Thought for the week

THERE are so many things about Britain to feel pride in. For me, the 2012 Olympics has to be up there near the top of the list. I was working in a primary school when the announcement came that London had beaten Paris to host the Games.

It happened during our lunchbreak and, within moments, the cheer from the staffroom was reverberating round the whole school. Rather to everyone’s surprise, the Games were a triumph. Particularly in the way that thousands of volunteers greeted visitors from all around the world and made them feel welcome here. Great Britain, indeed.

Sadly though, there are times when shame seems a more appropriate feeling. As I write, the RNLI is embroiled in a heated row. A Sunday newspaper story pointed out the charity spends around 2% of its income supporting initiatives abroad. This stirred many people into outrage. They objected that funds raised in Britain should be spent on foreign projects. They vowed to end their donations to the charity. And this because the RNLI supports “drowning prevention” schemes aimed at saving lives – but not British lives. The Bible has much to say about how we should behave towards strangers and foreigners. It suggests we consider how we would like to be treated if we were friendless and far from home. It reminds us that, though we are separated into different nationalities, each of us is part of the same human family. We have all been helped by strangers at different times in our lives. So let’s do what we can, whenever we can, to return the favour. In the meantime, consider donating to the RNLI.