The Glaven Valley Benefice
August's Letter
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The Glaven Valley BeneficeAugust's Letter |
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Six months ago, my wife and I were in Rwanda. This little country was making a remarkable recovery from the horrors of arguably the worst genocide in recent history. The visit changed us. We came back with a host of memories, images and impressions. We came to see the world, and our place in it, in a different light.
Let me explain by means of some of those images.
My first image is through the eyes of children. I have an image of a small boy, surrounded by a dozen others, wheeling a rudimentary toy, a 4-wheeled vehicle made of wire and string. It was not unusual to have children swarming around us whenever we set foot anywhere. Always smiling and laughing. They were intrigued and fascinated to see white people. They liked to see their own images in our digital cameras. We met hundreds of children. But this was the only toy we ever saw in our whole stay. Home made. Simple. Working. He was content. Proud even. The others seemed content, too. No-one tried to take it from him. What's more, we never saw a child cry.
My second image is through the eyes of a Christian pastor called Charles. We had noticed at the church services we attended that few, if any people had Bibles. [No-one, by the way, had hymn books, but their singing was staggeringly beautiful as well as wildly enthusiastic!] We thought that we could help these people by providing Bibles for them. 'That wouldn't work' said Charles. `You see, a Bible would cost about £7 here. That's a week's wages. Who would blame them for selling it to buy food for the family?'
The third image is from the Electronics/TV section of a departmental store. Immediately after our return, we went there to buy DVDs on which to record our photos. We were instantly bombarded with an array of TVs, mobile phones, laptops and every kind of latest device - the shiniest, the latest, the largest, the smallest, the sharpest, the fastest.... all presented to raise ow levels of discontent with what we already had. After Rwanda, it was too much. It seemed, well, almost indecent.
Six months on, we have somehow become used to everything again. And that's the problem. We have to keep reminding ourselves of the impact of the African experience to keep a proper sense of perspective in life. It shouldn't be like that. It is too easy to get used to the good life, to instant access to quality goods; to expecting higher and higher standards of living; to being programmed for discontent. It's not good for us; it's not good for the world we live in.
The Bible speaks very clearly on these things. We are warned against the accumulation of wealth and belongings for their own sake. We are enjoined, indeed, expected to support the widow and the orphan, the weak and vulnerable. 'Godliness with contentment is a great gain, we are told. 'For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out'. St Paul fully understood this when he wrote: 'I know what it is to have little and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned to be content with whatever I have' No room for discontent here!