October 2009 Vol. 31 No. 10

Dear Friends

It’s often said we live in a compensation culture. Anyone working in any of the Public Services has to be very careful to fill in the right paperwork to ensure that any court case has all the evidence. We seem to be quick to want to blame someone.

Poor old Gordon Brown is being blamed for everything – Lockerbie prisoner release/Afghanistan/Credit Crunch/Swine Flu. I guess he realises this comes with the turf – maybe that’s why we have politicians – someone to blame. Car drivers will know that if you’re in an accident you should never admit blame – it’s always someone else’s fault.

Of course, God’s always getting it in the neck. The doctor tells you you have cancer, an earthquake kills thousands, a child dies. That all must be God’s fault, who else is there? What puzzles me is how quickly those who don’t give God a nod or a wink most of the time accuse him of any bad news. I guess that’s easier than the atheist who has no-one to blame – it’s all a matter of chance.

What worries me about all this is that we are losing sight of personal responsibility. We are so quick looking to blame others that we cannot see our own part. Jesus had something to say about this – something about a speck in someone else’s eye and a plank in your own. From the Christian viewpoint we are all responsible for our own behaviour and decisions. There will always be outside circumstances influencing us, but in the end we have to be responsible for ourselves.

There is also the aspect of collective responsibility. A child is killed by its carers – let’s blame the Social Workers or the Police. What about the neighbours? Who was keeping an eye out for that family? I know that’s not easy, particularly in the cities, but I think Jesus had something to say about neighbours as well.

Most of our church services begin with an act of Confession: “Almighty God… we have sinned against you and against our neighbour...” Notice the communal aspect of this. It’s not just me who has messed up – we’re in it together. I pray that we will rediscover that sense of personal responsibility and realise that we are also in community, looking out for each other in good and bad times. That for me, is a lot of what church is about.

Steve Osman