Radio
Leicester Thought for the Day
©
John Denney, 5 March 2002
Bad things have
been happening locally recently. Outbreaks of vandalism,
for instance in Mountsorrel and South Wigston. There was an
appalling robbery at a store in Wymeswold by vicious and heedless
hoodlums who nearly succeeded in burning the store down with the
helpless owner inside it. How can people do these things?
We live in a
“me” culture, where society tells us our primary
consideration is to look after our own interests. The advertising
thrust daily at us teaches us gratification is ours from the
products we buy; we can buy recklessly and then pay off our debts
over 20 years at virtually nothing each month; that our health
can be maintained or improved by taking this packaged exercise
programme or following that diet. If we buy the clothes and
sportswear modelled by Posh and Becks, then somehow we take on
the glamour of their fame and fortune. Or at least
that’s what Big Business wants us to feel.
The
concentration on “me first” leads us to forget our
responsibility to others. Concepts of duty and loyalty,
care and concern, come a poor second. But Jesus Christ told
the famous story of the Good Samaritan, emphasising our common
humanity, and He made it clear we have a duty to love our
neighbour as much as we love ourselves.
The vandal
cares nothing for the consequences of his actions. The
robber is unmindful of the devastation he wreaks on his terrified
victim. He is a “me” person, not a “we”
person. But what about our responsibilities? Do
we care about the inhumanity of our prison system that crams
70,000 prisoners into the accommodation for 45,000? Do we
care about the exploitation of poor workers in poor countries,
denied a fair and living wage by the companies that sell us our
tea and coffee and chocolate and diamonds? Do we care about
the treatment of the Al-Qaida prisoners held in Camp X under
austere conditions? Do we care about the fate of those who
dare to oppose President Mugabe of Zimbabwe?
Pastor Martin
Niemöller was imprisoned because he opposed Hitler and the
Nazis. He wrote this:
First they
came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a
Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak
out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the
trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade
unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left
to speak out for me.