|
Do
Not Store Up Your Treasure On Earth |
There seems
to be a lot of doom and gloom around the town regarding
shops closing, and in the country at large about the
economy.
Of course we
have seen it all before. A small town like Fakenham is
easily affected by down turns in the economy but I can
assure you that I will not be closing down Fakenham Parish
Church at the moment.
Behind so
many problems in society is ‘avariciousness’. People want
everything now, and will not wait or people try to make as
much money as they can regardless of who they hurt.
It staggers
me that people in business can look you in the face and talk
about the future and still take deposit for items, and then
the next day declare themselves bankrupt taking with them
many poor trusting people who had little anyway.
Having
numerous couples coming to see me for weddings each year we
run a marriage preparation course and in it we talk about
money and the sadness of getting into debt. Often couples
have no idea how much a wedding will cost and the importance
of taking different quotations for receptions or photographs
and wedding clothes. So often couples are ripped off and
their day is ruined.
In the Bible
Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount of always treating
others as you would like them to treat you and being aware
of storing up goods on earth where they may be taken,
instead of storing up treasures in heaven.
I can
remember a great aunt who was very eccentric. She kept a pet
hen in the kitchen called Bessie, and she always carried her
jewel case where ever she went. She would sit on the beach
and play with her diamond rings and at home would collect
endless antiques. She would have hundreds of pounds in her
handbag and yet at the end of the week my Uncle (who was a
retired clergyman) and she used to have a banking session
when they used to say how much they owed one another. She
was very rich but she still did the Littlewoods Football
pools hoping she might win.
When she died
her house was sold with the contents, her life savings
shared amongst the family and the greatest person to receive
any money was Chancellor of Exchequer through death duties.
I don’t think
that she was an avaricious person but simply she never
thought of anyone other than herself.
Behind many
problems in society and the economy is that people want to
get rich quickly without working hard, have little idea of
how to keep and use their money and that people have very
little understanding of sharing money.
If I had a
magic wand I would begin in Fakenham by making people who
own shops and houses charge reasonable rents so that shop
keepers and those renting houses can earn a living and
simply live. I would make everyone including the Government
and local Councils save a proportion of their income for a
rainy day. I would have a period a week in all schools when
children were taught house keeping, how to cook economic
meals, pay bills, have bank accounts and plan their
finances. I would ban all people who have deliberately
become bankrupt and taken money from others, from ever
having a business again.
I could go on
but we are becoming a very greedy country where everyone
tries to get what they can. Bring back the days when you
could trust people who came to your home to undertake work,
and the shop keeper who serves you without ripping you off.
I have
brought my sons up to be worldly wise and not to trust
anyone. What a sad world they have inherited. However, it
is not too late to change our ways.
Adrian Bell
|
