BBC Radio 4 Broadcast Friday 19th November

BBC Radio 4 Friday 19th November 2010Right across the whole of whole of the United Kingdom today tens of thousands of people will be taking part in the BBC Children in Need appeal. This annual event aims to raise millions of pounds that will be used to help make a positive change to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in this country. I read recently that one in three, in other words almost four million children are currently living in poverty right here in one of the richest countries in the world. If this figure is accurate then I find it truly shocking for it calls into question the value that we give as a society to the most precious gift that God has given us – human life itself. To undervalue the life of any human being is in my belief to fail to appreciate fully the true value of the gift of our own life.During the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland I remember a bishop from a very poor area in Brazil telling me that he was warned before visiting a rundown area of Belfast that he would be exposed to sights of real poverty. He was confused therefore when he was invited into some of the homes to see colour TV sets and relatively comfortable chairs. Many of the people he worked alongside back in Brazil lived in makeshift shelters and depended upon what they could salvage from the rubbish heap and sell in order to eat.It’s a story which for me at least underlines the fact that poverty is a relative term. It is easily recognised in its extreme forms when people are without shelter, clothes and food but can be less easily recognised in some of our own towns and cities where it’s often hidden away unless we’re prepared to seek it out. Poverty in whatever form it takes can have a profound and lasting impact on the child, their family, and the rest of society. Endless studies have shown that it often sets in motion a deepening spiral of social exclusion, creating problems in education, employment, mental and physical health and social interaction.Whilst the efforts of all those who work tirelessly and unselfishly to help children escape from the poverty trap are to be truly commended we also need to ask what structural changes are needed within our society to ensure that each and every human life is valued and cherished so that he or she can develop fully their God given human potential.The test the Prophets used to judge moral health of their own societies was to look at the way in which people treated the orphan, the widow and the stranger, the most needy and vulnerable in their midst. “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” (Book of Isaiah)