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| Hon. Qarase - Combined Church Service Jan 28, 2005, 10:00 |
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Hon. Laisenia Qarase
Prime Minister and Minister for Fijian Affairs, Culture & Heritage,
Minister for National Reconciliation & Unity, ALTA & Sugar Industry Reform and Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs
Kemuni saka na Qase Levu Vakacegu, Reverend Laisiasa Ratabacaca
Brothers and sisters in Christ
This is an important gathering – the coming together of representatives of the Police and the Army, and other sections of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration and National Disaster Management, to worship and praise God.
I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of this, and I thank the Minister for the invitation to be here. I am also pleased that other Ministers, their CEOs and other officials from the different Ministries and Departments have responded to the invitation to join this Service of dedication and renewal.
Today, we link hands and hearts to praise and thank God for what He has done for each of us, and for our homeland, Fiji.
We pray to Him for the wisdom and understanding we need to live useful and good lives.
We ask him for His support and strength as we do our best to love and care for our families.
We want God to help us perform our duties in a way that pleases Him, that benefits the people we serve, and brings honour to the institutions in which we are privileged to work.
Fiji has many challenges; but, through faith, we can be sure that if our nation walks with God, and puts its trust in Him, He will see us through to the new day.
He has never abandoned us. There have been some dark times, but we have always been saved by His grace and mercy. He has also shown His goodness to us in our times of need through the commitment, resolve, goodwill and hard work of very many people.
We must do our part and allow God to do his. He gave Fiji into our care, and it is for us now to discern His Divine Will for these islands.
We can be quite sure He wants all of us, whatever our religious faith and belief, to live together in peace and harmony, and to unite for the common good. He does not want us to be divided and in conflict.
God’s Will is for all his children to go forward together, working always to build up His Kingdom in Fiji, and wherever else we may go to work and serve.
When we listen to His Word, humble ourselves before Him, and accept and obey His commands, we can expect that everything will be right with us, and right with the country.
I want to share with you a few thoughts about one of the vital ingredients for the re-making of Fiji, and how God expects us to do this.
Leadership is the human quality which calls and motivates people to guide and inspire others. It is exercised to achieve certain goals.
The destiny of nations is determined by the quality of its leaders – and not just those in politics.
Fiji needs citizens who are ready to share the responsibilities of leadership nationally, and in the provinces and local neighbourhoods.
Leadership within the family, a foundation stone of the State, is a duty given to us by God. It is especially crucial at this time, when family life is under threat from the stresses of rapid social change.
There are people here who have risen as leaders through our security forces, and others who will come later.
Some will decide not to go along that path. They will become followers, by their own choice and inclination.
They, too, have an indispensable part to play. Without followers, there will be no leaders. A leader who is unable to retain trust and confidence, will not last, even in a totalitarian state. The followers will see to that.
I have thought a lot about the meaning of leadership since becoming Head of Government.
Previously, I had been in positions of leadership for a long time in Civil Service institutions and then in commerce.
My view of leadership in this context was pretty much confined to the textbook definitions. It was about earning trust, helping an organization to create and reach its goals, communicating with employees and inspiring and encouraging them to perform to the best of their abilities and make sound, considered decisions.
I believed strongly in group participation, drawing on the unique skills and talents of those involved. I still favour this approach.
As leader, it was for me to support a team decision, defend it and be accountable for it; that has a special relevance for me now in terms of the collective responsibility of Cabinet.
When I went into commerce, I quickly understood that you had to be attuned to the market and be extremely well-informed. You had to be aware of what your competitors were doing and what the customers were thinking. Products, prices and services had to meet their needs.
You had to be ready to change, to adapt and be flexible.
I had thought from time to time about the possibility of entering politics and trying for elected leadership, but had not made any firm decision; my appointment as a Senator gave me a glimpse of the Parliamentary process.
Now, as a full-time politician, and head of an elected Government, I have a quite different perspective on leadership.
I realise that the ways of commerce have some relevance, but a Government is not a company. Also, it wasn’t enough just to apply a civil service method of management.
I needed assistance, direction and strength that even my family, friends and colleagues could not give.
I realised that the support I was looking for could only come from God.
To that point, my relationship with my Maker was something I didn’t think much about. I took it for granted.
I suppose I was one of those lukewarm Christians, who coasted along in the hope that if I generally behaved myself and said my prayers I would get to Heaven.
That was not enough to sustain me in my new job as Prime Minister. Increasingly, I found myself turning to God. I submitted myself in total surrender and obedience to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. As I seek knowledge and wisdom through constant prayer and from daily readings of God’s Holy Word, I opened my heart to the Holy Spirit to counsel me and guide me.
Ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you that this truly is the Way; for it is God Himself who is the real leader of a nation. And it is only in Him and from Him that we can be blessed as individuals, as communities, as organizations and as a country.
Christian principles and the teachings of the Bible became a constant source of reference and guidance.
I met with Dr Gary Allen, a famous neuro-surgeon who now heads the Christian Mission for the United Nations Community in New York. Dr Allen speaks regularly with leaders who visit the UN sharing with them his ideas about governing in partnership with God.
His starting point is that, on their own, leaders cannot manage nations or achieve God’s plan for their peoples. They require God’s help.
I keep in touch with Dr Allen and read his articles and discourses. They are a great source of enlightenment.
We are all public servants. Each one of us is charged with the task of serving the people. The Police maintain law and order, the Army is responsible for the security of the nation.
As Prime Minister, my responsibility is to make sure the Government fulfils its obligation to manage the affairs of the country, in the best interests of its citizens.
Let me share with you today some of the main parts of Dr Allen’s message about bringing God into our leadership work and making a healthy society. I will also mention some of the principles I try to uphold, and which are based on my own convictions and recent experience.
We must have high regard for the worth of the individual. That means people must be respected and treated with consideration. God expects this of us.
Public servants like ourselves are not sealed off from the rest of society, in some world of our own. The community pays our wages.
We are answerable to the citizens of Fiji. We are here to serve them. In other words, we are servant leaders. When we serve our citizens, we are serving God.
It is important to involve society in decision-making. Of course, some decisions have finally to be made by Government.
But whenever we can, we should seek the views of different sections of the populace on the issues at hand and try to reach a position that reflects a consensus.
That is our policy. It was seen at its best when we invited numerous groups to be part of shaping and drafting our current Strategic Development Plan.
God wants us to be an inclusive country, with a guaranteed place, and equal rights for each individual and community. No one should become a second-class citizen, or be left out of our efforts to raise living standards.
Government, according to God’s Will, should be based on justice and love. Justice means wrongs are made right and people are treated with fairness and in accordance with their rights and the law.
Citizens must be assured their safety and security, and equal opportunity to pursue their dreams of a happy and fulfilling life for themselves and their families.
Love means placing the interest of others and our nation first before your own, of being caring and compassionate and of treating everyone with the same love as you have for Almighty God.
We are to bear ourselves, at all times, with humility of mind. And let us never forget that each one of us is brought up in a home and in a culture where the values of vakarokoroko (respect), veidokai (esteem), veirogoci (listening to each other), veivosoti (mutual forgiveness) and veivukei (helping one another), are greatly cherished. This is why when I spoke at the farewell for our first contingent of security personnel for the United Nations in Iraq, I stressed to them the importance of treating the people of Iraq with the same respect and caring concern which are culturally part of us as Fijians.
Above all, as policemen and women, and as soldiers, God is always there, ever present in each one of us through His Holy Spirit, to guide and counsel us as we do His bidding. Our work as public officers is a calling from God to devote our life and to employ His gifts to each one of us, to be faithful stewards, to contribute to society, and to fully use it in living our faith in Christ.
We are to promote the well-being and welfare of everyone in our multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. We have to heal society’s wounds, to prevent them festering and causing fatal damage. Our campaign to bring about reconciliation and greater unity between our different communities and within each of our communities is aimed at this.
It is about fostering a culture of self-healing, forgiveness and understanding, and respect and patriotic loyalty to the country.
We must encourage the attitude that the best way for your life to be improved economically and socially, is by improving the quality of life for the whole community.
The one thing that supports each of these pillars for a strong country is faith in God. But we have to believe and trust in Him wholeheartedly.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is clear about His rules for leadership.
He wants us to lead by being tolerant, humble, compassionate and merciful. He calls on us to help others, especially the poor, the needy, the sick, the dispossessed, and the lost.
We must love our children and the children of Fiji, just as Jesus loved the little ones and didn’t want His disciples to keep them from Him.
He commands us to love our neighbours as ourselves; we must work for their good.
He wants us to be courageous in pursuit of what is right and just. We must be ready to take hard and principled decisions and to speak out in defence of them, but without malice and spite.
My friends and colleagues, fellow servants of the people, I am so glad you are here, side by side, joined by your faith and belief in God.
We have much to do for Fiji. Our mission is to advance the welfare and prosperity of this nation. If we are obedient to God and follow His commands, we cannot fail.
May He guide and inspire us in our work and plans for Fiji, now and in the future. And may He bless us and our families, and the families of Fiji, with His love, joy and peace.
Thank you.
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