Each state of Australia has an official motto.

Victoria’s motto is “Peace and Prosperity”.

* * *

Prosperity?

Last week, caretaker-Prime Minister Julia Gillard told the National Press Club, “We have begun building a strong foundation for our future prosperity investing in 21st century infrastructure . . . .”

Clutching desperately at whatever straw might help her survive as PM — her best bet was to talk prosperity . . . .

Australians love being prosperous.

* * *

Peace?

One wonders what kind of peace is Victoria’s motto referring to?

Simply there being no foreign invaders and no blood in the streets?

* You say, “We’re going well. I saw no Chinese/Russian/American soldiers manning roadblocks in town today.” Perhaps not, but did you look at the label inside your shirt? Where was it made?

* You saw no bleeding corpses in the shopping mall? No, but watching TV tonight you’ll see them non-stop — on the news and in what passes for “entertainment”.

* * *

Forget all that.

What matters is internal peace.

Ask your GP how many of his patients have peace of mind? How many live 24/7 at the verge of screaming point?

Ask your children’s teacher how much class time is spent talking about (and to) their Creator.

If God exists, and we ignore him, we’ll never find peace — denying and defying the very Origin of peace.

If God didn’t exist, then nothing but hate and chaos – the opposite of peace — could be possible.

Belief makes the difference.

God created us capable of loving him. That is our purpose. He proved it by entering history himself in the person of Jesus Christ.

That being so, all life lived apart from Christ is a bit of a waste — and the pursuit of prosperity pretty irrelevant.

* * *

If one’s first aim is pleasing God, one will gladly accept prosperity if that’s what God sends.

Or poverty, if he sends that.

The Bible describes God as a “jealous” God.

To please him, we must put him first — as individual persons and, likewise, political parties and governments.

Which makes the notion of separation of Church and State a bad joke.