Poor mindset holding us back

IT anguishes me when I read in the paper that Papua New Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the world.
PNG should not be categorised as a poor nation since we are richly blessed.
However it dawned on me that what the world sees in us is factual.
We may be rich in resources but yet we’re poor.
Now we may be thinking why that is.
Some of us may be coming up with a handful of reasons that suit our thoughts.
We may be thinking because of our corrupt politicians, we’re like this or since we are a new born nation we still have a long way to go.
But let me tell all of you, that’s not the real deal.
We are poor not because of our leaders. We are poor not because we are a new nation.
We are poor not because we don’t have enough money in our economy.
We are poor because we are poor in the mindset.
God has created us with a powerful tool that no other living organism on this planet has and that is the mind.
We can create anything if we are active in the mind.
When God wanted to create us humans, He constructed us first in His mind then He created us.
Sir Michael Somare when he wanted to get our independence he formulated the thought first in his mind then he pushed for our independence.
Same as Susan Kairike when she wanted to design our national flag, she pictured it first in her mind then she drew it.
And the list can go on.
But if we are weak in the mind, we will be lazy and when we are lazy we cannot innovate something new and when this happens, our nation suffers.
Remember a single rain drop can raise the sea level so as one poor person can increase the rate of poverty in our nation.
Therefore King Solomon had said in the book of Proverbs: How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep; So shall poverty come as one that traveleth and thy want as an armed man.
So wake up from our idle mind and do something worthwhile, constructive and creative.
Toil the land or venture into a business.
Write a book or compose a song or invent something the world is yet to see.
In this way, we will change the course of our nation from the path to poverty to the path of prosperity.
With God we can do anything.

Hillary Likius,
Rabaul