We live in a great country, there’s no denying it; in so
many ways the best in the world. And I am truly thankful to God for the privileges
that are mine simply because I am a citizen of Canada.
But three things happened in the last week that caused me to
pause and think hard and long about some of the problems we face.
The first occurred last Wednesday evening as I watched our
prime minister, along with so many of his colleagues on both sides of the
house, stand to vote ‘no’ on a bill which was a reasonable request to simply
commission a study to review the present legislation (which everyone knows is
totally inadequate) for determining when human life begins. My heart sank at
the amazing lack of conviction and the unwillingness to even address this
critical issue of life. Where is the compassion? Where is the integrity? Where
is any sense of moral responsibility? Where is the leadership? And yes, I did
voice my disappointment and my future intentions directly to the Prime Minister
and our local member of parliament in writing.
The second thing that caused me to do some hard thinking
this past week was when the latest report came out declaring that Canada has one
of the worst records for food wastage in the world. According to CBC News, the
report says that over half of the food wastage in Canada results from what consumers
throw out of our homes. It is staggering to hear that 30-40% of the food
produced in Canada
ends up in the trash! The report went on to say that, “The food waste that occurs in Canada is largely a symptom of
current processes and attitudes, primarily of abundance and affluence.”
My third cause for pause this past week came with a visit to
the hospital. I went to spend a little time with a friend who has been there
for a very long time now. I won’t go into a diatribe about all the deficiencies
in our health care system because I’d only be joining the chorus. But I bring
it up because it seems to me that those of us who are reasonably healthy don’t
seem to give it a whole lot of thought. We seem rather quite preoccupied with
our own busy lives… going to work, building homes, buying cars, watching
television and socializing with our friends on Facebook.
A country is really its people. And Canada, though
one of the greatest nations on earth, is in trouble. And the above only touches
on some of the issues we face. As for my part, or our part, according to the
New Testament, becoming a citizen of heaven should also make us model citizens
here, those who fundamentally care and are called to stand up and speak up for
others and to effectively make a difference by the way we live one life at a
time. God help us to be better citizens.
“But our citizenship
is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ… Submit
yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether
to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to
punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s
will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live
as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as
servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of
believers, fear God, honor the king.” Phil
3:20 ; 1Pet 2:13-17
I too was troubled especially by the results of Wed. night Steve. If someone doesn't speak up for those without a voice, who will. :( I know I take the "right to life" very seriously because I certainly wasn't a planned or wanted birth by my birth mother but God had a different plan. I'm glad she chose life when the decision to do so was much harder to make than it is today. It breaks my heart to hear of the number of abortions being performed in our country and around the world. How anyone that views an ultra-sound today of a baby in the womb and can still believe that's not life is beyond my understanding. The only good thing as Matt tells me is that the babies go to Heaven. But then I think of all the potential these little lives could have become......the ministry of James Robison, for example of someone that was conceived as a result of rape. My rant for today but I know you see life as such a precious gift from God too. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteVal, I agree with you 100% and, as you say, it is 'beyond understanding'. I can only think that it is a spiritual blindness. That's the only explanation I can conceive of. In recent years the stats seem to indicate that things like ultrasound technology and better education have increased people's understanding and have seen the support for life increase but there doesn't seem to be any political will whatsoever to correspond with it.
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