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is the end of poverty possible?
Many of you may have seen the recent Christian Aid posters, which have done a fantastic job in raising our sights and expectations in the fight against poverty.
Today's ad in The Independent is a simple but profound piece of inspiration. in the same way Paul does at the start of his letter to the church in Colossae, sometimes it's just good to be reminded of the good things that have happened and continue to happen, as an antidote to a media that focuses only what is scandalous or tragic. As Paul said, "All over the world, the gospel is bearing fruit". That continues to be true whether we see it in front of our faces or not. The speed of de-secularisation worldwide is huge.
So back to the advert... in response to the statement, "Ending poverty is too big a task", it said..
It's no bigger than eradicating smallpox.
It's no bigger than liberating Europe from the Nazis.
It's no bigger than putting a man on the moon.
It's no bigger than bailing out the banks.
It's no bigger than abolishing slavery.
It's no bigger than ending apartheid.
It's no bigger than bringing down the Berlin Wall.
It's no bigger than creating the internet.
It's no bigger than digging a tunnel to France.
It's a big ask, but I really believe it is possible. In fact I know it's not just possible - It is in fact promised. There will be a time when there is no more sin, sickness and suffering, and incredibly we are invited to be partners in bringing it about. Kingdom come.
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Andy Flannagan, 28/07/2009 |
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| | | Tim Wright (Guest) | 06/08/2009 09:33 | Hi,
Just come across your blog and was wondering what your thoughts on what are the top 2-3 issues that Christians in the UK should address. I think i know what one of them would be from your blog, just curious what some of the others would be?
Tim Wright
| | | | David Jones (Guest) | 05/12/2011 13:32 | Poverty is am much bigger issue than all of the issues in this list. To get rid of poverty (in the here and now) there are two options as far as I am able to see; 1. A global socialist government willing to engage in forced wealth redistribution on a massive scale. 2. A complete change of hearts and minds by almost the entire population of the world towards generosity and away from selfishness. Essentialy either it will have to be forced on people or they will have to decide for themselves to make some major changes. Adding to this what happens when the final poor person has been lifted out of poverty? What could possibly garauntee that humanity would never slip back into unfairness and selfish greed again or that some people might again make choices which led them into poverty? I don't want to be negative about people who dream of a world without poverty but a world without poverty would be a world without sin (both social and corporate sin and personal), this is a much bigger ask than wipping out a disease (you can't vaccinate against poverty). I believe that we have it within our power to make a great amount of difference to the world we live in but I do not believe that we can eradicate poverty in the here and now.
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