A perspective on wealth and poverty

One of life's little ironies is that as the number of TV channels has increased dramatically over the years, so there seem to have become fewer and fewer TV programmes which I enjoy watching. I don't have all that much time to watch TV, but there are a few programmes which I like to catch if I can. One of those programmes is Dragon's Den. Aspiring entrepreneurs make their pitch, hoping that one of more of the Dragons will buy into their idea. A few are successful, most leave empty handed.

With a new series of the programme starting last week, the 5 Dragons who feature were interviewed in the Radio Times. Each of the Dragons are very wealthy people, so, perhaps not unnaturally, one of the questions they were asked was to do with their most expensive purchases. Peter Jones, one of the 5, admitted that the cuff links he was wearing cost £14,000, and that he had once spent £100,000 on a watch. He went on to add, "That only comes out for special occasions. The one I'm wearing today is more of an everyday watch. Cost me about seven grand." To a mere mortal like me, those kind of figures are staggering!

A day or so after reading the Radio Times article I came across an email which I received some months ago from a friend who was then living in Kenya and had been helping at a clinic in a large slum area on the outskirts of Nairobi. The following comments come from the e-mail, and certainly made me think....

Seeing such a place as this clinic has made me even more aware of the gulf between life in the UK and Africa. The people of the slum do their best to live from day to day in difficult circumstances and yet are uncomplaining. How much do we really appreciate ALL that we have and yet don’t hesitate to moan or complain when things are not as we want them to be? Take a moment to think about the person who lives in a roughly built one roomed tin shack without electricity or running water, who shares pit latrines with 100s of others and who, when they are sick, can not even raise the 10 pence it costs to see the nurse at the clinic. Next time you are tempted to grumble, THINK about these people and be THANKFUL for what you do have, PRAY and be PROACTIVE in seeing how YOU can make a difference to the world we live in.

Kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

When Why? doesn't have an answer

Two or three weeks ago I was able to spend three days in Scarborough with my wife, Sue. Fortunately the weather was fairly good, and we enjoyed quite a bit of sunshine. One day, however, one of Scarborough's famous sea frets rolled in off the sea; it was a bit like something out of Doctor Who. Parts of the town were in bright sunshine, whilst others were obscured by a thick, misty fog. It certainly produced a rather weird atmosphere.

All this got me to thinking about those times in life when we can't see things clearly. Perhaps something has happened and we just can't understand why God would have allowed it, or a plan we had made didn't work out as we expected, and we don't understand why.

I found it interesting to discover that the word "why" appears around 500 times in the Bible! Towards the beginning of the "Christianity Explored" course, participants are invited to consider one question they would ask God if they had the opportunity. I guess that for a large number, the question might begin with "why....?"

In times when we struggle to see clearly, when we can't understand why things have happened in a certain way, we are faced with a choice. We can either believe that God has got it wrong, or we can trust that St Paul was right when he said that ultimately God works all things for the good of those who trust him. As for me, I believe that we need to listen to God's words through the prophet Isaiah, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

There have been a number of times in my life when I really didn't understand why God had allowed certain things to happen; times when I have been really hurt by the way things have worked out. In the end, though, I have hung on to the knowledge that God knows best, and that he is faithful. I have to trust him - the alternative is too awful to contemplate.

Farrah and the feeting glitter of fame

I originally wrote this blog a little while ago, but for some reason it was never published. It may be a little out of date in some ways, but I thought that I'd publish it anyway!

The death on 25 June of pop icon Michael Jackson was headline news for several days. Even now, conjecture over the events and circumstances surrounding his death rumble on. It was not until a few days later that I learned that another person who had experienced a level of fame had died on the same day as Jackson, namely Farrah Fawcett. A few days ago my brother made the point that Farrah Fawcett had seemed to be a much more significant part of his youth than Michael Jackson - a viewpoint I would certainly agree with!

She is probably best known for her appearance in the popular TV series Charlie's Angels which began in 1976. She was a beautiful lady with a gorgeous smile, and became a pin-up for males the world over! Her acting career post Charlie's Angels never managed to reach the same heights, and I guess that for many of her former fans and admirers, she became a forgotten lady. Certainly her fame and profile gradually diminished over the years.

Around 3 years ago she learned that she had contracted cancer, a disease which eventually claimed her life. The images above show Farrah both at the height of her fame and beauty, and more recently when she was showing the effects of age and illness. It is a poignant reminder that external beauty is temporary. What really matters is beauty of character.

And her death is another reminder of the fragile nature of human life. Fame comes and fame goes. Earthly life doesn't last forever. Yet in God there is hope beyond this earthly life. The writer of Psalm 103 makes the point when he writes, "The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he understands how weak we are; he knows we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone – as though we had never been here. But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children's children of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments!" The reason Jesus came into our world was that through faith in him we might have the assurance of his living presence with us now and into eternity.