Bishop Harold's New Year Message
Think differently about money in the New Year
All of us are entering 2009 with a deep sense of uncertainty about money. What had appeared to be secure has proven insecure beyond anything we could have imagined at the beginning of 2008. House prices have plummeted, shares have been dramatically reduced in value, famous shops have had to close, and the pound is almost at parity with the euro. And everyone was surprised when it happened.
All of this could leave us deeply depressed. Or, to look at it positively, our financial insecurity could raise truly important questions about how we see and use our possessions in the New Year.
Here are a few possible resolutions which would produce a more godly attitude to our money:
We might resolve to view our money not simply as a personal acquisition or plaything. Our possessions are for the good of others as well as ourselves. For those who can afford it, what about actually increasing our charitable giving in 2009?
We might resolve to create a mood which will lead to closing the gap between rich and poor. People in some roles and positions are paid well beyond anything reasonable. And the gap has been widening over the past ‘fat' years, as we can see from any of the published ‘rich lists' At the other end of the spectrum, there are people on minimum wage or less, who are doing a good day's work. This gap simply cannot continue.
We need to look again at our attitude to ‘usury', and certainly to the abuse of the poor by the rich, when their poverty is used to extract extortionate rates of interest -whether that is done by backstreet moneylenders or large financial institutions. Indeed, we might well resolve not to spend money until we have it, and to refuse the enticing advertising of those who would encourage us to do differently
We might decide to open our eyes to the poverty around us here in Northern Ireland, and ensure that our first reaction is compassion, and that we do not blame the poor for their poverty. Small acts of sharing can change our attitudes profoundly.
We might encourage our MLA's to use the Assembly to deal creatively with these issues, and to move towards a more egalitarian community in Northern Ireland.
With resolutions like these we might even find that God is speaking into our lives through the current crisis, and creating a better society and world for us all.
May you have a truly enriched New Year, and may God be with you in the good times and the difficult ones.
+ Harold Down and Dromore