The Tribune

By MINISTER KEITH EVANS

God has been so good to all of us here in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and has blessed us with so much. We are an independent nation whose dollar is pegged to the US dollar on a one-to-one basis, and with a robust, salient economy that is the unequivocal envy of the Caribbean; living in a democratic country that holds an election every fives that always go smoothly. Not worrying about anarchy and mutiny from dissidents.

Coming out of the catastrophic Hurricane Dorian we now have so much to be thankful. Yes, many lost their lives and homes, but for us who are alive, we have to be thankful to God that He spared us. We have been the position to enjoy an abundance of good fortune which other countries can only dream of.

However, how quickly are many of us already forgetting to give thanks to God for being spared from Dorian, just like the nine lepers in the Bible who failed to show gratitude to Jesus for healing them.

Luke 17:11-19: “And it came to pass, as He went to Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us’. And when He saw them, He said unto them, ‘Go shew yourselves unto the priests’. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God. And fell down on His face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.’ And He said to him, ‘Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.’ “

It seems as if we have not learned anything from Hurricane Dorian, nor have we improved in our attitude towards our fellow man. The distasteful and repugnant attitude perpetrated towards others is blatantly obvious on the long lines we see, where everyone is trying to get served first.

We must stamp out such callous attitudes; they are not only rude, but selfish. The churches are empty on Sundays while we run to the next big giveaway, and when we do go to church it’s for handouts. How quickly we have forgotten that God spared all of us here in Nassau, and that He graciously stopped what could have wiped us out as a people. Not all are guilty, however. But too many have forgotten, like the nine cleansed lepers. Every church should be filled to capacity as we all try to get right before a holy God. So I ask, where are the nine? We are given so much, yet are so ungrateful.

• For questions and comments e-mail keithevans242@gmail.com or kenazevans242@gmail.com.