No Matter What

THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER ...for the persecuted church will be observed Sunday, November 13. In a related story, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named eight countries this week as the world's worst violators of religious liberty. In doing so she stated, “The United States has stood for the values of human decency, of a government that respects the religious freedoms of its people, that respects the individual rights of its people, for its entire history," she said. "And let me just be very clear. We hold . . . those values today as strongly as we ever have."

The State Department's seventh annual report on religious freedom listed the same eight countries that it did last year as the most egregious violators, or "countries of particular concern." They are Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Vietnam.

All citizens are greatly affected but children are the most innocent victims. I am uncertain of the source, but I recently read a piece that listed the following "rights of a child."

Rights of Children
The right to affection, love and understanding.
The right to adequate nutrition and medical care.
The right to protection against all forms of neglect, cruelty, and exploitation.
The right to free education and full opportunity for play and recreation.
The right to a name and a nationality.
The right to special care of handicapped.
The right to be among the first to receive relief in times of disaster.
The right to be brought up in the spirit of universal peace and brotherhood.
The right to learn to be useful members of society and to develop individual abilities.
The right to enjoy these rights regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national or social origin.

There is a West Africa Proverb that states, "When it rains, we all prosper. When there is drought, we all suffer." As it relates to children the proverb might be restated. "When it rains, children do not prosper as much. When there is drought, children suffer more."

Let us defend God's very precious gifts, no matter the cost. --Craig