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Good government and God’s agenda

Philip Young is hoping that our new Prime Minister will pursue God’s agenda for our country.

At present we are without a fully functioning government and are told to wait until the new Prime Minister is chosen on September 5 before our government can resume its usual business of making full decisions on our behalf.
 
Whether it is Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss who is our next Prime Minister they will inherit a country and a world that is in crisis. The cost of living crisis, the war in Ukraine and the climate crisis to mention just three.
 
Should Christians and the Church care about what is happening in the political world? Church leaders are often told to speak only about spiritual matters and if they stray into political comments, they are often told to keep quiet.
 
Jesus talked about political matters. It got him into trouble with the authorities, both religious and political. He ended up being killed, hung from the wood of a cross. Jesus told us that it was hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven. (Luke 18: 24). He told us that we cannot serve both God and wealth. (Matthew 6:24). When Jesus taught us how to pray, he said we should say ‘Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matthew 6:10). So as Christians we should be asking, what are God’s priorities, and God’s agenda. What does it mean for his will to be done on earth?
 
The 10 commandments can be summed up by loving God and loving our neighbour. So God’s agenda for the world is love. The church needs to challenge the state and the politicians to put love and care at the centre of all that we do.
 
Love demands that we help people with the cost of living crisis. We need to love and look after those who are unable to feed themselves or keep themselves safe and warm during this winter. If we need to help them by raising taxes and giving them money to survive, then so be it. Love demands that we care.
 
Love demands that we help those caught up in the war in Ukraine and other places of conflict. Love demands that we use our wisdom and intelligence to move from war to peace.
 
Love demands that we tackle the climate crisis and move towards a world where love and care for the environment become central to all that we do. If we trash our living planet then we are in danger of destroying all the life on earth.
 
Good government means making the right decisions for love to flourish and for life on earth to continue. What could be more important than Justice, Peace, and the Environment?
 
We must hope and pray that our new Prime Minister will be able to lead us in the right direction so that God’s will can be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The image above is by Mary_R_Smith from Pixabay


Philip is willing to speak up against the present war being waged by Russia and would welcome invitations from radio, television or any other interested group. He says, “As a pacifist I am not willing to bear arms, but I am willing to stand up for my beliefs and to face any consequences for doing so. It is the least I can do for the suffering people of Ukraine, and for the Russian people who are not hearing the truth. Speaking truth to power is a traditional Quaker response to falsehood and lies.”  



Philip Young June 2014Philip is an Anglican, Quaker, and a member of the Third Order of Franciscans, and now lives in Felixstowe. Until July 2014 he was the Diocesan Environmental Officer for the Norwich Diocese. In June 2017 he stood as an Independent Candidate for the General Election in the Suffolk Coastal Constituency.  He is now Associate Priest at St. John and St. Edmund in Felixstowe and a freelance writer on spiritual and political matters. He is available to run Quiet Days, give talks, presentations or to preach and can be contacted at philipyoung@btinternet.com. Philip is developing a new website www.revolutionoflovenow.com.


 

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