Following my letter to David Cameron a couple of weeks ago I am pondering what social responsibility actually is. I am trying to be mindful of the words of Jesus;
34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
41-43 “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’
Matthew 25
While at the same time attempting to answer the question that I am often asked, " are you sure you are not being taken advantage of?
I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that the only possible response to that is "does it matter?", yes I really asked does it matter...
Now I am not trying to be flippant, in fact I am trying to be realistic, I am looking at figures that apply to benefit fraud, that reveal the miniscule number of people who actually engage in this alongside the tendency for everyone who is claiming benefits to be demonised as scrounging scum! The figures can be found by anyone with an ounce of sense and I am not going to provide you with a list of links but do encourage you to seek them out. But here are some truths.
1. There is more fraud carried out by the rich than the poor ( think of the MP's expenses scandal)
2. Many working people are on benefits, yes that is true, many working families need a top up from tax credits in order to survive.
3.It is not easy for people to find work! The jobs are not there, this is another myth!
4. Too many sick and disabled people are being told they are fit for work, despite letters from Doctors and Consultants stating the contrary.
5. There is a very real shortage of affordable housing! This does not just include rent, one couple I know who rent a 2 bedroomed flat pay more for their electricity in a fortnight than I do in a month for a 5 bedroomed manse!
This list could also go on, suffice to say the system is unjust, though I guess we could say that at least there is a system! So lets go back to the roots of it, the system was set up in the belief that everyone deserved to be treated with dignity, that all required housing and basic food and clothing...
So are we being taken advantage of?
Would you really come to a drop in for the homeless and the needy to be served a baked potato and beans and to be offered a second hand coat and pair of shoes unless you needed to?
In most instances the answer is no...
So another question arises, are we supporting the drinking and drug habits of the few at the expense of the majority?
I am not going to be so shallow as to ask whether it matters this time, rather I am going to ask something deeper about our human condition, and maybe challenge some basic assumptions that middle class aspirations equate with Christianity.
I want to say that we are all sinners, we all stuff up, we all get things wrong and many of us struggle with the same old issues over and over, maybe we over eat, maybe we are very critical, maybe we have problems in our relationships, maybe we find it hard to be open.... maybe we struggle with drink or drugs. What we all need is to know that we are loved, accepted and forgiven, what we all need is to be set free from our damaging life patterns to live our whole lives in a more holistic (holy) way.
It is easy for me with my middle class exterior to cover over my faults and flaws, I am articulate, and I can turn myself out well, I am generally deemed to be acceptable, but that does not mean I am not a sinner, that does not mean that I don't ache for acceptance love and grace, and that does not mean that I can fix myself. I need the love and support of others in my life, others who accept that I have faults and flaws and help me on the way. I have found that help through the commuunity of the church, and I have found that the more open and honest I have been able to become, the more healing, help and wholeness I have found.
But here is the rub, when I first came to church I was drawn by the love of God revealed in Christ, BUT I thought that I was unworthy of it, so I clung tightly to my masks and hid my coping mechanisms, it took a community of real grace to help me to see myself as God sees me. Broken, bruised, and loved...
Through our church community we offer people a safe place to come and to be, we offer food bags, a hot meal, a clean coat and or pair of shoes and a listening ear. We offer prayer and hugs, we offer an open door to those who come, and no doubt there are times when we are taken advantage of....
More times we are not taken advantage of, every week we are given handsful; of silver coins and coppers as donations to the work we are doing, over the year that can mount up to £500! Every week we hear and share stories with our community, and we see people taking charge of their lives, some "clients" have become "volunteers", or putting it in a healthier way some have found their roles within the community changing. I minister and am ministered too, only this week I received a message telling me folk we praying for me because I had been unwell.
With community comes responsibility, we have a box for folk to place food donations in, last week one community member took a tin out of the box on his way out, two minutes later he was back apologising, in return he was given a bag of food, there is something of the kingdom in this. Was he taking advantage of us... does it matter?
We cannot means test everyone who comes to us, would we ask such questions of those who come for prayer? Are we being taken advantage of by the family who attend monthly until their child is accepted by the local faith school and then never darken the doors again? All we can do is offer an open door, help and counselling, hope and a possibility, love and acceptance... ( this is not to say that we have no rules, we have a strict no drugs, no alcohol, no violence or abuse policy)
Do we truly have the right to condemn anyone? Or do we echo Jesus, .. " go and sin no more", remembering that we are to give that forgiveness 70 x 7, because that is how we ourselves receive it.
I am so thankful that God does not means test me, am I taking advantage of his grace? Is that even possible..?
