Let us do good!

Despite my country's vast savings, tucked relatively safely away in an ever swelling oil revenue fund, life promises – on the surface of things – to become markedly bleaker once it's time for me and my wife to retire. The reason for this is partly that the sources of our material prosperity will have dried up completely by then.

With no oil to fund our current spending sprees, and with no financial reserves to back up our costly national welfare system, old age seems likely for the coming generations of pensioners to entail a return to the days of frugality and economic temperance that my grandparents were so familiar with. Honestly, on a personal level I don't rue that scenario at all. It's not that I'm desperate for a downturn in income that necessitates chronic moderation in personal outlays. And I certainly don't regard poverty, or the forced display of it, to be a virtue at all, either. So, what exactly is my point?

CANNOT COPE WITH TOO MUCH

On the one hand, I dearly want to enjoy some small luxuries in the future, such as travels abroad. But on the other hand, I cannot imagine our environment, or our moral and spiritual health, being able to stand up to the pressure brought on by unmitigated household consumption. And that's why I welcome a time where we will have to reconsider our options before deciding to make yet another purchase based not on a real need, but on the whim of the moment.

But what will I do when I turn 67 in the year 2032, when the majority our population will have aged considerably, to the point where both national and local authorities will have had to enforce major cuts in the level of services offered to both employees and retirees? Well, panic is not an option, not to believers who can rely on their basic needs being met always, provided we act on whatever grain of faith we may have. The key to a possible answer lies in the realization that we need to take action, if not now, then at least without much dilly-dallying or procrastination.

HOW TO DO IT...BETTER

First, we had better prepare, mentally and otherwise, for a situation where our personal expenses will have to be trimmed severely. No more vulgar excesses, no more second homes in the mountains or by the sea. Second, instead of relying on the current level of almost all-inclusive public interference and provision, nationally and locally, as far as our personal welfare is concerned – we should allow for a certain reduction, if not in the quality, then at least in the range of services offered and funded by the state. And, then, third:

To make up for the divergence between our real or perceived needs and the scope of services the state can uphold financially - in order to meet those needs, Norway has to wake up to the great boon of the charitable deed. If my old and ailing neighbour isn't able to pay for a hot meal to be brought to her door every day, why shouldn't I be bothered to 'chip in' an hour or so to provide for my neighbour's need?

WE NEED TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES

If the kids next door cannot afford to leave town to enjoy a spell of fresh air and invigorating outdoor activities, then why shouldn't local churches spring to action and organize summer camps open for all and at very low, affordable prices? (a lot of parents will probably respond much more favourably to having to pay a small sum rather than endure the humiliating 'ordeal' of receiving something as a gift, simply because they cannot pay for it). And if couples having a hard time to manage their families need some serious counsel on how to succeed, why shouldn't qualified and compteent believers volunteer to offer help, either free of charge or at a small fee, in the form of weekend 'retreats'?

We certainly cannot be 'all things to all men' in a modern, highly complex society, but if we really think God loves all men regardless of their response to that love, we should 'make some news of our beautiful feet', and visibly demonstrate that love both now, and, much more so, in the future, when public authorities will discover that they can no longer provide for you and me from cradle to grave. Believers, as well as non-believers, will have to shoulder some of the responsibilities that we, up till now, haven't even had to consider becoming involved with.

It's time to do good, isn't it?

(Note: all the various types of volunteer work that I've mentioned here, are currently being done on a small scale in Norway, both in cities and in smaller communities. But as our revenues from oil and gas exploitation continue to dwindle, and the number of retirees needing a helping hand or two soares, the time will soon come when churches will have to respond tangibly to these various needs or just complacently and indifferently witness an alarming rise in personal tragedies, as more people feel they have become too much of a burden to their networks of friends and relations).