How much are you worth?

The current debates about welfare got me thinking this week about how much we are all worth. Some of us it seems are much more valuable than others; some of us deserve vast sums of money, status and power, whilst others deserve nothing.

At the heart of the Christian faith however is the Good News that God values each and every person exactly the same: we are all equally loved and valued by God. This radical aspect of the Christian faith can challenge us in all sorts of ways: God loves the multi-millionaire; God loves the person out of work struggling to keep their home; God loves the criminal in prison who murdered someone; God loves your average man or woman; God loves you and God loves me.

God values each and every person and wants them to flourish; and human flourishing involves repentance and conversion. Each and everyone of us, whoever we are, needs to repent of ways and habits of life that devalue and diminish others. If one person has too much than another person doesn't have enough; if one person commits adultery then another is hurt; if one person thinks only about his welfare and the welfare of his family then the orphan is neglected. We are all inter-connected - the things that we do and say - the life choices and decisions we make effect people we never see or meet. And the crisis about benefits brings into light this reality, that the choices we make as a society and as individuals have a huge impact on our common life and on human flourishing. We all need to learn a discipline in our consumption and a fairness in our approach. We cannot give up on anyone in society, we cannot abandon the criminal, the orphan, the one living with mental ill health, the one who is unemployed, the one who is addicted to drugs, the one who is exploitative and cruel, the one who is powerful. God loves us all - we need to start loving one another.

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