“If only someone would stop all these illegal immigrants, we would have enough money for the problems we have in our own country” Provision and protection. That’s what society is all about.
If your provision and protection are your own responsibility, you have to double down on making sure that you are ok before you think about anyone else. If I pay taxes, then it’s the government’s responsibility to provide and protect all those other people who can’t provide and protect themselves. My taxes are put into a pot which is then shared out by the government for others. The problem with this is that if we allow more and more people into our country, there is less and less to go around. there is a finite amount of money, unless the government borrows. This then puts more pressure on me by charging me more taxes; suddenly I don’t feel like I’m giving to contribute to society, instead I feel like money is being taken from me.
Society fails when everyone looks after themselves.
I was wondering the other day what would happen if I paid 15% of my tax to the government and kept 5% for myself to give to those in need in my community. Let’s say I earned £50,000 a year. I’d pay £7500 in tax to the government and have £2,500 to bless my community. That’s £50 a week.
I wonder what I’d do with this £50. I could get some shopping for my neighbour who has had to take time off work, or pay for a neighbour’s taxi to go and visit a relative in hospital. Or buy some paint and offer to paint a neighbour’s fence. If I didn’t find a good use for it this week; I’d have £100 next week, enough to pay for a meal out for a couple down the road who are celebrating their wedding anniversary, or buy that pair of glasses for my neighbour who told me yesterday that her pension won’t cover them.
I can think of many needs in those who live near me. What if we all did this; what a revolution we would experience. Surely this would be a society of love, where people met each other’s needs. Of course if this did happen it would be easy to see how lines could get blurred… if I took the year’s money – £3,000 and paid for a bigger car; I’d be able to take more people to the hospital, or have a bigger boot to take their rubbish to the tip. I’d benefit as well, of course, but that’s ok. What if I started thinking that my neighbour wasn’t using his £3,000 honourably? I’d maybe keep a log of what I though he was spending him and then challenge him at the end of the year “I think you’ve only blessed our community with £1,000; what’s happened to the other £2000?” If I can’t trust you, I need you to be accountable, I need laws and systems to ensure that you are doing what you should be doing. Thinking this made me think about a teaching I was enjoying the other day. Miles Munroe was saying that Democracy is a form of leadership employed by people who don’t trust each other. Someone would have to keep tabs on everyone to make sure that everyone’s 5% is being spent ‘well’. The government would, of course, have to define ‘well’ and then have a process of ensuring that Sharon’s 5% wasn’t just being spent at her best friend’s shop… someone would have to ensure fair and equal due process and procurement. With laws and justice in place to support.
So now we see, acting as a society requires faith in people who you can’t put faith in; the capacity to love people who aren’t loveable, and hope; despite everything your senses tell you, that others can respond in like kind. What is the danger of not trusting, of not pushing into a society? “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (for me, one of the most terrifying sentences in the Bible: Judges 17: 6). Why did the people behave in this way? Apparently because there was no King.
Let’s get back to immigrants – do we want them? I want them to come and become part of our society. But that’s the key; if they become part of a broken society where there is no trust and everyone is looking after themselves then they’ll bear that fruit, they won’t trust us and they’ll look after themselves. I’m not sure that’s healthy for anyone. How about if we invited them to become part of a society where there was trust, where people sacrificially loved each other and provision and protection flowed out of relationship… wouldn’t that be amazing? Could they be forced to reciprocate? Could we be certain that they would respond and love, trust and serve? Jesus died on the cross for us, not because he was certain that we would respond, reciprocate, love… but I guess you have to be a son of God to give such a no-strings-attached gift.
The Bible is 66 books revolving around God as King, the way He provides for and protects those in His Kingdom and the consequences of choices taken to step out of relationship with Him as King. In 1 Kings 17 the widow gave her last food to Elijah. In the New Testament, Jesus was given loaves and fish. As Christians, our economy is not based on what we see in our hands, but in a King, a Father, who is our true provision and protection.
When I hear reasons for keeping people out of ‘our’ country, all I hear is fear. Consider ‘faith’ and ‘fear’ as you take a moment to think about these questions:
Can we afford to love in this way? Can we afford to not love in this way?
Can we afford to be a society? Can we afford to not be a society?
What one thing could I do today to demonstrate how Christians do society?
I often get accused of being idealistic. “This sounds heavenly William, but it’s not practical or feasible.” Well I seem to remember someone saying “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done; on earth as it is in Heaven…” I wonder what He would say to all this.
Photo by Timur Weber, Pexels.
Unveiling Faith with William Thompson 