The City...and our Stewardship
The protest outside St Paul’s Cathedral has got everyone talking. Was the Cathedral Chapter right to bolt their doors? Were the protesters right to park themselves in an area that is used by thousands of tourists and worshippers every day? And what really did go on within the Cathedral Chapter? Questions have abounded and the responses have revealed how complex this whole situation is, and how unlikely we are to achieve any speedy clarity. It certainly isn’t a simple battle between right and wrong, the greedy and the needy.
Amidst the confusion I have a growing conviction that this protest will prove to have been a very good thing for the church in this country. If the anti-capitalist protesters had succeeded in setting up camp outside the Stock Exchange, the focus would have been seen purely and simply as an attack on the financial institutions and the political system. The church’s voice would not have been heard. But setting up camp outside St Paul’s has drawn the church, however uncomfortably, into the heart of the debate. And no one can doubt that the debate is an important one.
If we believe that we are all stewards of God’s creation, then the way in which the City of London does its work is of profound interest and importance to each one of us. The main problem for most of us is that the work of the financial institutions is so far removed from our everyday lives that it is very difficult for us even to begin to comprehend the work that they do, let alone the way in which they do it. We therefore live our lives trusting these colossal institutions to do their work in a responsible and appropriate way. But it needs to be understood that trust is a delicate matter and is soon undermined by the culture of lavish bonuses and the many unhappy banking disasters.
I hope that this high profile protest outside St Paul’s will encourage us all to reflect afresh on our stewardship. Before we make observations about the potential sins of others we need to look at ourselves with a new honesty. We need to reflect on the ways in which we care for the resources that God has placed in our hands as individuals, churches, associations, colleges, and at Baptist House. For a short while the Lord has asked us to care for these resources, and one day, like any steward, we will have to give an account to the Master for the way in which we have utilized all that he has put into our hands.
But we must not leave the matter there. We also have a responsibility to engage with our society and to encourage our politicians to ensure that, as a nation, we live as responsible stewards. Through the Joint Public Issues Team we are continually tussling with the major issues which affect our society and on October 31st we joined together to write to the Chancellor about the urgent need to close the gap between the rich and poor. As Christians there are many things that we need to say to our society and which we need to say with clarity and with grace.
The protest outside St Paul’s may not last long, but the debates which it has triggered need to become a more prominent part of our life together.
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