Tuesday 23 February, 2010

Economy
UK

By Charles Gardner

The dire financial straits we are now facing as a nation after a period of unprecedented prosperity has served as a wake-up call which has caused many to re-evaluate their lives.

And the outlook for pensions in particular has further illustrated the uncertainties of life in our brave new hi-tech world that has promised so much – as I discovered to my cost the other day.

Pensions at a level that seemed guaranteed when we first took them on are now worth much less because of the economic nosedive, and the consequent poor return on investments on which they have been based.

But another major factor is that no-one – not even the brilliant actuaries employed for the purpose – was able to predict the sudden exponential rise in longevity, which has meant a totally unexpected drain on funds. The top minds of the business thought it would happen gradually!

All of which means pensions are going pear-shaped. For me, personally, it means I will have to live on a thousand pounds less a year (on my company pension) in just over four years’ time – and with inflation rising sharply, that is a worrying prospect.

But I must not worry, and I shall explain why later.

The forecast of longevity obviously failed to predict the stunning success of anti-smoking, pro-healthy living and eating campaigns of successive governments, particularly the present one. It’s not that such lifestyles aren’t worth pursuing; it’s the priority given by governments to this life rather than the next that is cause for concern.

Lack of focus on the spiritual needs of society has left us with a situation in which we can no longer meet its physical needs because there is little money left to look after an increasing proportion of elderly people. The nanny-state tactics of New Labour and earlier PC politicians has backfired as public funds dry up.

The recession is, I believe, a judgment of God on our greed and independent thinking – believing we can make our way through life without dependence on the Almighty. We have lost the values of virtue, altruism, loving our neighbours and disciplining our children. Harold Macmillan, Britain’s Prime Minister in the early sixties, spoke about the emerging society of that time as ‘never having had it so good’.

He wasn’t so much referring to a life enriched by virtue as to the accumulation of cars and electrical goods that took the waiting out of wanting along with the strain out of household chores.

But the more we had, the more miserable we became, as it turned out, and the more we needed drugs, drink and illicit sex to feed an insatiable appetite for kicks to fill the empty hole left by turning our backs on what really makes life worthwhile – the pursuit of happiness as spelt out by Jesus in his famous Sermon on the Mount, which is to recognise our poverty of spirit, to seek purity and righteousness, make peace, show mercy and rejoice in the privilege of being persecuted for our faith.

Unless you’re a student of the Bible, you would not have known that the current financial hardships were on their way. The Book of Revelation warns of a great financial crash in the days immediately preceding the return of Christ and there is a strong warning by James, the brother of Jesus, against rich businessmen who deny fair wages to their employees.

For me, the first scripture verse I ever learnt following my conversion in May 1972 came from the Sermon on the Mount and became a foundation stone for my faith. And I have ever since taken to heart the stirring words of Jesus that if I “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these (material) things will be mine as well.”

This has enabled me not to worry about how I will be fed or clothed, and instead live – not necessarily in wealth – but in perfect peace, knowing God would always provide for my needs if I put him first.
I have just read of the £20 million lottery winner in America who was tragically found buried in concrete and who, according to his brother, had apparently confessed that he would rather have been broke than come into such riches.

How different it might have been if he had heeded the words of Jesus: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”

Photo: Luke Wilson Photography/stock.xchng