Problem Solving

 

There are countless problems in the world, many of which are global, serious and demand the input of leaders and experts internationally to solve them: economic, social and environmental problems. For example, here in the UK, ‘stopping the boats’ carrying illegal immigrants has been engaging the minds of politicians for a number of years and a solution seems as far away as ever.

Every day we face problems, some of them very minor and inconsequential, others major and necessitating much thought in case we exacerbate them. It seems wise therefore to train us from early years to develop problem-solving techniques. So school examinations have become less of a memory test (demanding recall and regurgitation of facts) and instead require students to apply their acquired knowledge in problem-solving situations. Problem solving demands at least three things: identifying the problem, finding the solution and implementing that solution. If there is a breakdown in any of these stages, it is highly unlikely that the problem will ever be solved. That explains why, to a large extent, the world is in chaos and crisis: many problems have become apparent for which there is no solution as yet, and also, frequently, for one reason or another, an inability or unwillingness to implement the proposed solution leads to failure.

The Lord is my Shepherd - Psalm 23

The title of this article is a phrase which is found twice in the Holy Bible, in Psalm 23.6 and Psalm 27.4. It is amazing that when we are looking forward we think of years, for example Luke 12.19: “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry’”, but when we are looking back over the landscape of life we think of days that stand out in our memories. When the Pharaoh of Egypt asked the aged Jacob, “How old art thou?” his response was, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage” Genesis 47.8,9.

Perhaps now you are recalling some of the days of your life: the day you started school, the day you left school, the day you were married, the day you graduated from university; of course none of us remembers the first day of our life and eventually the last day will arrive for “life at best is very brief”. There have been happy days, of laughter, and sad days, of crying. There are days we recall with great joy and others are painful as we remember the passing of loved ones which left an aching void in our lives. What a variety of days we experience in a lifetime: days of success and applause, and days of failure and embarrassment. Life is the aggregate of all these days and God has numbered our days and set bounds to our fleeting lifetime. We too are advised to “number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” Psalm 90.12. Let us never forget that we will not be here forever; for there is “a time to be born, and a time to die” Ecclesiastes 3.2.

Why do we fight?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

As I write this column, the world is reeling from the fallout of another war. I know that, technically, nations prefer to speak about special operations and other expressions that describe their actions. Essentially, these terms aim to mitigate the harshness of the word ‘war’. 

Humans are naturally very vulnerable and need to protect their property, livelihoods and lives. In the case of nations, this often involves territory, intellectual property or routes to and from their markets. We live in an increasingly complex world where attacks on national well-being have moved on from military action to include cyber-attacks and other forms of warfare.

The potential for war is constant - most of us know the current locations - Israel, Gaza, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Israel, USA. In the past fifty years, wars have taken place in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Vietnam and, sadly, many more locations.

Why must we die?

The Bible states that 'it is appointed unto men once to die'. This most obvious of facts is among the most distressing things that we human beings face. I have a friend who committed suicide just before Christmas about eleven years ago. Why - I can speculate but I do not really know. One my friends in Liverpool then found that her partner's nephew has been found dead in his flat. Death comes to us all but why?