have the brand name shoes or clothing. I still till this day don’t know what inside places like Blue grass or Bang Bang look like but I always had my books and my school supplies. Yet the ones who had the latest brands had to ask to borrow my school supplies as well as getting into trouble and some of them have gone off the deep end. Don’t get me wrong, parents don’t make the child. You could do everything right and the child can go astray but Proverbs 22:6 does say “Train up in the way in the way that he should go and when he is old he will never depart from it.” Putting my psychologist hat on for a minute, it makes logical sense. Environment can be a mediating factor for the way we become.  It is not enough to pray for our nation but we don’t know what our children are up to, who they have aligned themselves with. It is not enough to pray for our nation but to leave them with men we don’t know. It is certainly not enough to give them fathers who sorry to be harsh but don’t deserve the title of man much less the title of daddy. Our daughters and our sisters cry out to us and we quote scripture regarding men as the provider or loyalty to men turning a blind eye on the suffering, the pain, the hurt and deceit. Do we really think that God would approve of that? Is that what we believe God meant when we said man is the head of the household. Do we believe that God would say it is okay to hurt, psychologically damage our children? Mother who is cursing out daughter for no reason other than her frustration about her own life choices should be applauded?

Father who is doing the same to son.  Is this okay and pleasing to God?

It is time that we do more than give God the glory via lip service. We must serve him completely. In order to do that we must serve His people. We can’t say we love God but turn our back on His people.