Preserving Spiritual Identity

As I stay with my hosts in Canada, I realise how easy it is to lose one's spirituality. Prince Edward Island is a very beautiful island, and prosperous too. There is no crime, and I have been here for two days, and have not seen any police or security. I feel safe leaving my things and coming back to find them.

The people are courteous, and disciplined. Cars stop for pedestrians and people wait their turn. People seem to willingly follow rules here.

They have clean water, fresh air, they recycle, have good health care, grow organic food, depend upon agricultural produce and have zero traffic.

Yet, most of the people I have met do not practice traditional Christian practices. No prayers are said at meal times. No sessions are opened with prayer. People do not even mention God...although I heard someone mention "We trust the demo gods". They mention "Halleluah", but no reverence is held for Jesus or any deity by the persons I have met so far. (This could partly be due to the fact that I have only been interacting with university employees and academics so far though.)

The houses are also nice and the view lovely. There are trees in the town. There is a coastal view and beautiful well kept recreational areas for people to sit and enjoy. The civic spaces are lovely, and further, there are no drug addicts or beggars seen on the streets.

If poverty is in Charlottetown, you do not see it.

This place is a paradise in comparison to Jamaica.

Canadians seem to be very anti-war, and pride themselves as not being war mongering as the U.S. Further Canada has been reaching out to other developing states with research and funding. Their academics seem to have a real concern for the state of other developing states.


As I ponder what I observed, I started to wonder if religion really is the cause of the existing ills. Could Richard Dawkins be right?


Now I reflect on the words of First Fruits of Zion's Weekly eDrash for 24 September 2009:

"Prosperity often places a greater obstacle between us and God than poverty does. The poor man looks to God for help continually. The prosperous man can find it easy to forget about God."

Right away, I saw how easy it was for me to forget God in that environment, especially if I did not go out of my way to attend church.

Once again, God has reaffirmed to me the importance of his sabbaths. They are necessary to preserve spirituality and spiritual identity. To preserve an awareness of our calling, destiny and purpose. That man should not live by bread alone, but eagerly seeking his words in the seasons that he has appointed. It is these very words at his appointed times that sustain us.


Work Cited:

First Fruits of Zion"Spiritually Flabby." Weekly eDrash. 24 September 2009.