Diana's Blurb
I think the world has gone mad. On the same day last week, I read of a disabled, four feet eleven inch tall, 81 year old widow with a broken wrist being graded at moderate risk of being violent towards her carers because of the inappropriate questions on the standard assessment form; a head teacher being suspended from teaching because a CRB check revealed he once forgot to renew his fishing licence; an Archbishop’s aide acquiring a criminal record because she failed to realise her Oyster Card was twenty pence short of the fare required and a Parkinson’s sufferer asleep in her car in a disabled parking bay, who was fined because her permit was displayed upside down (although you could dispute the use of English – it was front up but inverted). The warden must have been determined and on tip toe as he managed not to wake her while fixing the ticket.
What happened to common sense, does no one give the benefit of the doubt anymore; is everyone now a jobsworth? This week’s title for the most obstructive piece of red tape must go to the Burmese government department that is so paranoid about USA subterfuge that it will not allow humanitarian aid workers to enter the country until it has vetted them for visas. Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of people are suffering and dying following the devastating cyclone. (Incidentally, when did it revert to Burma from Myanmar?)
I understand that in complex communities in an overcrowded world, the only way for mutually safe and happy survival is to have rules and regulations. We cannot have everyone choosing on which side of the road they will drive today. Terrorists and madmen on a mission cannot be allowed to cross borders unchallenged. There must be some sort of vetting of whom we allow to work with our vulnerable groups. We just seem to have made it all so complicated by trying to cover every eventuality in legislation. Even the man from the Institute of Advanced Motorists said, on radio, this week that the only way to make London traffic work was to bend the rules.
When you read the Bible (and we all should do so regularly, by which I do not mean annually at Christmas) it seems to be full of rules and regulations, especially in matters concerning worship and offering of sacrifices. However, read deeper and you will find a lot of very practical advice for living together, including hints on hygiene and food safety. The Ten Commandments cover everything important without listing exceptions.
Get to the New Testament and the wonderful gift of God, the sacrifice of His only beloved Son, wipes out the need for the old rituals, all that is asked of us is that we believe, keep the Commandments, spread the Word of God and be thankful. This we do by prayer and witness. One prayer from the BCP includes the line “We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee”, but how often do we do this? Do not most of our prayers resemble a shopping list of requests? At the prayer group we are trying to do better – we are trying to remember to say thank you and let God know how much we love and appreciate Him. Why not join us and add your voice?
