I have been finding it a bit difficult at work of late so I purchased a book recommended by Ian Revill, a colleague titled “The 7 habits of highly effective people” to see if I could pick up a few hints on how to work more effectively.

Earlier this week I started to read the second chapter, headed “Begin with the end in mind” yet somewhat surprisingly the author started by forcing me to consider how I would like to be remembered at the end of my life. To be honest it is not easy. Have you ever considered what your legacy will be? As I get older, from time to time I stand back and reflect on what I am achieving. After I have gone what will be left behind?

The business world is moving so quickly that any good I do today at work can be quickly undone by the actions of competitors and my successors. Perhaps my legacy will be my children, the next generation may be more successful in their chosen sphere than the current one, but then hopefully they will be more than simply a product of their father’s expectations.

Or it may be something I do in the context of this church, or in the village. Unfortunately experience suggests that the dwell time on what you hear is comparatively short, and I am sure than many people forget the key points of this talk before the day is out.

I was thinking about this again as I reflected on the US presidential election, which has become one of the focal issues in the news over the past fortnight. Having studied America politics at school, and later at University, I have found the shenanigans in Florida fascinating. Yet there is an element to which the current impasse is almost inevitable given the extent to which the Presidency has fallen into disrepute. 

After 8 years as President of the United States, ostensibly the most powerful man in the free world, what is Bill Clinton’s legacy? Historians will pour over the details of the Clinton Presidency for years to come, picking out the highlights, and the low-lights. His actions will be analysed to an incredible level of detail, and judgements made as to whether he was a good or bad president.

Is it a period of uninterrupted economic growth, which has included the emergence of dot.coms?

Or more recent attempts to break up Microsoft, and reduce its stranglehold on PC software?

Perhaps people will remember his efforts to bring peace to Bosnia, Kosovo, Israel or even Northern Ireland?

Despite these successes I guess that most people will remember Bill Clinton for the period of the Starr inquiry, as he became increasingly beleaguered as he tried to cover up his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

Last weekend we recalled the sacrifice of many young men and women, particularly in 2 world wars which cut through the 20^th century. Even if we didn’t have a service of remembrance, then we would only need to visit Northern France to see the row upon row of white crosses, all in a line, marking the dead’s final resting-place on earth. By the end of the Great War over 10 million people had died, and a further 20 million were physically or mentally scarred.

Closer to home, St Boniface Church is a legacy to those who had the vision to build it as a place where people could meet and worship God together. Of course the building is not exactly the same as when it was first built. Alterations have occurred, as John Elsworth can testify, as each subsequent generation has used, and adapted it to suit the needs of their time.

Each of us creates a legacy; it is impossible to simply pass through this life without making an impact on those around us in one way or another, whether good or bad. It is a sobering thought in light of the warning contained in our reading from Daniel.

“There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time .. everyone whose name is found written in the book (of life) – will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Daniel warns us that everything that happens, all those aspects of our life which we would prefer to keep secret, will be revealed. The line that you can often find in novels “he took his secret to the grave” will no longer apply.  I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel uneasy There are still aspects of my life which I would prefer no one to know about.  

In our reading from James, the writer castigated the legacy of the rich. Firstly he demanded their attention

“Now listen, you rich people”  - and having achieved this he continues

“Weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you…. Those who have not received their proper wage, while you have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence, will testify against you”.

I have been finding James pretty hard hitting as we have studied the book together over the past couple of months. It is full of down to earth truths, and exhortations to take action … a precursor to Nike’s “Just Do it”.

However when I first read this I breathed a sigh of relief, as if I had been let off the hoof, after all I do not regard myself as rich. When I look around me, I see plenty of people who I believe are wealthier than I am judging by the houses they live in, the car they drive, and their ability to pay for private education.

In contrast my salary seems to last about 2 days less than it needs to, attempts to curb expenditure are frustrated by yet another emergency purchase, and I long for the day when I don’t have to repay a mortgage.

Yet as I thought about it further, I realised that richness is a relative concept. I do not lack anything materially which I need (shelter, food, warmth), and in some areas I have more than enough. When I look around this village, there are some people who I know are less well off than I.

Compare yourself against these benchmarks:

Average earnings in the UK are under £22k, and the average house price is £80k.And we live in a relatively affluent county, in a country which remains one of the richest in the world.

Consider the pay of manufacturing workers in the Newly Industrialising economies of Asia is only 1/3^rd of European levels.

I am certain many people in the world would regard me as very rich indeed. Very little of what I have has come about because of anything that I did. I could just as easily have been born on the wrong side of the tracks. Instead I am fortunate that my parents encouraged me, they made sacrifices and were prepared to invest in my education.

Many of you will be aware of the Jubilee 2000 Coalition which is lobbying governments in the industrialised world to cancel the unpayable debt of the world’s poorest countries. Consider Tanzania where the total external debt is £4.5 billion, and merely servicing the debt represents 33% of export income.

Every person in the 3^rd world owes about £250 to the West, much more than a year’s wages.

Africa spends four times as much on debt repayment as it does on healthcare.

We live in a world which despite its great wealth and technological advances is become more inequitable. In 1960 the richest 20% of the world’s population had 30 times more income than the poorest 20%. Today it is over 60 times greater.

Compare God’s view

Job 34 vs. 19  “God does not favour the rich over the poor”. And the writer of the book of Proverbs reminds us that “the Lord is the Maker of them all”  Proverbs 22 vs. 2.

1 Timothy 6 vs. 17-18 “Command those who are rich in this current world .. to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share"”

Do you remember the parable of the Rich Fool? You can find it in Luke 12 vs. 16-21.

“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop” i.e. He was fortunate to be farming fertile land. He thought to himself. What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops” then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and goods. And I’ll say to myself,”You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink and be merry” But God said to him. “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself “

The rich farmer’s crime, like Dives, was to fail to acknowledge that everything he had came from God, and to fail to respond to those people around him, like Lazarus, who were in far greater need.

James was reminds us that at the point of judgement we will be called to account for the use of our resources. There is no doubt in his mind that we will be judged. In a reference to the Beatitudes he castigates the rich because their fine cloth has rotted, their gold has rusted.

Now James is not criticising their wealth per se. No his criticism is that they have hoarded what God has given them rather than used it to support the wider community. They have ignored that their wealth could be used more productively. If any person has so much of the basic goods that these are rotting away then that person cannot need what they cannot enjoy.

Canceling the debt of the more impoverished nations is not without a cost. My pension plan may not perform as well in the next few years as money has left the system, conceivably a tax cut which was planned may have to be postponed. Yet that could mean the difference between life and death in countries like Bangladesh where the interest repayment is equivalent to the country’s healthcare budget, in a country where 70% of children are born malnourished. 

Which brings us back to our legacy at St. Boniface. As we reach the end of the year, the thoughts of the PCC are turning to our priorities for 2001 and beyond. You will find these summarised in the last edition of the Link.

As Treasurer I am assisting this process by trying to pull together a budget.   Finance is an enabler; it provides the resources that underpin the ministry of the St. Boniface in Worship, Mission and Youth, while ensuring that the fabric of the building is appropriately maintained.

In preparing the budget I am conscious that the gospel of Jesus Christ is radical, it challenges the accepted wisdom of the day. Although it is sensible to be prudent, we are not called to simply husband our financial resources so that there is a dowry for future generations. This policy may lead to a financially sound Church, but also one that is spiritually bankrupt.

At the last PCC meeting we agreed that our budget should allow for an increase in Mission (10% of our giving) in response to those who are less well off than we are, both at home and abroad. We also agreed to recruit a youth worker, to act as the focal point of our ministry to young people in the 13-18 age bracket.

Both commitments require money, and there may be other causes to support during the year. My Vision is that everyone who worships at St.Boniface will recognise God’s goodness to us, and that this is reflected in our giving.

We must listen to and be led by God, be sensitive to the needs of those around us, and respond in love. It is only then that we will become open to receive Gods blessings. It is only then that we will be truly walking in the light.