Parish of Llandudno North Wales, Rector's letter November 2008

November 2008

As I write the world financial crisis continues to rage around us and we are now being warned that it is no longer simply a matter of a crisis in the banking system. The ‘real’ economy is now beginning to be affected and we are probably entering in to a financial recession in which many will lose their jobs, some their homes and in which businesses will fail. And, as is usually the case in these circumstances, while wealthy and comfortably-off people will face difficult times because of all this, poorer people are likely to face real hardship. It is to be hoped that Governments will do their best to protect vulnerable members of society from the worst effects of the recession should they indeed come to pass.

But without in any way minimizing the suffering that this crisis may bring, it does seem to me that it has provided us with an opportunity to reflect on the way in which our society works and how we order our lives. In the last few decades our way of life seems to have been built more and more upon ‘high fliers’ making a fast buck out of all kinds of financial dealing and methods of investing, with almost everybody else living on credit. This has enabled most people to live pretty well and to expect always to be able to do so. Maybe the present situation is giving us all a dose of reality.

As Christians this situation surely provides us with opportunities to review our way of life from the perspective of the Gospels – the sort of values Our Lord teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount for example. And we also have much to learn from the Old Testament. Whilst a lot of consideration has been given recently to what the Bible has to say about sexuality, very little attention is given to what it teaches about financial dealings. A society largely based on credit and on the investing of money with the hope of gaining interest perhaps ought to reflect on such verses as:

‘You are not to exact interest on anything you lend to a fellow countryman, whether money or food or anything else in which interest is charged’ (Deut 23:19) or
Psalm 15 which having posed the question as to who is worthy to dwell in the house of the Lord includes among them those who ‘do not lend money in hope of gain’.

Of course I’m not so stupid as to think that we are bound, in the very different circumstances in which we live in the 21st century, to take literally commandments given to the people of ancient Israel. It’s all much more complicated than that. Indeed I value the dividend I get from shares I own and the interest paid on my savings in the bank as much as anyone else. But when we reflect on the values of the Bible as a whole, and in particular on what it has to say about the whole business of financial dealings and the way we relate to financial matters and possessions in general, then maybe we shall begin to rethink our values and resolve to life in a more simple and straightforward way and to encourage our society to do likewise. Have a look at Matthew 6: 19 – 34 and see how Our Lord would really like us to live.

Fr John

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Previous letters:

January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007