Too much; too little; just right!

The main news item, this morning, concerned the reported moves by the Prime Minister to "do something" about the enormous salaries paid out to top executives in the major British companies - £5million appears to be quite commonplace!  At the same time, we are assured that other moves are afoot to deal with the burgeoning Benefits' bill.

Both of these moves will seem to be perfectly fair and acceptable to that large group within contemporary British society that has, recently, become known as "the squeezed middle"!

I am certainly in favour of a situation in which those who have overseen vast losses in the companies by which they were employed (Fred Goodwin is not the only, but possibly the biggest, example) and are allowed to leave with a massive 'golden handshake', and a commensurate 'gold-plated pension', have their financial wings well and truly clipped.

At the other end of the scale, I am aware that the U.K. Welfare State was originally intended to be a 'safety net' for those in genuine need.  However, it's a case, almost, of stating the obvious to say that it has become a preferred lifestyle for far too many feckless folk who are more than content to take out of a system, even although they have never contributed to it!

So, what does the Christian Gospel have to say in such circumstances?  Well, there is no mention of 'fat-cat bonuses', or of 'state benefits', as such.  But there are clear principles taught.

The parable - if it is merely a parable! - of Dives and Lazarus (Lk.16:19-31) gives us the sad picture of a selfish rich man who had abused his trust, who had failed to make friends with his money and who, in the next world, would have given anything for such a friend.  The parable of the rich fool (Lk.12:16-21) is also salutory in its lesson that, as the old adage had it, "there are no pockets in a shroud"!

Those possessing wealth are also liable to certain kinds of sins against which they are frequently warned, e.g., highmindedness (I Tim 6:17); oppression of the poor (James 2:6); selfishness (Luke 12 and 16); dishonesty (Luke 19:1-10); and, in the Old Testament, self-conceit (Prov 28:11); and self-trust (Prov 18:11).

Of course, by the grace of God, even the wealthy may enter the Kingdom of heaven.  Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathaea (John 19:38-39; Matt 27:57-60), and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) were all men of some substance.

At the other end of the scale, while there is compassion in the Gospel - not least, the compassion of Father God for His sinful creatures! - there is clear teaching that work is a necessary part of life.  So Paul exhorts the Thessalonian believers: "If any one will not work , let him not eat.  For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.  Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living. Brethren, do not be weary in well-doing." (II Thess 3:10-13; RSV).  Again, writing to the Ephesians, he states: "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labour, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need." (4:28; RSV).

If the Prime Minister, and his government, can actaully achieve some measure of success in both of these endeavours, then it might even be that we will, in truth, be "all in this together"!

Paying for the most capable!

Time, and time again, we are informed that it is necessary to pay extravagent salaries, and outrageous bonuses, to senior bankers and others, in order to ensure that we get the best people at the top!

It has now been revealed by the FSA that a major cause of the collapse of The Royal Bank of Scotland, in 2008, was "poor management"!   If that is the result of paying people like "Sir" Fred Goodwin annual sums that many working-class people don't manage to accumulate in a lifetime, perhaps that old chestnut needs to be consigned to the fire of history - and even the so-called 'top people' paid according to results obtained, rather than those expected!

This becomes especially relevant in light of the further reports that "Sir" Fred acted deceitfully towards the board of RBS by, effectively, hiding from them that the FSA had not always regarded the dialogue with RBS's executive management as constructive!  I wonder if he can not now be charged with fraud, or some similar criminal offence?

This evening's news bulletin informed us that he ended up - even after having returned some of it - with a pension pot of £12million.  That's on top of any savings/investments he might have had, and doesn't even include almost a year working for another company after he had left RBS.   His annual pension is reckoned to be £342,500 a year - reduced from the original £555,000, after he took out an estimated £2.7m tax-free lump sum. The agreement reportedly followed the completion of RBS's internal inquiry into his conduct, which found no wrong-doing!

We live in a strange world, in which failure is so highly rewarded, while those who provide the services that keep us all going from day-to-day, receive so little in financial terms.  And in the persecuted church, there are many who are expelled from their homes, and villages, and even their country, with what material assets that they had being confiscated by the state - or simply stolen by their former neighbours!

Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matt 6:19-21).  Those, whether in the world of banking, or politics, or industry, who show that their god is Mammon, ought to heed those words, and seek after the true riches that come from faithful service of the Lord.

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!