PUT simply, we can’t have it both ways. For, according to Christian teachings in the Apostles’ Creed, even Jesus, Himself, suffered under Pontius Pilate, died, was buried, descended into hell before He rose and ascended to heaven.

By way of illustration, though, conjure up a situation in which a man teasingly sways a piece of meat in front of a hungry dog, causing it to move its head following the bait. Then suddenly the man pulls at both ends of the meat, as if to split it in two pieces. The result of that action would be potentially disastrous for the poor dog. The act would most likely create an ugly dislocation of the dog’s eyeballs as it attempts to look in both directions simultaneously because it wants the best of both worlds. Whilst wanting to have the best of both worlds is enticing, achieving it is unlikely since we do not always evaluate the consequences of pursuing, or not pursuing, certain options; economists refer to it as the opportunity cost.

Many years ago, I heard a popular Jamaican pastor raising cane on television during a Sunday morning praise and worship service about the wonders of heaven. However, as he encouraged his captive congregants to look toward heaven “where milk and honey flow, and where the streets are paved in gold”, the sizable man of the cloth abruptly declared: “Heaven is indeed a beautiful place. But, brothers and sisters, I am in no hurry to get there; no hurry at all…” Implicit in the preacher man’s declaration was a particular honesty, which also betrayed his fear of death as well as his unwillingness to die. In this example, the preacher must have evaluated the reality of living on Earth and made the determination that as screwed up as life was on Earth, and as tantalising as going to heaven appeared, there was no fierce urgency for him to pursue the path of the great unknown. In his situation, he’d rather stick it out here on this rough Earth, where dreaming of the great beyond has no shelf life.

Yet, his “I am in no hurry to get there; no hurry at all…” declaration was mild in comparison to a story my late Uncle Busha told about a famous Pentecostal preacher in Highgate, St Mary. A raconteur in his own rights, Uncle Busha related how this preacher never missed an opportunity to warn sinners to repent because “The coming of the Lord is near”. According to Uncle Busha’s account, the preacher’s favourite Sunday quotation came from James Black’s 1893 hymn When the roll is called up yonder. With outstretched arms, and bloodshot eyes, the pastor would pull enough oxygen from the deep recesses of his diaphragm to allow him to hold the notes associated with singing the hymn for extended periods. As it reached one o’clock on Sunday afternoons, he would release thunderous shouts of “Yes! Yes! When the trumpet of Lord shall sound and time shall be no more…” After the pastor’s years of invoking fear as a means of winning souls for the Lord, the boys in the community decided not only to test the pastor’s true mettle, but also to put a stop to his unceremonious and inelegantly loud shouting. Unbeknownst to the pastor, elders and worshippers at the church, the boys cleverly and quietly climbed onto the rooftop of the church building with a few poorly tuned bugles. No sooner than the pastor shouted his ritualistic “Yes! Yes! When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more…” the boys simultaneously let loose one mighty, thunderous blast from their bugles. According to Uncle Busha, all hell broke loose thereafter. The pastor flew off the pulpit quicker than when “night owls see new ghosts”, or when “mongoose taste donkey [urine]”. The pastor bolted under the barbed-wire fence and threw his sankey book to the wind. Upon realising that when he bolted underneath the fence his cap was hooked by one of the barbs, the pastor immediately ‘backslid’ by remarking: “Cap or no cap, mi nuh ready fi go ah no heaven a ‘what’s it-what’s it not’.”

Given our fear of the unknown, it is unfathomable how so many of us continue to operate in a vacuum by latching on to weird theories of success. The pastor’s behaviour should resonate among many in today’s world. We hear of prosperous societies and dream of becoming one. Most times, however, we fantasisze without understanding the journey that led to prosperity or the unpleasantness of the bitter gall journeymen swallowed in pursuit of their nation’s development, advancement and success.

This brings me to our current socio-economic challenges and to the need for overall restraints, but more pointedly, for reasonableness in the ongoing public sector salary negotiations and expectations within the context of the current International Monetary Fund Extended Fund Facility programme. To begin with, and although belatedly, I must confess that we have not, as a society, been fair in our assessment of the inherent value and honesty that characterised former prime minister, and current Opposition Leader, Andrew Holness’s 2011 election eve “bitter medicine” warning. Admittedly, his warning was politically foolish, because it came amidst the heights of his campaign plans and desires to go to Jamaica’s political heaven — Jamaica House. However, little did he know, dying is not a prerequisite for transitioning into our political heaven. Unlike any other contemporary politician — at least that I am aware of — Holness bravely stepped up to the plate and delivered his piece, while Simpson Miller followed in the footsteps of former JLP leader Edward Seaga with promises of a return to “nice-times”. It matters not that Holness relied on information gleaned from communications with the multilaterals. The fact that he spoke about the future difficulties as openly and as frankly as he did, and at the time that he did, deserves commendation — if even at this late stage. He told his compatriots the truth about the economic tsunami that awaited the arrival of 2012. In this regard, Holness’s honesty should become the template to which future politicians subscribe.

Admittedly, everybody wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die. Sometimes martyrs emerge to save the day for millions; let us dare to be Daniels. Make no bones about it, one can point fingers about which political party is responsible for Jamaica’s socio-cultural, political and economic decadence, the unfettered truth is that we are in tough economic times and we have to unite around a common agenda and cause as we dig ourselves out of the miry clay. Demanding two-digit salary increases, amidst dwindling revenue inflows, flashing potential criminal motorists to avert police cordons, mashing up public facilities, shooting out street lamps and then quarrelling about darkness on the streets and about crime will not cut it. Everybody wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die is an instructive axiom. Ask yourself the question: What would I do if the choice were between laying off 20,000 public sector workers or accepting a single-digit salary increase, which bitter medicine would I take? Think about the answer within the context of current realities and the truth that, while going to heaven is desirable, getting there is no easy feat.

burnscg@aol.com