by John Halford
Depression is a good name for the economic situation we may soon be facing. It describes the state of the financial markets, but it also highlights the emotional state that the situation produces.
We've had good times for so long, but it looks like they may be over – at least for a while. The chickens that we were able to wave off into a holding pattern are coming home to roost. It is causing some of us to sensibly tighten our belts, consolidate our expenses, and face up to the new economic facts of life. But others are taking their belts off altogether, throwing caution to the winds and living as if there is no tomorrow. Already steeped in debt, they are desperately trying to maintain their standard of living. I am not an economist, but it does not take a financial genius to see that this is a formula for disaster – financial and emotional.
Most people in Britain today have only known prosperity. Perhaps not fabulous personal wealth, but certainly not deprivation. This is the only world we have ever known, and the thought of it collapsing is just too dreadful to contemplate. Now I'm not joining the ranks of the doom and gloom prophets who gleefully point out that the ‘end of the world is near'. It probably isn't. But it does look as if a way of life that we have all become used to may be. And many of us are simply not prepared to go without.
This is however an opportunity for those who say they believe Jesus to prove it. Jesus told us that God, through him, has opened up the way for all human beings to fulfil their true destiny. That destiny is to live for ever, in peace and happiness. And with that in mind, Jesus showed us another way of living, that allows all who trust him to see beyond the problems of the moment.
If Jesus' message was understood and believed, it would alter the priorities of every person, every institution and every nation on earth. It would alter the way we think about ourselves and each other. It would show how pointless the vanity, jealousy, greed and selfishness that mark our lives really are.
It would compel us to recognize that no life is worthless; no human being should be discounted. No nation should be left to starve while others have abundance. No leader could desire to enhance his wealth at the expense of those he should serve. And no one could seriously consider going to war as a solution – to anything . To spend any money on weapons of aggression while people are living in poverty would be considered a crime against humanity.
This scenario is not the gospel, but it is the consequences of believing it. You can't expect people who don't believe it to live that way. But those of us who say we understand the way of life that Jesus taught should have a different perspective and priorities, allowing us to live in a way that rises above the immediate crises of the times.
That way of life has nothing to do with fighting over doctrinal differences, arguing about petty details of style and worship, or even making major issues about things most people don't really care about. Jesus often refused to be drawn into a public argument. Shouldn't that tell us something?
Meanwhile, millions of people in our country are – or soon will be – facing financial, emotional and spiritual distress. It is times like this that should motivate all who claim to believe that Jesus said to lay aside their differences, and work together to help.
Saint Paul, as usual, put it well:
If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care – then do me a favour: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (Philippians 2:1-4 Message Bible)
That is what this magazine, as one of the few truly non-denominational magazines available, intends to do as long as our resources permit.
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