Fruits of our inaction

Editor: My father once told me that we reap the fruits of our inaction later on in life. This is, with regard to our failure to love and reach out to the many underprivileged and ‘wayward’ children in our society. I see that we’ve begun to reap them already.  

We love our begotten children so much, and of course, we should, so much so that we often neglect our Christian obligations to the other children in our neighbourhoods. We can, in our middle class suburbia, influence these children for good by showing love to them. I suppose we are too busy to notice – with our commitments to our work, to the bank – for the lifestyles we need to upkeep.   

We can create opportunities to show to the children in our community – an alternative lifestyle, so to speak. Let’s open our hearts and our doors to needy (spiritually, emotionally and physically) children among us. These children will not only benefit, but our children will see Christian love in practice, as we love our neighbours as we love ourselves.  There’s no rule book on how to love.  Look around and see how you can be of help. To this end, I use this medium to thank all those persons who, in one way or the other, have opened their hearts and doors to our needy children.  You continue to be truest examples of compassion in our country.  May God continue to bless you!

On the other hand, there are those people/parents/guardians who think their angels will become corrupted if ‘such’ children are admitted in their homes. Why is it that we sometimes think the ‘misguided’ children in our society will corrupt our precious angels? Are we not teaching our children to think for themselves and/or to make good choices? 

Apparently, it gets very real when the ‘village misfit’ starts making a move on one of our sons, daughters and/or wants to befriend him/her. That is when the parents’/guardians’ blood pressure starts to rise, “Doh keep company with him/her.”  Yes, it gets very real.

Point is: if we take an interest now in all of our children, not just our own, maybe we can prevent a future thief, a murderer, a rapist, a school drop-out, a teenage pregnancy, drug addict, etc. Not that these crimes/circumstances are restricted to a specific class of people in our society.

We are complaining about the levels of crime in our society, but where have they come from?  Is it the family’s fault, the Government, the police, or the church? Whose responsibility is it?  It is everyone responsibility. (The welders and the funeral homes must be among the richest people in our little country.  Burglar bars and coffins are selling like hot bread.)  We are reaping the fruits of our selfishness, indifference, ill-discipline and sin.  

In the meantime, we continue to bury our sons and daughters – young and old – funerals have become the ‘in thing’ these days.  We lament, we complain, we take photos of bloody scenes and post them to social media; we talk amongst ourselves or on radio, then it all boils down to another nine days of talk. Too much talk. St Vincent and the Grenadines needs action!  

I live in a society where people are mortally afraid of speaking up for their rights, especially where it matters; how then is change going to happen when we, the change makers, are silent?  I continue to wonder, is it too late for us to take back our society?

K’sha Woodley