Tag: Jesus

Will we always have the poor among us?

Poverty in Uganda
Poverty in Uganda

Is extreme poverty inevitable? Is it possible to eliminate it? Will we always have the poor among us or will people eventually say, “it is no longer acceptable to have others living this way”?

Jesus was in the home of Simon the leper. A woman came with a jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head. Judas Iscariot objected and said the perfume, worth a years wages, could have been sold and the money given to the poor.

Jesus replied with a verse that is often misquoted, or quoted out of context.

“You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me”
(John 12 verse 8)   Continue reading “Will we always have the poor among us?”

Can we hope for a better world?

hope for a better world?
Hope for a better world?

About 30 years ago, at the height of the “Cold War” between the West and the Soviet Union, there was a possibility that mankind could be wiped out by a nuclear war. Those fears proved groundless (well at least for now). I remember writing an article in which I said, that basing our defense on a policy of revenge, was unethical, and the evil of that policy corrupted as all. A Christian friend of mine said that as the world was going to be destroyed by God, being concerned about the state of the world was like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Some questions:

Happier giving than getting

Flour distribution in Kenya by karuna Action
Flour distribution in Kenya by karuna Action

In the Message version of  the Bible, Jesus is reported to have said, “You’re far happier giving than getting” (Acts 20:35). The NIV version says the more familiar words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive“. When I was young, and heard this quotation something within me said, “Oh yeah!” in a sceptical way. Although I acknowledged that it must be true if it said so in the Bible, I didn’t really believe it. But as I grew older the words became so obviously true, in my experience, and in my observation of other people.

A study in Canada, showed that even toddlers, who you expect to be selfish, were demonstrably happy giving treats to other youngsters, even when that treat belonged to the giver.  Continue reading “Happier giving than getting”