Hi Pogue,

So I’ve been reminded of an old song over the last few days as I’ve wandered around Kathmandu city, especially near the sites with religious significance. It’s something I’ve been loosely aware of at various place when I’m at home but here it’s made me think.

It’s the abject poverty that is apparent and manifests as begging. I guess at home people live on the streets and passively request money from where they sit. Here they get in your face and you can’t pass them by without a deliberate action of will. And there are cripples which makes passing by even more difficult for a sensitive Western like myself!

I got to thinking how mismanaged and corrupted the systems of our world are. It’s an overwhelming thought because changing things seems an insurmountable challenge. It’s not that we don’t have the guides to address the problem. Goodness, a quick read of the Sermon On The Mount and a little application would go a long way. You and I both know that there’s more than enough in our world to go around. It just means the well off, and in world terms that includes you and me, giving up a little and taking less. And there’s the rub. It’s a special person who is prepared to do that.

So here’s the song that has been rattling around inside my head. It’s a Martyn Joseph song, Contradictions, and it sort of sums up how I’m thinking.

Is it any wonder that so many people in this world base their hope on the belief that God is coming to set them free? Is it a wonder that religion still prospers in many parts of the world? And what about those places where it doesn’t. I know I reject religion in favour of spirituality but how religion fares is a good reflection on the state of that nation I’m thinking.

Have a think yourself.

Wic