Barbados in Crisis: Alternative View and Solution Part 2

Last Updated on April 28, 2025 9:03 AM by herald

In part 1 of this article, available here, we suggested that the cause of the crisis of crime, corruption and corrosion currently being experienced in Barbados is spiritual. Since the cause is spiritual, we argued that treating to the current situation will require a spiritual approach. Lamenting daily on what we used to be will not help at all.

Scripture not only hands us the diagnosis but also offers the solution. In the single verse which follows, it has detailed the spiritual action plan that must be taken and who is responsible for implementing it.  

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

This verse puts the onus of change and recovery squarely on the backs of the church (my people), not the government.  Of course, this is not going to make any sense to those who reject the very notion of spirituality or those who consciously or unconsciously worship the state by believing that the government is the determinant of the country’s destiny.

The sociologists, psychologists, legal experts, development planners and globalists have offered and will continue to offer us different solutions through the aegis of government.  They will tell us that all we need to do, is start another social programme or another counselling service or small business unit; initiate another tourism project, give transgenders more rights, pass tougher gun control laws and embrace neo-communism which, in essence, is what globalism is about.

Those who are not sitting on their brains will notice that despite the ever- increasing number of such initiatives, we have gotten worse, not better. The question then is this: When are we going to acknowledge that the REAL cause of our problem is spiritual and not economic or legal or social per se?

Incidentally, the globalists know very well the importance of true spirituality; that is why they censor and fight religion or seek to co-opt it into their schemes.  Not that religion and spirituality are by any means equivalent.  But there is nothing more dangerous to globalists and communists than individuals or countries that hold the conviction that we owe allegiance to a superior being and not to a government, whether local or global. 

2 Chronicles 7:14 is telling us is that we can change our national situation: economic, social, political etcetera by taking a specific course of spiritual actions which, in essence, means turning back to the Lord Jehovah and his ways.

Although the church is very familiar with this verse, few seem to understand its seriousness and fewer still might be willing or sure of how to apply it. This is not entirely surprising since our religion/ spirituality has become totally divorced from our daily living. 

God is much more interested in what we do than in what we say! (Matthew 21:28-32)   

On the surface, this verse appears to be calling for an act of repentance. However, as far as God is concerned, national repentance is part of a process; not a one-off church service or even the act of asking for forgiveness per se.  When we have fully engaged in the process, all other problems will be solved in due course and Jehovah will “heal our land”.   In other words, this verse is a promise from God and in essence, he is asking us to test whether he will keep His end of the bargain.

But first, we need to fulfil our end of the deal. So, take note that the Scripture cited above (2 Chronicles 7:14) calls on us in “the church” to take four distinct actions; not start another conversation or talk show!

#1 Humble ourselves:

Humility is an attitude of mind; it is not fancy talk or a church service. There is too much pride in our country! Notice we did not say “foolish pride” or qualify pride in in any way because I do not know that there is any pride that is acceptable in God’s sight. If that is true, those who boast gay pride are on course for a double humiliation which is God’s answer to and “reward” for lack of humility. 

#2 Pray:

Everybody knows that prayer is about talking to God. We can pray all we like, but only when we reach the previous state of humility will God hear us. A day or week of prayer by itself will not move God’s hand. How do we know this? The answer is in your Bible! 

Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud. Psalm 138:6 NLT. 

Most of the pride in Barbados has been fueled by the talk and actions of both religious and secular leaders over time. Despite what PMM says, we are not “punching above our weight”. Not by a long shot! I do not know what kind of punch we can deliver anyway, with the enormous weight of our national debt on our backs. The last time I checked, “the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7) was still true! So, whatever we achieve is mostly symbolic, tokenistic and mediocre compared to what we should be able to do.

#3 Seek my face:

If God instructs us to pray, why do we need to “seek his face”? What does that mean? To seek someone’s face is to seek a face-to-face audience with the person because we want his or her favour. A letter or phone call will not do! In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for “face”, “panai” is often translated as “presence.” When we seek the face of God, we are seeking His presence, we are seeking intimacy with him. This consistent with what Jesus said in John 4:24

God is a spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.  John 4:24

Every day – and particularly every Sunday – people in Barbados read and say endless prayers. Has this helped our country? Apparently not much.  Why? Because it has no passion, no intimacy, no urgency, no authenticity, no “spirit”.   

Seeking God’s face is a higher level of prayer; an intimate, urgent, sustained conversation with God.  That is what Moses spent much time doing on the behalf of God’s people. That is what Jesus did ever so often.  What God has in mind for his people to do on the behalf of the nation is more like Joel 1:14

Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.  Joel 1:14 NIV

If you want to see the type of prayer that gets God’s attention, read that sent up by Daniel on behalf of his people in Chapter 9. Nothing short of that type of that simple, authentic prayer of humility for forgiveness and the implied commitment to change will reverse our current situation.  All that our prayers seem to be doing so far is slowing down the ROC (Rate of Corrosion), not reversing it!

#4 Turn from our wicked ways:

The final action that God requires before he moves on our behalf is turning from our wicked ways. This condition is not asking our politicians to turn from their wicked, corrupt ways; it is not asking for the legal fraternity, lawyers and judges to turn from perverting justice, (unless they are part of the ecclesia). It is asking the ecclesia, “my people”, to set the example by eliminating wickedness from their lives.  

We may be tempted to call this repentance. But that is not what is meant here by “turning from our wicked ways”. The dictionary defines repentance as “regret”, “sorrow”, “shame”, “contriteness”. In church circles, we might refer to this as “godly sorrow”.  However, in the NT, the Greek word for repentance, transliterated to English, is “metanoia”. It means “a change of mind, change in the inner man”.

Therefore, “metanoia” is not calling for emotions of shame or sorrow or regret per se. Those are human emotions that may or may not accompany repentance. It is calling for a transformation in thinking and a subsequent change in behaviour.

But in what way might “my people”, be wicked? Are we not all “redeemed”? Are you one of those who go to work and spend most of the day gossiping? That is wickedness! Do you take 2 hours for lunch when one hour is allowed? That is wickedness!  Are you a business-person who overcharges for the service you are providing? That is wickedness! Are you cheating on your wife or husband? That is wickedness! Are you neglecting your God-given responsibility to train your children in the fear of the Lord? That is wickedness! Are you disobeying your parents? We could go on.

Conclusion

What God is asking for here is a U-turn that involves the full spirit man: our thoughts, our motives, our intentions and above all, our will. True repentance is a U-turn. A U-turn is 180 degrees. Humbling ourselves is the first part of the U-turn; but that is only 45 degrees. Praying is another 45 degrees; only 90 degrees so far.

Seeking God’s face is another 45 degrees that calls for much greater effort. The full U-turn comes about when we complete the last 45 degrees. Until then, nothing doing! How do we know this? Check the logical use of “and” in this verse. That is what tells us that all four things must be done to receive healing! And thankfully, that healing may very well include removal of those who are leading the people astray!

We have a choice before us. Are we going to do it God’s way or are we going to give the politicians, the intelligentsia, the globalists, the financiers and sociologists another shot at it? The choice before us is the same choice God put before the children of Israel via through Moses and later through Joshua:

I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that I have set before you, life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, so that you and your descendants may live. Deuteronomy 30:19 BSB.

The choice of course of action is ours to make but we cannot choose the consequences! You can choose to walk down the road naked, but there is a consequence for that.  You can choose to take illegal drugs but you cannot avoid the consequences. May the Lord help us choose wisely!

The author, Dr. Aldon D. Tull, is a retired educator