The teachings of the Old Testament law, and Paul in the New Testament, agreed with the teachings of Jesus when he said that I should love my neighbour as myself. In this blog, I want to explore how we can love ourselves in the right sort of way without selfishness, but nevertheless treat our own bodies, minds and and interests as important.
Continue reading “Loving Ourselves”Amos was an Israeli prophet, who in the 8th century BC spoke out against the injustice in the land of the rich towards the poor. The context was that the Northern part of Israel broke away from the Southern part to form their own country. They certainly prospered, or rather the rich prospered at the expense of the poor.
I guess some things never change. Looking at the world now, there is no real difference. We live a in time of economic difficulties. Those who are rich get ever richer and it’s always the poor who suffer. Amos’s words still speak to us 28 centuries later in the 21st-century.
But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Amos 5, 24 NKJV
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I owe this thought to a young lady on the Jeremy Vine Show (I don’t remember her name).
We are not in the same boat, but we are in the same storm! Some are cruising in their luxury yachts, some are being tossed around in rickety rowing boats.
We are finding self isolating comparatively easy but we are aware that many people on their own are lonely. We can enjoy the garden and the local countryside but people trapped in flats in cities don’t have the same. Our pension is consistent but many are suffering financially. And all these things fade into insignificance when we remember those who are grieving the loss of loved ones.
So we are not all in the same boat, but we are in the same storm.
We live a truly wonderful world. I, as much as anybody, feel passionately and am very aware that in the world there is poverty, injustice, disease and corruption. But I still say that the world we live in is beautiful and full of hope for a brighter tomorrow. Why am I so optimistic about the future?
Continue reading “What a wonderful world”
I long for a just society is where each member of the community cares for the rights of each other member. This sounds a little idealistic but we can hunger and thirst to live in a world where this ideal for humanity is paramount. Jesus told us that God blesses those who seek justice for their fellow-man.
“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6 New Living Translation)
I feel passionate about compassion particularly for the billions who are living in desperate poverty around the world. Extreme poverty can be eliminated if people like you and I say ‘enough is enough’!But compassion alone is not enough. So many people are exploited by the powerful and the elite and this demands justice for the oppressed. It is not a case of compassionate acts or fighting for justice. It is a matter of compassion AND justice.
I have just published the book “Compassion and Justice” on Kindle. It is priced at £3.99 in the United Kingdom, 299 rupees in India and $5.68 in the rest of the world. It contains 50 or so of my blog articles about Compassion, Vision, Giving and Justice.
I am not selling this book to top-up my income but to provide funds to expand the campaign of awareness I am involved with. Please support me in my efforts to spread the good news of compassion and in my fight for justice on behalf of the voiceless.
There may be a delivery charge for the paperback version
On a kindle device, search for “George Dowdell”
Pessimists and scare-mongerers like to say that the world is getting worse and worse. The opposite is true. Television news and newspapers make us more aware of problems throughout the world but statistics paint a very different picture. As Harold Macmillan said back in 1957, “Most of our people have never had it so good”. Extreme poverty is reducing, diseases are being eliminated, fewer people are dying because of war and life expectancy is improving. If you want a fuller picture, read on. Continue reading “You’ve never had it so good”
Compassion and Justice 