A son’s tribute

Our Refuge

The ever-increasing withdrawal of trust between the governed and the governors in the UK

The God who holds all history holds the future too

Trust

Putting fear in its rightful place

A Hebraic worldview must lead to a Hebraic lifestyle

Terror, plague and disease threaten the future - but there is a better way!

Even in a time of drought, those whose confidence is in the Lord will survive.

This latest disgrace is a particularly significant one.

“Should I continue to give my money to Oxfam?” Someone asked me this week. There is no easy answer because if Oxfam’s funds dry up the great work that they do among the poor and distressed – especially in areas hit by natural disasters – would not be done.

The scandal that has overtaken Oxfam in the past week is tragic for those who benefit from the work of the charity and it is also tragic for the large numbers who self-sacrificially work for Oxfam in the field or volunteer in their many charity shops in Britain.

But my questioner undoubtedly had a point – none of us want to give our money for it to be misspent by rogues, or for it not to reach those who really need our help. When we hear of Oxfam workers exploiting women in Haiti, the poorest country in the world, by using them for sexual gratification, we are shocked beyond words.

Surely charity workers can be relied upon for integrity and faithfulness in carrying out their work of compassion among the poor and needy in times of emergency? But does this exposure – undoubtedly the tip of the iceberg of what is happening in charitable institutions - really point to something of far greater significance?

Fundamental Change

Is it evidence of something fundamental happening that is not simply confined to one organisation or one sector of society? Are we really seeing the whole value system collapsing upon which our nation, and Western society, is founded?

This is a frightening picture of the ratcheting up of the forces of social change that have been buffeting the moral and spiritual foundations of the nation for the past half-century. But this breakdown in the charity sector has apocalyptic significance.

What if the Oxfam exposure points to something of far greater significance?

The values of truth, justice, righteousness, compassion and charity (or love) can no longer be taken for granted in organisations once established upon these values and dedicated to their performance. If society can no longer trust the institutions of charity – which inevitably include the Church and all its associated organisations of good works such as food banks, Street Pastors, mums and toddlers, youth groups and countless other groups – where can we turn to put our trust?

Watchmen Asleep

Clearly if Oxfam is to regain the trust of the public there has to be root and branch reform. In the early days of Oxfam and many other charities all the workers, including the directors, gave self-sacrificial service, taking small salaries as a sign of their dedication because they were not in it for the money.

Sadly, today many charities pay their executive staff six-figure sums – more than we pay our Members of Parliament - and the institutions themselves have become more like global corporations than simple charities.

This is the extent of the cultural revolution that has been taking place before our eyes in recent decades as we have discarded the foundational pillars upon which our civilisation is built – one after another!

The changes have taken place because the watchmen have been asleep at their posts, drugged by the intoxicating enticements of secular humanism and political correctness that have crept into the culture and deceived us all.

A Powerful Delusion

St Paul, writing to the Christians in Thessaloniki, spoke of the “secret power of lawlessness” that was already at work in the world and would continue its work of destruction unhindered because a “powerful delusion” would prevent people from perceiving the truth. Jesus referred to a similar delusion in the religious leaders of his own day who, like those in the time of the Prophet Isaiah were always hearing but never understanding, always seeing but never perceiving.

We have discarded the foundational pillars upon which our civilisation is built – one after another.

This is what happens when people deliberately despise their spiritual heritage and embrace a delusion. The great delusion turns the truth upside-down and creates blindness so that no one is able to perceive the difference between the facts and fake news, between truth and lies, between good and evil, between light and darkness.

So, we have a culture in which a teenager this week refused to accept the discipline of his school and took a gun and killed his teachers and fellow pupils. Other young men have brought a false religion to the West and in the name of their god carry out atrocities recklessly destroying life and maiming the bodies of fellow citizens.

These things are the evidence of the breakdown of a culture: of the destruction of the foundations of a civilisation that has been based upon ultimate truth which has been discarded as no longer relevant.

Take Courage

The only hope for the future is for eyes to be opened to the reality of what is happening in our lifetime. That can only happen if the Bible-believing remnant that still exists in every nation of the Western world will awake to the imminent danger facing us and have the courage to declare the truth to a dying world.

It was for this purpose that God so loved the world that he sent Jesus our Lord and Saviour, the Light of the world. He is our only hope.