The other night Grace & I were woken by the foghorn sounding at Poole Harbour. Although the harbour must be two miles from our house the doleful sound was enough to cut through the stygian gloom and disturb our sleep.
In the wider world there is a similarly penetrating and baleful noise – the sound of fear as the economic fog falls upon us.
The BBC’s doom-monger-in-chief, Robert Peston, is this week in Davos, the Alpine resort, covering the World Economic Forum. He writes:
For the bankers, financiers and business leaders who feel able to leave the day-to-day crisis of managing their businesses through this painful recession for a few days of jaw-jaw and endless canapes, the big question is "what horrors still lurk beneath the surface".
They are sombre and anxious - such a contrast with their confidence of previous years that globalisation and financial innovation were enriching the world.
“Somber and anxious.” That pretty well sums it up.
But my conviction is that those of us who are disciples of Jesus Christ need to fight this fear.
First of all there is the little talked about reality that those who are keeping hold of their jobs are most likely better off than they were a year ago – mortgage rates have gone down; fuel and utility bills are starting to slip; food is not quite so expensive as it was; and the shops are filled with bargains – pretty much anything you bought last year you can get at a discount now, from the big ticket items like houses and cars to household goods and clothes.
So why are we all so afraid?
Secondly, of greater significance than a packet of butter costing a bit less than it did is the hope that we have in the gospel. I am preparing to preach this Sunday from 1 John 4 and the verse that says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” If we live with an experience of the love of God, and live in a way that shares this love with other people, our fears will be thrown out. Part of the prophetic task of the Church at this time has got to be fighting fear and fuelling faith. Those of us who pastor churches will have to handle difficulties that the economic crisis brings to our people – church members made redundant, maybe mortgage foreclosures, and the like – but our overall aim at this time should be to breathe on faith, and reduce fear.
Many pastors are reporting a dip in their church incomes already and having to look at restructuring budgets downwards. This is prudent, but at the same time we should be looking for faith to produce a harvest. If, as the world sinks into economic gloom, the Church rises up as an example of a place where people are faithful rather than fearful, loving rather than selfish, generous rather than miserly, then we will be preaching the gospel with a greater clarity than that with which a foghorn cuts through the night.
Fight the fear.
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