I want to talk about the relationship between how I love God, and how I love people. Jesus says quite plainly that if I claim to love God, then I must also love other people. Indeed, John says that if I claim to love God, but fail to love people, I am a liar! [1]
Mumbai slum street scene
War, disease, famine, debt, unsafe water and many other things contribute to poverty in the world, But are these the root causes of poverty? We need to drill a bit deeper, and as we do, we come face to face with human nature and attitudes. In this article I argue that things like greed, fear, power and prejudice are the real root causes of a state of affairs where a quarter of the world lives in absolute poverty and many more live without the “necessities” that we take for granted.
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Yesterday we sang a song, and 4 words seemed to stand out from the rest. “Dream again, Believe again”. Ten years ago, I wrote about “My Dream” and recently included it in my blog. But I am aware that I need to keep dreaming. Yesterdays’s dream is not adequate for today. As we sang that song, I felt that God was saying to me that it was time to dream again.
Continue reading “Dream again, Believe again”
As we look around us at the world, we see so much suffering, poverty, disease and violence. Our leaders, politicians and governments have made such a mess of things. Selfishness, greed and corruption seem to rule everything. We threaten our very existence with nuclear weapons and contempt for our environment. Billions live in poverty and millions of children die every day of preventable diseases.
And yet we see so much beauty all around us. Our natural world is full of beauty and wonders. People have created fantastic music, art and literature. Our scientists are eliminating some diseases such as leprosy, polio and smallpox and there is hope for cures from the killer diseases: malaria, aids and cancer.
When God created us, in his image, he also gave us free wills. But mankind has gone its own way and refused to acknowledge the plan God had for us. But God’s plan has always been one of restoration and reconciliation. Jesus came to institute a new kingdom which would radically change the world we live in. In the Gospels, this is known as the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven.
There are no rules to generosity. We can express financial giving by a value in pounds or dollars. We can define giving as a percentage of income. But we cannot measure a generous heart.
Eugene Cho wrote a book ‘Overrated, Are we more in love with the idea of changing the world than actually changing to world‘. He makes this amazing statement:
“Generosity is what keeps the things I own from owning me. In other words, the point of my generosity isn’t just to bless others; it’s also to liberate me.”
Was Jesus a pacifist? Does he expect his followers to be pacifists? Is it right to defend ourselves, or our loved ones, from violent attack? Is non-violent protest the only way to change the world? Should we use military means to prevent the excesses of violent dictators in the world. These are difficult questions, but if we want to follow Jesus we must take his teaching seriously.
As I look at this world, I am convinced that the only way evil will ever be overcome is by love and forgiveness. Non-violence is proactive and not cowardice. Turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, involves bravery and being convinced that in the end, love wins.
Jesus very plainly said that we were not to resist an evil person using force. There are no qualifiers to his statement, no get-out clauses and no exceptions. Continue reading “Jesus: Responding to Violence”
What did Jesus say about sexual relationships? He spoke a great deal about the Kingdom of Heaven, about money, about hypocrisy, but not much very much about sex. He said nothing about homosexuality, abortion, masturbation, birth control or pre-marital sex, though to hear some fundamentalists speak, you would have thought he majored on these subjects.
What he did say relates mainly to divorce, adultery and marital unfaithfulness. Sexual immorality was mentioned once in a list, and lust was described as adultery of the heart. His message was that ‘sexual sins’ were harmful to human relationships and were therefore subject to the higher law, “love your neighbour as yourself”.
Jesus and accumulating moneyJesus said some plain, serious and challenging things about the accumulation of money or wealth. He did not condemn money as such, but warned against money becoming our master, making us a slave to wealth.
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:24)
It was not the use of money he warned against, but the accumulation of money, or possessions which he called ‘treasures’.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
Let us look at what this means for us in the 21st century.
Compassion and Justice 