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Turning
the tide …
Every
day there seems to be more and more job losses. Every day there seems to
be more and more grim predictions about the state of the economy, and how
long the recession is going to last. Every day more and more prices go up,
more and more households succumb to unsustainable levels of debt, and more
and more people worry about how they are going to pay the bills this
month.
And
maybe you have been affected directly – maybe the job of someone you
know, or even your own job, is under threat. Maybe you have noticed a
distinct rise in your household bills. Maybe you have changed the things
you buy because you are watching what you spend. Or maybe you are worried
about the level of debt you have.
The
thing that has struck me over the last few months is that one thing
difficult economic circumstances clarify is just how important money and
possessions are to us. As far as I understand it – and I am by no means
an expert – is that one of the major reasons behind our current economic
crisis is that so many people are living beyond their means, and borrowing
more money than they can afford to repay in order to have the kind of
lifestyle they want.
Now I in
no way think that is the case for everyone – every story is different,
every person and family that has been and will be affected by the
recession has their own set of circumstances. But what I do want to say is
that I believe that if we stopped listening to the “more is better,
bigger is best” rubbish that is all around us then many of us would not
be in the situations we find ourselves in at the moment.
And I am
as big a sucker for it as the next person, if not a bigger sucker!! If I
walk into Curry’s or Comet or wherever, I am immediately drawn to the
big, flat-screen TV’s with all the bells and whistles, and I have been
pestering Liz for a sat-nav for ages now!! But, actually, we have a TV
that works, and both of us can read a map, so all I am doing is buying
into the “more is better, bigger is better” rubbish that tells me that
I am what I own.
And it
is rubbish. Who I am has nothing to do with what I own. Who I am has
nothing to do with where I live. Who I am has nothing to do what I drive.
Who I am has nothing to do with where I go on holiday, and the sooner you
and I understand that to be true and live
like it is true, the better we will be, the more Christ-like we will
be.
How
about this for a thought-provoking statement – Jesus lived and died in
pretty much absolute poverty. I’m not saying that the only way to be a
Christian is to give away all our possessions, but surely that simple,
indisputable fact has to speak to us about our attitude towards money and
possessions. To be like Christ is, in part, to not be fooled into thinking
that money and possessions and the like are what is important.
Over the
next couple of months we are going to be thinking together about how we
can become more like Christ. We all know we should be more
“Christ-like” but so often we don’t pull that apart into bite-size
chunks that we can comprehend, and so find ourselves defeated before we
start. But it doesn’t have to be like that – we have to take seriously
the humanity of Jesus, and that means that we (as humans) can live and act
and treat other people in the same way Jesus did.
When
times are tough it is often more of a challenge to live a life that
honours God. But there are also more opportunities to reflect God’s
character and share His love and grace and compassion with people. In
times when so many people are worried about what the future holds, can we
as Christians rise to the challenge of demonstrating to our materialistic
culture that there is more to life than money?
Jon.
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