Why am I writing this blog? I hope it is because the heart of God has touched my heart and I write with a passion which comes from Him. Or is it just one big ego-trip? Am I just motivated by a desire to make myself heard in a world with so many confusing voices?
Note to self: if you ever go snorkelling again, remember that the sun can still scorch your back even though it is underwater and cool. I had arrived in Indonesia to spend a day or two with our friends Chuck and Angela Shelton. By the time I reached India my back was really red and painful. I was on the overnight train from Madras (Chennai) to Andhra Pradesh with Sagar to visit a work amongst disabled children. Sleeping on the bunk bed on the train was virtually impossible and anyway I needed to keep an eye on my suitcase.
Some time ago when I wrote a blog article on compassion, a friend of mine said that he certainly knew what compassion meant towards his friends and family, but found it hard to feel compassion towards people he had never met. I can understand what he meant and pushing the boundaries to eventually include the whole world is a challenge to us all.
I am using the words ‘love’, ‘care’ and ‘compassion’ interchangeably. Love has many different meanings and connotations. Compassion is putting love in action. It means doing something about what we see: without which it is at best, sympathy, or at worst is just pity. Continue reading “Pushing the Boundaries of Compassion”
In the United Kingdom we have been suffering years of recession. But the richest amongst us have suffered no loss of life-style. In fact the top 100 chief executives were paid £425 million in 2012, up by £45 million, or 10%, from 2011. (London Evening Standard 10th June 2013)
At the same time, state benefits are being cut, millions of workers subsist on the minimum wage or ‘zero hours contracts’, many people have seen no increase in wages for years, and inflation eats into the spending power of those at the bottom of the income divide. The wealth gap between rich and poor is increasing in the United Kingdom, and in fact all over the world.
Throughout history there has always been a measure of inequality – sometimes worse than at other times. Much of what follows is written from a U.K. perspective, but other readers will find parallels in their own history and development.
At this stage of human development, inequality would probably be at its lowest, though a skilled hunter would obviously bring more meat home for his family. But for much hunting, cooperation would have been needed, increasing the fairness of society. Hopefully the disabled and sick would be cared for. Even then a more successful tribe might seek to plunder from a weaker tribe. But people living then had a hard life, and were totally susceptible to disease, causing low life expectancy.
In medieval England, the vast majority of people were serfs, or virtually slaves to the Lord of the Manor. Continue reading “Historical Inequality and the Future”
There can be no doubt that, in this world, there are gross injustices in the way wealth is distributed. There is a factor of millions between the billionaire living in California and the subsistence farmer in Africa trying to support her family on a dollar a day. In this article I am presenting the case for a world in which there is a fairer distribution of wealth both domestically and internationally.
Absolute income or wealth equality may not be possible to achieve and is probably not desirable. But I am concerned that in most countries around the world, the gap between rich and poor is getting wider, and no-one knows when it will stop. Ultimately, the wealth of the whole world could be in the hands of a single person! Continue reading “A fairer distribution of wealth”
Gandhi is one of my heroes. I use the word “heroes” with caution. No one is perfect and we can be tempted to idolise. But there can be no doubt that Mahatma Gandhi was a remarkable man. People have written books about him, many films have been made about him including the well-known film directed by Richard Attenborough.
I will not attempt to retell the story but wish to explain why he is one of my heroes and to see what we can learn from him. Continue reading “Mahatma Gandhi – one of my Heroes”
Most of my blog postings have been about passing on information. Communication is mainly mind-to-mind. I have used words, figures and pictures. But I do not just wish to supply information, I want you to capture something of my heart, and through that, the heart of God.
I need a form of communication which is heart-to-heart rather than just mind-to-mind.
As I start to write this, my weekly blog, I sense that I am at one of those crossroads we come across on our journey through life. I started writing my blog in March, last year and have so far written 70 articles on a wide range of subjects. Continue reading “Personal Cross-Roads”
Compassion and Justice 