PM, do not harden your heart!

By Otto Sam

I again implore our prime minister, Ralph E. Gonsalves to bring a speedy and just resolution to the dismissed workers issue and end their hardship, hurt, pain and cry. Sir, please review the policy! I beg you do it sir! Do not harden your heart!

The cries of these innocent people (workers, many of them who have served God ALL their lives) have gone up to God and surely if you harden your heart and do not give them justice and relieve their sufferings God will intervene and we as a nation do not want to suffer the plaques suffered by a stubborn hearted leader many years ago. Their salaries have been taken away and also their benefits (gratuity and pension). No fault of theirs!

However, I want to assure you honourable prime minister that God hears the cries of the oppressed always even when He himself hand them over to their enemies so intervene now and bring relief to these sufferers. Do not harden your heart! God, in sending Moses on His mission to Pharaoh, reminds us that He hears and feels the pain and cry of the oppressed. The Lord said, “I have in fact seen the suffering/desolation of My people…and have heard their cry because of their oppressor; for I know their pain and suffering. Sir, God is the same yesterday, today and forever and certainly He has heard the cry, pain and suffering of all His children whom the government’s mandates have afflicted by inflicting serious suffering! Rest assure that God’s ears are always attentive to the cry of the oppressed, the poor, and the afflicted! The wounded, the weary and the withered can count on God always! Do not harden your heart!

I am concerned about the personal and national effect of you being unwilling to intervene, stubborn and hardening your heart. In (Exodus 3:19) God said, “But I know the King of Egypt will not let you go unless (he is forced) by a strong hand.” As a nation, we do not want you (personally) to be struck by plagues nor do we want the nation to suffer as a result of hardening of heart! Please, don’t allow the court to draw out this matter and cause even greater suffering and pain on God’s people intervene (review) the policy/mandate in light of the new experiences, data, knowledge and realities and reinstate the oppressed citizens (brothers and sisters) to their jobs with all their benefits intact. It will not hurt your personal life, it will not hurt your political life and certainly will not hurt your legacy! You have done many good things as a leader. You have contributed significantly to the development of the nation but this is like a curse (a real terrible thing) and even your younger generals, who, even if they spend sometime in the wilderness, will want to return and would not want you to put this curse (this dark chapter) on their necks.

We do not need to restate the wrongs and evil resulting from the mandates. The entire process was flawed. People’s dignity and rights were trampled upon (even if that was not the intention of you and the state). The “exemptions” were anything but exemption! Now, a review shows that triple dose of the vaccines does not stop one getting, spreading and being hospitalised. The developers of vaccines and researchers from Africa to Europe have conceded that Omricon evades the vaccine and the US CDC recently admitted that even for the Delta variant natural immunity resulting from previously having COVID-19 was equally or more effective than the vaccines. Then God allow you and us to have a local (national really check) by allowing only those fully vaccinated to contract and possible spread the virus in live, national and widely publicised Budget debates. You cannot ask for more evidence to review the mandate and reinstate ALL dismissed workers! Do not harden your heart!

Finally, I want to share with you Jesus’ reaction to heart-hardening and stubbornness. In Mark 3: 1 – 5, Jesus went into the synagogue and a man was there whose hand was withered. The Pharisees were watching closely to see if Jesus would heal him. Jesus asked them is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil. But they kept silent. PM, many around you will stay silent and will not tell you to use your authority and heal those who have been severely wounded –those whose life the dismissal have withered. They stay silent! They want you to be acting without mercy, without compassion, without a heart and showing off stubbornness while hardening your hearts to play up to “talk show” personality while real flesh and blood people to quote you suffer unnecessarily! However, forget them and even my views.

This is Jesus’ view of self-righteous, stubborn people after looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness and arrogance of their hearts, He told the man, “Hold out your hand” and he held it out and his hand was (completely) restored. (Mark 3:5) Honourable Prime Minister, don’t anger Jesus any longer! Sir, don’t grieve Jesus anymore! Don’t wait on the court! Don’t play to any talk ‘show’ host! Don’t even play to any lingering ego or un-forgiveness! You have the power to heal this situation and heal the wounded and withered cause by the mandate. Review it base on what’s before you now and reinstate the workers. DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEAART!

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