Security and Stability

This year has got off to a shaky start. The violence which has ripped through Kenyan society in the wake of the disputed election results has shocked and stunned a watching world. What has been most frightening has been the way that ordinary people have behaved — murdering, looting and driving out their own neighbours. A nation, which was regarded as a model of stability for her more unstable neighbours, is tearing itself apart. The unnerving aspect of this is the revelation of just how thin the veneer of civilization is that holds a society together.

As if those events were not enough we have the instability in the world financial markets, where confidence has plummeted and trust, even between banks in internal trading, has evaporated. As I write this, everyone is hoping desperately that the steps the US Federal Reserve Bank has taken will renew both trust and confidence.

Nearer to home, we see how ordinary people can be affected by financial uncertainty, as Northern Rock, in the wake of the problems which began in the USA, has needed to be underwritten by billions of pounds in an effort to restabilise it.

Even closer to home we saw the disturbing video footage of Aberdeen nightlife, where police are struggling to contain violence and lawlessness on the streets.
In the light of such threats to our physical and financial well-being it is sobering to see what we are prepared to give up by way of personal liberty to restabilise our shaky society. Surveillance cameras proliferate, identification systems are made more rigorous and intrusive — all to provide our government institutions with the means to provide a more secure and stable society. These measures are all very well, but of themselves they cannot deliver what we seek — security and stability.

The founders of the USA knew that both democracy and justice could not be sustained apart from a distinctly religious morality. As George Washington stated in his Farewell Address:
"Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us [not imagine] that morality can be maintained without religion. … reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

Yet that is precisely what we sought to do in Britain in the second half of the 20th century. We have tried to maintain a national morality without any religious basis. Unsurprisingly, we have signally failed. We now have a society where many people do not feel safe. Burglar alarms, car alarms, personal alarms are eloquent proof of that. The disintegration of family life has led to a situation where many children are out with the control of parents. Teachers, social workers and police try with increasing difficulty to keep things under control. Initiatives from government have time and again tried and failed to turn things around; but we are wrong to expect that they alone can change things and achieve a secure and stable society.

The only way we can do that is to look to God to provide a framework for our society. For, He provided just such a framework for His people, when He established His covenant with them in the days of the Exodus — it's called the Ten Commandments. They need to be rewritten in our hearts and the hearts of our children — all of them. In fact, it is the first (in Exodus 20:2) which is the lynch-pin that holds them all together. You shall have no other gods before me. This provides the foundation for both security and stability in life and society. Or, as Jesus expressed it in Matthew 6:33: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Let's do it!

Tread Lightly for You Tread on the Future

These days we hear a lot about Carbon Footprints and we are constantly being reminded that each one of us should be more aware of how our lifestyles may affect the planet.

As someone who has been aware of the environment for decades – I stopped using CFCs in 1968 – and who has been recycling and using energy-efficient bulbs for many years, it is important that we take account of how we use the resources of our planet. We cannot wait for governments to take action. We need to do it ourselves. There are some simple steps we can take which would help greatly.

1. Reduce our energy consumption by insulating our homes, lowering our thermostats, using energy-efficient lighting, switching off all chargers and stand-by buttons on equipment that is not being used.
2. Join your local Freecycle which enables you to offer unwanted items to others in the area.
3. Recycle as much waste as possible – and not just at the kerbside – use local collection points.
4. Reduce or eliminate leisure air travel – I have never flown to a holiday destination. If we undertook to have only one holiday abroad per year and took others in our own country, it would help our local economy and reduce our carbon footprint.
5. Use public transport where it is possible and/or reduce our car mileage – this year our total household mileage, including business mileage, has been curtailed to less than 10000 miles.

These personal steps, if undertaken by each one of us, would have a significant impact on our Carbon Footprint.

It's time to tread lightly on our fragile planet or it may crumble beneath our feet.