There are times when we get clusters of news items that seem to be related and give an indication of where our particular part of civilisation is heading. Over the last month we have had such a cluster.
Let’s start with the lady who died after the power was cut off. Conflicting pieces of evidence explaining this abound. The culpability of those involved is not clear. Was the contractor who turned the switch just doing his job? Was the power company and its parent body exercising a legitimate action to ensure its terms of payment were met? Did the victim understand her rights and possible counter actions? The questions are legion. But the crunch one to me is, who or what was responsible and must take the blame?
I want to say that the answer is simple. All of us. All of us for we have forgotten about community and concentrated on individualism The individualism which looks out for number one. Yes, I know there are lots of caring agencies and that many people watch out for their neighbours. But basically our society is centred on the individual. Add to that the prevailing hunger for money and the inevitable glorification of those in the money and we have part of the answer.
The other main item I found intriguing was the student who became a spy for an S.O.E. and shopped his fellow conservationists for a few bucks. He gave it out that money was the root of all evil and accounted for his action. He got the quote wrong, for 1 Timothy 6:7-10 reads that, “the love of money is the root of all evil”. Money itself is neutral and is necessary as a means of exchange. Love of money means that the accumulator will go to any lengths to gain the greater share and won’t worry about the other fellow. We need also note that money can bestow power.
It was also interesting to find that, although the Bishops of all the dioceses in Aotearoa/New Zealand, both Anglican and Roman Catholic, were in full support of the inter-faith conference and gave it their blessing. Brian Tamaki and his cultic group, Destiny Church, became a ‘sounding brass and tinkling cymbal’ as they railed against it and screamed for the recognition of Christianity as a State religion.
It is ironic that, like a number of politicians, he has invented a past nuclear family that could do no wrong. One has only to work as a welfare officer to know that this nuclear family is a myth and that familial dysfunction has been rife throughout our history. If that is not enough, we note that every age has looked back to a past time when families were great and perfect and youth behaved impeccably. That belief is older than Roman times and stretches back through Ancient Egypt to its predecessors.
In all of these the love of money has played a significant role. My last point, though, is slightly different. A recent poll was centred on which vocational or interest groups were most trustworthy. Significantly, some who made money were trusted. The whole thing was bizarre. ‘Trust me, I’m a sports personality’, read one headline. Firemen, police and others featured and, incredibly, psychics on one list I read. Truth is that most votes are given to professions we know or have had dealings with. The whole thing is subjective and totally unreliable.
Personally, I don’t find any group, as a group, trustworthy. I find that people are individually trustworthy, their occupation or profession being largely irrelevant. Some people are intrinsically trustworthy and display integrity; others do not. If I want a confidant, I choose someone who conforms to the principles outlined.
So, looking at these things, I deduce that we owe it to our neighbour to be there when needed and to be trustworthy people with integrity.
After Cain killed his brother, Abel, God asked Cain to account for Abel’s absence. Said Cain, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God then made it clear that Cain was responsible for his brother. That message comes down the ages to all of us. As John Donne put it, “Do not ask for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”. We belong together and are part of one another. Jesus, Son of God made it plain that our neighbour is any person in need and that we all live in partnership with God and one another. The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) shows this most graphically.
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