The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.
by Carl W. Barker
There comes a time in the life of every human when we face what the late evangelist Billy Graham called “the hour of decision.” It is that moment when we know the decision we make today will live with us for the rest of our lives and also shape our legacy.
Moments like these can cause us sleepless nights as we agonise over the consequences of our decisions.
Throughout the Bible, people have had to face such moments. There was Moses who chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Great men like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow before the golden idol.
Daniel, the chief governor, also rejected the King’s decree not to pray to his God and was thrown into the lion’s den. These men were called upon to make life-threatening decisions and, in each instance, they chose to go with God.
Both Moses and Elijah, fed up with people who seemed not to know their own minds, had to confront God’s people, and ask them to make a decision one way or another.
Moses challenged the indecisive crowd, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me. Elijah also demanded a decision when on Mount Carmel he asked: “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him (1Kings 18 vv. 21).
Our Lord Jesus brought His disciple Peter to that point when He simply asked him, “Lovest thou Me more than these?” It is the answers to questions such as these, that can determine whether we are remembered for the good we stood for, or for the irreparable harm we have wrought, not only on ourselves but also on our country.
Today, we are faced with such a decision; a decision that will forever shape the pathway of our beloved country Barbados.
Persons who have been born and bred in the Church and whose lives fashioned on the word and principles of God are now being asked to choose between values forged on God’s design and desires that are in direct conflict with God’s dictates.
Barbados has been for many centuries a country looked up to by, not only by our Caribbean neighbours, but by many countries around the world. It is not only our valued educational system but even more so, our faith in God that has brought us thus far. Our National Anthem cements the thought in the second verse which asserts, “The Lord has been the people’s guide . . .”
I am deeply concerned that as we prepare to move from a Democracy to a Republic – a purportedly innocuous transition – we are at the same time tearing our country away from the moorings that have sustained us for centuries.
The glaring omission of any reference to the supremacy of God in our proposed Charter, and the inclusion of language that meticulously allows for the introduction of practices inimical to our tried and tested Judeo-Christian values are of great concern to me and should be to every right-thinking person in this country.
It is a verified axiom that though we may be free to make choices we are not free to choose the consequences of those choices. A yea or nay will determine your legacy. I urge you to listen to the voice of Jesus asking of you as He asked of Peter, “Lovest thou me more than these?”
