Thank you! We're proud of you. You're fired!!

Well, I don't suppose that those were the exact words in the redundancy notices issued to almost 2,000 members of the U.K's armed forces today - with many more to come.  However, it doesn't seem to be too far from the reality of the message!

As I listened to this information being given out on the early-evening news bulletin, I couldn't help but think of the scenes in the town of Wooton Bassett that will be, I suspect, engraved on the memories of many of us for the rest of our lives.  I thought of the hundreds of young men and women whose dead bodies had been repatriated in recent years.  I thought of the profligacy of a government department that appears to have wasted millions, and millions, of taxpayer pounds, resulting in the financial 'black hole' which has led to these redundancies.  I thought of the hundreds of thousands of pounds that were fiddled by members of the last parliament, and wondered how many redundancies that money might have saved.  I thought of so-called 'celebrities, and the obscene salaries paid out to so many of them - Jonathan Ross (no relation!) even informing us, today, that the £6 million from the BBC was less than he was worth, and that he (so magnanimously!) had turned down even higher salary offers. 

I thought of the football transfer window that closed last night, and of the equally obscene amounts paid to premier league footballers, together with the associated transfer fees.  And I wondered how many soldiers, and sailors, and aircrew could have been retained if those non-producers were to be content with a living wage.  I thought, too, of bankers who appear, still, to be demanding (and receiving) bonuses that are greater than many of us earn in a full working life.

Of course, it's the "little people" who will suffer.  I would be more than a little surprised to discover that a number of Generals, and Admirals, and Air Chief Marshals had received their redundancy notices today! 

The problem, it seems to me, is not one of lack of resources, but of their distribution.  One senior Air Force officer gave an assurance that counselling would be available to those who were being transferred from military, to civilian, life.  Perhaps a longer-term view of the situation, and a super-tax on the inflated salaries of those who produce nothing but entertainment, and on the gross bonuses paid out to not only senior bankers, but also to many of the 'captains of industry', would have encouraged the Coalition Government to deal differently with our armed forces - and done away with any need for such counselling!

Sacrifice v. selfishness.

Having been 'laid low' for the past week, with my lower back muscles in spasm, I confess to having neglected this blog.  However, I have still managed to listen to various news programmes on the radio, and have been struck by the contrast shown in two items.

When floods hit the town of Toowomba near Brisbane on Monday, Jordan Rice, 13, became trapped with his mother and younger brother in their car. When a truck driver arrived to pull the family to safety, Jordan told him to save his 10-year-old brother Blake first. The younger brother survived, but rescuers were unable to return for Jordan and his mother, both of  whom died. His father said: "I can only imagine what was going on inside to give up his life to save his brother, even though he was petrified of water. He is our little hero."

Meanwhile, at the Parliamentary Select Committee hearing this week, Mr. Bob Diamond, the new boss of Barclay's Bank (and who earned a reported £11 million last year) suggested that it was time for bankers to “stop apologising” for themselves.  The subject of 'Bankers' bonuses' was the dominant theme at Prime Minister’s Question Time yesterday, following the additional news that Eric Daniels of Lloyds Banking Group is apparently to receive payments to the tune of £2m;  while Stephen Hester of RBS, has allegedly awarded himself £2.3 million in bonuses.  Mind you, beside Mr Diamond's reported income, these two gentlemen mus feel quite hard done by!

When my children were young, I sought to point them in the direction of good role-models.  Whilst never seeking to glamourise poverty, I know which of the above I would be pointing them towards, today.

Jesus said: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13; RSV).  He also said (although Mr Diamond appeared not to know this!) that "... it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matt 19:23-24; RSV).  And forget the idea that is sometimes spouted about 'the eye of a needle' referring to a low gateway.  It referred to 'the eye of a needle'!  

Jesus' further words, as recorded in Luke 16, also remind us of the problem that will, ultimately, face all of those who have placed their trust in money.  The rich man, after his physical death, and after he had passsed through that thin veil that separates time from eternity, recognised his mistake!  Sadly, he also discovered that it was too late to do anything about it - even for his own brothers.

Perhaps Mr Diamond, and his ilk, should do what finacial advisers often advise, and 'plan for the future'.  We will all have the timelessness of eternity to consider the choices we make now!