As I write this, most of the country is bored to tears with the election campaign. The speeches of the politicians are so predictable. If you are a Conservative politician you are compelled to say that everything about Labour is rubbish and vice-versa. Even if you think that the opposing party may do some good you cannot say so. This leads to the great air of insincerity that comes over to us from the politicians. Some are worse than others. Having said that I do agree with Dennis Healy when he said recently that most politicians of all parties first went into politics because they want to do some good. 

A mistake we so often make is to assume that governments have the power to solve all our problems and if only they were wise and good we would have a perfect health service, perfect education, no unemployment, no social deprivation, and little crime. The belief that governments can and should be the great providers is in fact a dangerous illusion. It is dangerous because it can tempt governments into thinking that they must gain absolute power so as to be able to be the great providers. That kind of idea is what lies behind such ideologies as fascism and communism, both of which actually thought they could solve the world's problems and make everyone happy.

Another danger of expecting the government to be the great provider is that we don't take responsibility for our own actions. If we do not bring up our children to know the difference between right and wrong; if our lives are greedy and not generous; if we fill our bookshops and video stores with obscene and cruel material; if we do not set an example of absolute honesty, then no government is going to be able to stop the break up of families and the consequent drug abuse, homelessness, child abuse and other appalling evils that increasingly afflict so much of our society. It is the rich middle class establishment who bombard us with so much of these corrosive influences, but it is the poorer areas of society which pay most of the price in multiple deprivation. 

The moral values which are essential for the continuation of a caring civilised society don't just arise in a vacuum they depend on deep spiritual principles, revealed in the Bible namely:

1. There is a God who, full of love, has made Himself known in the sufferings of Christ - a suffering death and resurrection that takes away the sins of the world so that we might be forgiven forever.. 
2. He calls to us expecting an answer. 
3. He has given us the principles of love, mercy, and justice which are expounded in the Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. 
4. One day all peoples and nations shall give account of their lives before Him. There will be a Day of Judgement. 

It is these deep spiritual principles upon which true love, mercy, moral values and decent civilisation are built. If the Church does not expound them clearly, then it, more than governments, is responsible for the decay of society. 'If the salt has lost its savour.....'.  

So who will stand up for what is right? I am reminded of the marvellous words from Isaiah 59 and 60 which I quote in the portions below:

The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, He was appalled that there was no-one to intercede; so His own arm worked salvation for Him and His own righteousness sustained Him... According to what they have done so will He repay, wrath to His enemies and retribution to His foes...

My Spirit who is upon you and my words that I have put in your mouth  will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children,....from this time on and forever.

 Arise shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you....Nations will come to your light and Kings to the brightness of your dawn.. Then you will look and be radiant and your heart will swell with joy.