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.
This just has to be one of my favourite Christmas songs. Although it consists of rhetorical questions addressed to Jesus’ mother, Mary, it is really addressed to us, today. It is more about Jesus than Mary. Although it is related to Christmas, it is timeless and speaks to all the generations of Mankind. For me, it is, “George, did you know?”
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.
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’!
Apparently, George Osborne and Iain Duncan Smith have decided to cut benefits to people of working age. This will include tax credits payable to people in work and which support families on a very low income. They claim this is a part of, “making work pay“! Many of those affected will be on the minimum wage. It seems crazy to me that the government (or the taxpayer, you and me) should subsidise companies which do not pay enough to their staff to enable them to look after their families. The answer must be to increase the minimum wage sufficiently to make work really pay.
Can we smash the cycle of poverty and prevent one generation trapped in poverty producing another poor generation? Returning from our visit to Jaffna recently we were overwhelmed by stories which emphasised the importance of education and the potential to radically change lives. In this article I present some anecdotal evidence that sponsoring really works. Ensuring that boys and girls receive a good education really changes the lives of young men and women.
Compassion and Justice 