²⁹Take my yoke on you, and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your lives.

Matthew 11: 29 – The Keys of the Kingdom Holy Bible

²²On the other hand, the fruit of the spirit is love, exuberance, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³meekness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law.

Galatians 5: 22-23 – The Keys of the Kingdom Holy Bible

¹Stand fast, therefore, in the freedom with which Christ made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5: 1 – The Keys of the Kingdom Holy Bible

¹⁹’I call the heavens and the Earth to witness this day against you that I have set in front of you life and death, blessing and cursing. So choose life, so that both you and your seed might live, ²⁰to love Yahweh your Elohim, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him, for He is your life, and the length of your days, so that you might live in the land that Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to give them.’

Deuteronomy 30: 19-20 – The Keys of the Kingdom Holy Bible

Having started this blog three years ago, I’ve found it most interesting to hear what people have had to say to me privately. There’s no doubt that many folk are now looking for something beyond the confines of our deeply materialistic world, in which most have to spend their lives. They feel the emptiness, and know this can’t be what life is all about.

These people may not be able to describe precisely what they’re seeking, but it’s certainly not what the formal Churches are offering. It’s sad, but we may have to accept that formal Christianity within a church setting is now a lost cause. So, what do we need to offer instead?

I’ve massively reduced my intake of news in the last few years. Maybe the roots of this go back further, to when I voluntarily went on a ‘Newsfast’ during Lent in 2017, which had a lasting impact on me. Generally speaking, I’ve found that listening to the news does nothing for my peace-of-mind, but I do have to listen to some news, as I can’t cut myself off permanently from what is happening in the world; I’m not a monk.

Perhaps it’s because I’m now in my seventies, but so much of our news is depressing, and tends to emphasise the negative. What would previous generations have made of the following issues that have been in the news?

• The banging of war drums over Ukraine. Shouldn’t we instead be doing everything in our power to bring this brutal conflict to an end?
• Our press is full of what is, or isn’t, ‘fake news’, but doesn’t seem to think there’s anything wrong with fake news, as long as it’s perceived to be in a ‘good’ cause. (I’m referring to the ‘Ghost of Kiev’ story).
• After two years of almost unlimited government spending, we now have the prospect of rampant inflation. Can no-one see the connection between these two things?
• Our Cabinet have not just made ridiculous laws (Scotch Eggs, anyone?) but have deliberately obscured what’s law and what’s guidance. They’ve then got caught ignoring their own legislation.
• Whilst the worst-off are struggling to pay their electricity bills, parliament discusses birthday parties and the exposure of women’s legs.
• Whilst the worst-off are struggling to pay their electricity bills, ‘Net Zero’ seems to be a holy grail. It doesn’t matter if the ‘cure’ is far worse than the disease, or even if the disease is a genuine threat; so much has been invested in ‘Net Zero’ that it’s become a religion.
• No-one seems to be able to see anything wrong with forcing people to take a vaccine against their wishes, but abortion (even, dear God, to term of pregnancy) is a matter of the rights of women to control their own bodies. There’s been no discussion about contraception or morality as part of this debate.
• No-one can see anything wrong with using psychological tactics to engender fear, to ensure that the public is made to be compliant, with the use of masks, social distancing etc etc.
• Lying to the population by all political parties is now such a regular occurrence that most members of the public, according to research, find little wrong with it.
• MPs seem to think that there’s nothing wrong with being found guilty in a court and yet refusing to resign (Claudia Webbe?) And one who’s been found guilty of sexual assault on children seems to think it’s acceptable to delay his departure, in order to benefit from a greater parliamentary pension (Imran Ahmad Khan). Have MPs never heard of ‘Gross Misconduct’, let alone taking responsibility?
• There’s been virtually no debate about the morality of being ‘Non Dom’ for tax purposes and at the same time being the wife of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who makes the rules about ‘Non Dom’ status.
• Many people can see nothing wrong with conspiring to allow tens of thousands of people to risk their lives in crossing the Channel illegally. And we don’t seem concerned about the crucial difference between seeking asylum and seeking a better living elsewhere.
• The government doesn’t seem to see anything wrong with refusing to acknowledge that the vaccines have injured and killed many people; to date not one single claim has even been processed, despite many deaths having been confirmed by Coroners as being as a direct result of the vaccines.
• Some of our most senior parliamentarians seemingly see nothing wrong with bullying and harassing their staff (Liam Byrne and John Bercow).
• People in positions of authority see nothing wrong with demanding that others comply with lockdown requirements, but not complying themselves (many Civil Servants and politicians in Downing Street, many members of the Shadow Cabinet, Dominic Cummings, Professor Ferguson, Matt Hancock, Margaret Ferrier and I imagine many others not yet caught)
• And, finally and desperately sadly, even the Church of England has dirty hands and has just made a lame excuse for rejecting Calvin Robinson’s bid to be ordained and trained as a priest, for the sin of not being ‘one of us’.

I’m sure that many of those reading this will be able to think of many more equally scandalous situations.

In summing up, it’s hard not to think that our world has become a nasty, vindictive, place, ruled by people without morality, and that it’s getting worse.

It must be time for a better way! As I’ve mentioned before on this site, we seem to have declared that God is dead, and have thrown out all morality and ethics in the process.

What we need, badly, are the things that make up Christianity, including the following:

• Placing God first, neighbour second and ourselves last, instead of the exact opposite.
• Rejecting the arrogance of thinking that we know everything.
• Respecting the dignity of other human beings, even if we can’t quite bring ourselves to love them.
• Embracing humility, as it’s universally rejected by society.
• Showing modesty in our personal lives, and remembering that Christ taught that the meek are blessed.
• Holding justice for all at the heart of everything we do, and rejecting the idea that the strong should dictate to the weak.
• Rejecting selfishness and embracing sacrifice for others, emulating Jesus on the cross.
• Accepting that all, especially those despised by society, are loved equally by God, as Jesus explained in the story of the Good Samaritan.

As St Paul said in his letter to the Galatians, there is no law against such things. And, he might have added, without these things, there’s no hope, as the human alternatives are divisive, selfish, arrogant, and intolerant.

To say that we badly need Christianity and Christian values at the moment is a huge understatement.

Heavenly Father, you must be very sad as you look upon our world. Breathe into our people, we pray, and above all into those who govern and administer, a realisation that Christ alone can provide a solution to the problems of our broken world. Amen