Gandhi said...

I have often been impressed by Gandhi's words. Like many great men he had his flaws but he had a great deal of wisdom. He actually lived out principles of Jesus we western Christians don't have the faith (read "balls") to try. I got these "Seven dangers to human virtue" off a Facebook post. Somebody pointed out that they were not original to Gandhi. I pass them on. They are worth pondering...

Gandhi's 7 dangers to human virtue

1. Wealth without work.
2. Pleasure without conscience.
3. Knowledge without character.
4. Business without ethics.
5. Science without humanity.
6. Religion without sacrifice.
7. Politics without principle.

Somebody commented that his grandson added an eighth one....

8. Rights without responsibilities.

I quite like them anyway. I was going to go on a Church walking group this morning but during the night I lay awake and thought about a whole lot of things that I had not got done. I went to work and decided that I needed to try to catch up rather than spend a couple of hours walking. I have not yet caught up but I have made a dent in the work. In so doing I have generated some more work. I went upstairs during our lunch time Space2B. A couple of our Wednesday regulars were away but there were quite a few people in. One simple guy who always has a carer with him asked if he and his mates could go upstairs to the drop-in. They did and really enjoyed their space up there. He took responsibility for it and was so conscientious about it all. He had asked about it so he decided it was his responsibility to make sure everything was OK. I loved that. I looked at this bunch of people relaxing and relating in "God's house" and I think it is pretty cool. A part of my dream come true. I have been asked if I would take on a Social Work Student for a fieldwork placement. Apparently the student in question has done some Biblical studies. I meet with her next week. It will be interesting how she views what we do. What is my work? Chatting with people or administrative stuff? How do I balance things like preparation for services, administration, planning and spending time with people? It is funny that toward the end of my career as a minister I have not yet got such balance sorted.

Me taking a scary leap of faith at a minister's refresher during my first NZ ministry. I thought I was God's gift to the Church back then. Life is simple when you don't know what you don't know. Late 1970s I guess.