The Tribune

By Canon S Sebastian Campbell

THEY are leaving us one by one; the only thing certain about life is death. This should not evoke fear but rather a greater sense of appreciation for life, whether that’s three score years and 10, or by reason of strength four score years or more or less.

The older I get the more I am convinced that life was intended to be “one big party” but we blow it because of our selfishness, misdirected values and/or maybe an inflated ego.

There are some among us who believe they have been ordained by God to be hell-raisers, always correcting the faults of others while “seeing the speck in their brothers eyes but not the beam in their own eyes.” Hypocrites all.

I can never understand persons who claim a connection with God, but yet are always prophets of doom and gloom. Their God is so limited that the joy eludes his generosity.

Many “saved and sanctified souls” are the biggest turn-off in the building God’s Kingdom here on earth. They just blow the biblical understanding of a God, who in Jesus, teaches that the kingdom of God is like a wedding feast. The misery index of this country is too high to tolerate prophets of doom and gloom.

This stupid political season is escalating and again opposition politicians are playing the cards of negativity. Why, I ask, do opposition politicians believe in order to win an election they must plunge the country into the darkness of hopelessness?

It’s distressing that since the Prime Minister shared a glimmer of hope in the Baha Mar debate, the opposition was in overdrive seeking to show that it is a hoax, nothing will happen and they pray nothing good comes out of a long-fought battle for the economic soul of our country, but more particularly for the thousands of Bahamians who are victims of this nightmare. Is this how an opposition hopes to win and election; is it worth it? When Israel was victim to evil forces in Babylon, where they were dragged against their will, the period of exile as it was called, God raised up prophets of hope to lower the misery index while giving the assurance of a return to their homeland. So they were challenged to worship their God as they were accustomed while in exile. They asked the question, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”

Prophets of hope prevailed upon them to sing out to their God from the heart of hope and let not the scourge of Babylon keep them spiritually oppressed, for they will return one day physically to their homeland. But in the meantime make a spiritual return.

All leaders, government and opposition, to be effective must have a hope where every speck of glitter is celebrated and know that down the road this tunnel has an end with a light somewhere; so let’s walk in that light.

As an educator I urge teachers and all involved in education to be dispensers of hope. Keep hope alive and be an inspiration even to the dull and most misguided of our “little darlings”.

The most troublesome and so-called dunce, or our word ‘dunciest’, in the pack through practical hope and a spirit of forbearance can be our future prime minister, archbishop, doctor, nurse, scientist, craftsman and who knows…

Thanks be to God someone did not throw the towel in on me in my darkest hour of maturation when academics seemed to be my greatest foe.

I saw statistics somewhere referring to the Bahamas as one of the happiest countries in the world. I truly wish this is true; I will not challenge it. It is truly a great and most positive advertisement for us as people. Make this perception a reality by thinking on these things:

1. Positive attitudes to one another, while celebrating the good and forgoing the wrings in one another.

2. A deep sense of love and forgiveness as indispensable qualities in our culture.

3. Build homes of peace and joy where families worship together.

4. Salvage broken homes where disputes can be settled and parents and children can work and play together.

5. Create home with resident fathers and mothers and have an increasing number of children born in wedlock.

6. Foster and strengthen the spirit of volunteerism so as to have a redevelopment of children/youth activities and consistently nurture where surrogates are found for so many of our misguided.

7. Condemn bigots, the self-righteous, loud, boisterous and negative attitudes.

8. Develop an attitude of affirmation for all that is good. Praise and reward good demonstrated in any and everyone regardless of class, politics or religion.

9. Work towards Christlikeness.