For God's Sake
Ministerial Meandering
For God’s sake
As an ex-serviceman, expletives came easily to me, and not infrequently formed part of my ‘normal’ conversation. I remember once being asked to clean up my act by a female member of the Christian Union when I was at medical school - so I guess I cannot blame my swearing on the Armed Forces entirely. I do remember my mother - after she divorced from my father - seemed to use swearing regularly in her conversation ever after, and I put it down to her perceived ‘liberation’ from her first marriage. However, it is a trait I have to watch.
Nevertheless, there is a place for swearing. Our psychologist colleagues have discovered that swearing furiously after we have been hurt - say you hit your thumb with a hammer - actually reduces the pain you feel. I’m not sure how they discovered this, and would love to read the controlled trials that show these results.
But one phrase of all I am learning to take more seriously - at almost 75 years of age - is the phrase, ‘For God’s sake!’ Doing something for the ‘sake’ of someone or something, means ‘out of consideration for’ whatever is being invoked. To ask someone to do something ‘for God’s sake’ ought to be of some significance then. I ask myself in what way it might be ‘for God’s sake?’ How does what I’m asking for impinge on the Almighty, or how might it cause distress in the heavenly sphere?
Because some seriously disturbing events have been occurring globally in the latter half of last year, and even more so in the current last six months, I have been thinking more of the literal and specific use of the phrase and its application to our lives today. The trivial things for which we customarily use the words, seem to pale into insignificance as my prayers for the healing of the world take on a new urgency and relevance in the face of such blatant and corrupt world leaders, seeking only their own power and glory. Thinking back fifty to a hundred years ago, I can see clearly that these sorts of megalomaniacs were prevalent even then, but there were - at the same time - people of principle and moral rectitude to oppose them. Yes, Hitler and Stalin were insanely vile, but there were Churchill, Montgomery, Roosevelt, and Patton to oppose them.
Where now are our fighters for the good of the nations - for God’s sake? - when we so desperately need honourable and determined opposition to the appalling evil that is being perpetrated upon the world?
Why does the railing and crying only seem to be in the press and in social media? Looking at the latest horrors of Trump cozying up to Putin, and thereby threatening the continent of Europe and NATO, we have to look to the European leaders for a bold enough politician and true statesman to stand behind, and support against this clear and present danger.
Trudeau is a spent force, so is Macron; Starmer is a non-starter, Germany is in disarray, and Italy will not get off the starting blocks. Switzerland, one suspects, will remain neutral and watch. The only notable resistance seems to be in Poland, which - unless its neighbours get up off their butts - will fall as it has done before, but with possibly even more loss of life than Ukraine is suffering today.
With our southern neighbour turning into a serious global threat, wanting to reclaim Panama, turn Gaza into his next golf course, take over Greenland, - with or without an exchange of money with Denmark - and annex our own country of Canada, what can we expect? First, I would hope, the election of a new leader who has some idea of what history has taught the world about not taking notice of the obvious intentions of a power-maddened narcissist on our doorstep, who rides roughshod across carefully drafted treaties and global agreements. Churchill referred to himself as ‘a voice in the wilderness’, as he warned (then from the back-benches) of the danger of Germany rearming in the 1930’s. As Hitler brainwashed the population of Germany - along with many others in other countries - so Trump has already demonstrated the willingness of the mindless to follow him and vote in a tyrant.
For God’s sake - all of us need to pray powerfully, speak up, stand up, and oppose at every opportunity those we meet who support this spreading evil. Please - for God’s sake.
Philip+