In the midst of all the electioneering going on, I thought it was interesting that, as highlighted by yesterday's report from the Fiscal Studies Institute, that no party is being specific enough about where they will make cuts and change taxes and the implications of that for individuals. it is like being a child again with the ominous words "Wait  til your father gets home" You know that punishment is coming but it is left to the imagination how severe and in what form.

 

For all the glossy manifestos and clever speeches, we are not really being told anything and it makes it difficult to choose who to vote for. I considered this as I looked again at Jesus's teachings in his Sermon on the Mount, in some ways I suppose a manifesto for following him. Unlike our politicians however it is completely clear, how to treat others, how to pray, how to treat possessions, how to cope with worry , how to uplift one another....simple advice for daily living. And Jesus was not afraid to spell out the cost, that by following him we can expect persecution and rejection in this world. Radical teaching yes but honest, not designed to raise opinion polls but simply there to help people.

 

Maybe our leaders could take note.

 

"And don't say anything you don't mean.This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions.You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk......Just say yes and no.When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong." Matthew 5 The Message