FAITH AND DISCIPLINE

• Faith means believing in yourself to the extent that you struggle and push to get there or to achieve what you want to because you have Faith that you can and will
• Whether we live alone, in family life or even among friends we all yearn for peace and stability

Faith is a beautiful attribute; it gives us inner strength, not physical strength; but an inner resolve to withstand turmoil or whatever life throws at us. It is difficult for anyone to go through life without Faith. More importantly, we need to believe in God, if we have the Creator of the Universe in our little corner of the world, whom should we fear? Who indeed? Like in the days of yore, in the days of David and Goliath, the Bible tells us that Faith demolished physical strength. This remarkable attribute gives us the courage to remain unshaken; it is an inner resolve that no matter what, we will not be moved. The Bible tells us that Esther is a shining example of a woman whose faith gave her tremendous courage. Because she was a Jew, she was constantly in danger and though it was a politically tumultuous time, Esther navigated the turmoil of tricky waters and delivered the Israelites from an evil man’s bitter vendetta. It took tremendous courage to stay, but she did and endured the schemes of her enemy, eventually gaining favour with the king to save her people.  

Faith is like a tree planted by the water, it will not be moved! It sends out an inner strength, courage and stability; it is deep-rooted, invincible and unshakable! We need faith to preserve our inner strength and stability even if at times, we feel that most things are beyond our control, it is necessary from a Christian point of view, to acknowledge and take comfort from the fact that we know God is in control. The Bible provides numerous examples of stability in the face of instability, and we can create a tremendous sense of stability and well being in our lives by constantly studying the Bible.  

We desperately need that sense of inner peace and well being in our daily Christian lives and only God can provide that, nothing and no one else can. In the case of non-Christians, all other religions too provide awe-inspiring material for thought, particularly the tenets of Buddhism where Lord Buddha has provided unlimited scope for reflection and meditation to gain inner peace and tranquillity. However, whatever our religion, we need to believe; to have Faith that we can experience stability in the midst of our instability.  

Whether we live alone, in family life or even among friends we all yearn for peace and stability and to achieve that, we need Faith to get us there. Wherever we go in life, whatever we do or want to do, we must have Faith in ourselves; it is not the same as believing in ourselves – Faith means so much more than that, Faith means believing in yourself to the extent that you struggle and push to get there or to achieve what you want to because you have Faith that you can and will. We are told that Faith can move mountains – it surely can, we need Faith in every aspect of our day-to-day living, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, families, friends, grandparents, whatever the relationships may be, they all need Faith in each other to survive. They are all intertwined in Faith and by Faith.  

"We need faith to preserve our inner strength and stability even if at times, we feel that most things are beyond our control, it is necessary from a Christian point of view, to acknowledge and take comfort from the fact that we know God is in control"

Clinging to the tenets of FAITH, in the current crisis we are facing we need to be aware and create awareness and learn to coexist as the Japanese are doing and I quote:  
Japan has decided to coexist with the new CORONAVIRUS! Announced as the “new life model”, calling the people to be prepared to follow this model for an extended period and to learn to live and work with the virus lurking around the corner.  
Looking closely at these new life models, it can be seen that the Japanese government established these very practical set of Standard Operating Procedures using principles of rationality, science, and risk assessment.  
Maybe it is related to the Japanese understanding that “bad” things can’t be forsaken for all times. Using risk assessment models in principle, humans can continue to live well. Read them one by one. 

THERE ARE THREE 
BASIC POINTS:  

1. Keep a distance between people  
2. Wear a mask.  
3. Wash hands frequently 

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS  

1. People keep a distance of 2 metres.  
2. Play as much as possible outdoors  
3. Try to avoid being face-to-face direct facing when speaking to other people  
4. Go home and wash your face and clothes immediately  
5. Wash as soon as you touch someone’s hand  
6. Try online shopping and electronic settlement  
7. Supermarket shopping is best for 1 person, to choose time when there are fewer people  
8. Try not to touch commodity samples  
9. Don’t talk on public transportation  
10. Go to work by bike or on foot  
11. It is best to use electronic business cards  
12. Try to use video conference when meeting  
13. To control the number of people in meetings, wear masks and open windows for ventilation  
14. Work from home or commute at an off-peak time  
15. Do not go to countries or places where the virus is endemic  
16. Try to return home, not to visit relatives and travel, and control business trips  
17. When you have symptoms, remember where you went and who you met  
18. Eat meals with others not face-to-face, preferably side-by-side  
19. Do not use large bowls and large pots to share food, implement a divided individual portion system  
20. Chat less at the meal, eat more vegetables  
21. As far as possible try not to have too many people gathering at a meal together   
22. Avoid “closed spaces, dense crowd flow, intimate contact”  
23. Self-test body temperature every morning to strengthen health management  
24. Cover the lid when flushing the toilet  
25. Don’t stay too long in a narrow space  
26. When walking and running, the number of people should be small, when meet each other stagger the distance.  

Shigeru Oo, Chairman of the Japanese Government Committee, said that it takes at least one-and-a-half years for the vaccine to be fully developed and officially put into use.  
Since the enemy cannot be eliminated, it is necessary to learn to coexist with the virus. Only by following the new rules of life can we live in peace with the CORONA VIRUS for a long time. Most of the above methods have been implemented in China.  
Everyone understands that it is a long-term war, but each item is not listed in detail. 
The Japanese are genetically a VERY DISCIPLINED nation and they do things and follow instructions scrupulously.  

IT IS WORTH LEARNING!
IT WOULD ALSO BE WORTH SEEING OUR LEADERS IN GOVERNMENT AND OTHER INSTITUTIONAL HEADS WEARING MASKS – TAKE A LOOK AT A NEWSPAPER AND SEE HOW MANY ARE! WHAT A MAGNIFICENT EXAMPLE WE ARE SETTING!!!