Steve Lyston | Jamaica, unite to avoid the vortex

It is critical for every Jamaican to truthfully evaluate him/herself and his/her actions in light of all the things that have been overrunning our country. We, as a nation, have become so arrogant and full of pride that many of us believe that we are too blessed as a nation to avoid a vortex - whether spiritual or physical.

A vortex is "a mass of fluid (such as a liquid) with a whirling or circular motion that tends to form a cavity or vacuum in the centre of the circle and to draw towards this cavity or vacuum bodies subject to its action; (especially whirlpool/tornado/whirlwind, cyclone, hurricane, black-hole, swirl and so on)". A spiritual vortex is moral degradation, backsliding and ethical downturn all spiralling out of control, bringing extremely uncontrollable crime and violence and economic fallout.

Continued undermining

The nation has fragmented into different groups - some wanting to see the demise of the nation if their agenda is not put to the fore and accepted. Some in the political field say there is continued undermining on all sides. We continue to reject our own as not good enough; we promote divestment and put other nations' interests ahead of our own welfare. Each time problems arise, we avoid workable solutions and shift to something else that brings further woes and waste.

We, as a nation, have five living prime ministers, past and present. God has kept them for a purpose, simply to bring healing to our nation. Yet there is a refusal to genuinely unite and bring healing. Past and present leaders continue to make deals with other countries without counting the cost to the nation and without checking motives and agendas; which will ultimately lead to our people being further shackled and enslaved.

We continue to murder each other with the tongue and also physically, then those in the hills who give the instructions get off scot-free (sometimes with a promotion), while the authorities zone in on those at the bottom of the hill. Soon after, the very instigators also come offering 'solutions' for the very thing they incited.

As a nation, we have exchanged God for lesser gods - greed, power, money. We are even ashamed to call the nation into a time of atonement to bring healing from some bad past decisions that have been made for the nation - not just in politics, but in every sector, including the Church that has generally become religious and blind, and has been compromised. The media also need to see and highlight the good, not just the negative. They, too, must change or else everybody in the boat will suffer.

Solutions

While the present administration may have good intentions, just as the previous administration did, our problem over the years are our advisers. The same sets are circulating on both sides. They attended the same schools, they are members of the same clubs and they continue to be rewarded for failure, and so the cycle continues.

The $100-million cash rewards to be issued in order to alleviate crimes and entice the relinquishing of illegal guns can be a dangerous trend for the nation, and it can become worse than the lotto scam and the metal scam, causing increased corruption and opening the door for more criminal activities.

Why not take the money and use it to:

- Fix the bad roads within the communities;

- Revamp the beautification projects in the communities;

- Increase or bring water supply within the communities;

- Assist families whose children need further education;

- Get the homeless people shelters; assist families with health-care plans that will cover a wider range of issues and surgeries;

- Assist foster care agencies especially for children;

- Provide factory jobs and give more access to scholarship programmes;

- Assist all hospitals with more bedding, health supplies;

- Have updated libraries in the rural areas with new computers and chairs;

- Restart a clean-up campaign for our beaches;

- Invest in getting the appropriate pest control chemicals for the rapid infestation that has taken over the country.

These would be far more productive and effective.

Intelligence gathering must be done by professionals who can infiltrate the communities. But if we start giving residents money, this can take us down the path of communism and, possibly, murders would increase, since desperation in times of need can lead many to lie.

As a nation, we cannot continue to make decisions without genuinely seeking God. It's time to stop, look! listen! All this did not happen overnight. Let us do what we really need to do for the sake of the next generation. Likewise, the youth within the community need to stop carrying out the dirty work of those who are comfortable in the mess within the society.

- Steve Lyston is a biblical economics consultant and author of several books, including 'End Time Finance' and 'The New Millionaire'.