Why is Jamaica not prospering?

by Jim Hanson
(Ocho Rios)

Jamaica has more churches per capita than any other nation in the world so why is it not blessed when the Bible says in Psalm 33:12, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!"

Why does it have such a poor economy when the Bible says in Deuteronomy 28:11 - 15 -"The Lord shall make you have a surplus of prosperity, through the fruit of your body, of your livestock, and of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.

The Lord shall open to you His good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

And the Lord shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God.

And you shall not turn aside from any of the words of God, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments and His statutes....then many, many curses shall come upon you and overtake you!!!

I believe that Jamaica will never prosper as a nation as long as its peoples' faith in Jesus is just a lip service faith.

I am a Christian minister and I have observed

over the years that almost everyone on the island professes a belief in Jesus Christ but I have also observed that so many of these professors will flirt at the drop of a hat with members of the opposite sex, whether unmarried or married, they will drive like insane madmen, displaying little road patience and many of them drink rum or red stripe like fish or smoke themselves silly with the ganja.

Yet they profess to have faith in Jesus and they attend church religiously.

I believe that because of these sins that show that the peoples' faith is not wholehearted, God is withholding the island's prosperity and that He will do so until its people truly humble themselves before Him and repent of their sins and turn from all of their wicked ways.

2 Chronicles 7:14 Amplified Bible - If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

I also believe that God is so loving and forgiving that He will do this on an individual basis for each person on this island who repents and becomes wholehearted for Jesus.

2 Chronicles 16:9 - For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.

So why don't you become one of the first to truly repent and join me in discipleship under Jesus Christ?

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Oct 04, 2015
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Reply to Cynthia
by: Anonymous

May God bless you for recognizing and appreciating the social goodness of so many of the Jamaican people. I believe, as do you, that in that respect they honor God, obeying the 2nd most important commandment of loving their neighbors as themselves, and as such they are being honored by Him. However, social goodness is not where I believe that the majority of Jamaican Christians are deficient with God. I believe that they are deficient in not obeying the 1st commandment which is to love the Lord with ALL of their minds, their strength, their souls and their hearts!

James 3:17 - 18 - But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable....And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Where I see Jamaican Christians (whom I believe are most all of the Jamaican people) in need of improvement is in the purity of putting their faith and personal righteousness first in their life's affairs, not their commendable peaceful social graces. I believe that when they begin to get serious about their faith and about living righteous lives, God will add to their social blessings great prosperity, first for their souls and then for them physically here in Jamaica.

3 John 2 - 4 - Beloved, I pray that in "ALL" respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. In fact, I greatly rejoiced when [some of] the brethren from time to time arrived and spoke [so highly] of the sincerity and fidelity of your life, as indeed you do live in the Truth [that the whole Gospel presents]. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

So according to this verse and the following passage, I believe that all levels of prosperity are what God wants for His Jamaican believers, not just social prosperity.

Deuteronomy 28:11 The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground....The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

(Consequences of Disobedience) "But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes....that many, many curses will come upon you and overtake you....

I believe that the Jamaican nation is cursed in that it is not prospering financially but instead is one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world! It is certainly not lending to any other country, is it? Unfortunately it is considered to be one of the financial "tail" nations of the world and not one of the "head" nations. I also see that there is rampant corruption, crime and gunmen in Jamaica and that its government services and its police forces are not to be trusted or counted upon.

So I believe that many more of Jamaica's Christians need to fully surrender and commit to the Lordship of Jesus every day of their lives before He will open the flood gates of heaven and poor down His promised financial blessings upon them in addition to their current social blessings that we both so heartily endorse. I would hope that if you have not yet done so, that you too would join Jesus in this kind of a commitment to Him Cynthia.

Sep 21, 2015
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Rich in many things/ways
by: Cynthia

I just ready your post and I felt I needed to respond. You see I am not Jamaican but I travel there at least 2-4 times a year, in fact I just returned yesterday.

Jamaica is my second home now and I have taken time over the years to try and learn and understand everything Jamaica.

While I understand your frustration with the corruption and as you see it bad behavior, I don't see Jamaica as not prospering. True, the country is suffering financially but what country isn't??

As a Christian you well know that the bible says these are indeed "the last days" and with that being said, things are coming to pass.

The bible says people will be greedy and lovers of themselves (2 Tim 3:2) This can be seen everywhere all over the world.

Do I see things I don't like when I am in JA? YES! There is much room for improvement, however I also see how GOD has blessed this little Island abundantly.

People that are not rich financially have riches and happiness beyond what some others can even understand.

I see unity and community - I see love for children and elderly people, I see fertile ground that bares delicious fruits for people to harvest abundantly.

I see beautiful seas that provide much more than just the scenery.

I see a unique people who have endured and overcome many obstacles to become a great contender amongst many larger and stronger nations.

No man, Jamaica may not be prospering as you would like but Jamaica is surviving and thriving with grace and dignity and there in is GODs blessing for this place, there in lies his grace and mercy.

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