Who we are
We believe
News
Bishops
Diocesan Office
Resources
Mission
Vacancies
Parish contacts
Vocation
Ministry Development
Education
Young People
Cathedral
Did you know that 800 million people a day go hungry and that over 20,000 people a day die because the water that they drink is infected? Not as a one-off but every day?
How do we respond as Christians to those staggering statistics? Do we care? Should we care? This article is the first of a series of articles looking at poverty and suffering around the world and asking firstly why we should care and then looking at what as Christians we can do that might make a difference.
So should we be bothered about the suffering of our fellow men and women at home and abroad?
I’d like to offer four reasons why we should care….
Firstly one of the statements that made the greatest impact on me during last year’s Lenten course was the response made by Tom Wright, the Bishop of Durham, to the question, why did the early church expand so dramatically? One of the reasons he cited was that the early Christians had an uncommon concern with the plight of their fellow men and women. An uncommon concern. Could it be said today that the church has an uncommon concern – and do we do anything about it?
Secondly I had the pleasure last year to hear a lecture by Bishop John Shelby Spong who was over from the US on a lecture tour. He posed the question – what makes Christians stand out? His answer was that Christians loved wastefully. I love that phrase although it takes a bit of thinking to get your head around. To do anything wastefully means that you are not looking for a return or payback. Do we love wastefully? Or are we always looking for something in return. I think that international issues are a great example of needing to love wastefully – we are asked to do something to help people we will probably never meet and therefore never get any payback – are we prepared to do that?
Loving wastefully moves us onto my third point – love your neighbour as your yourself. One of the two great commandments, but it is not restricted to your next door neighbour or some-one in the next own or village. As Christians this commandment applies equally to our fellow men and women in Nicaragua and Sierra Leone. Are we really loving these neighbours as ourselves?
And finally a powerful phrase from scripture taken from John 10:10, where Jesus says “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” It is not enough for people just to have life but they must have it to the full. This line makes me think of the equally powerful Christian Aid soundbite, “we believe in life before death.”
So there are four compelling reasons I would argue why we as Christians should care about our fellow men and women. It is not an add on extra but this compassion and desire to act to make a difference should be an integral part of our Christian faith. As to the question of whether we should care about people suffering in this country such as homeless people or asylum seekers or those abroad, the answer is clearly a resounding – both!
So if we want to make loving our neighbour a reality, what should we do? And what can we possibly do when there is so much suffering in the world? The answers to these questions will be revealed in the next articles. Watch this space!
Jonathan Ellis is the World Development Adviser to the Diocese of St Albans, and a member of St Mary’s, Apsley End.
Copyright Jonathan Ellis