G20: A Christian case for action

Campaigners and speakers from the ecumencial service before the Put People First march and rally (including Father Joe Komakoma centre right) [Adrian White]

As the G20 meets, CAFOD, Progressio and Tearfund together affirm how Christian values can inform and inspire our campaigning for justice

The commandment to love God and to love our neighbours as ourselves is at the core of our faith and applies to all.

But the Bible contains particular duties on the rich and powerful towards the poor and warns that a failure to respond to the needs of the poor breaks our relationship with God.

The vast sums released in banking bailouts during the financial crisis, while money for development aid and for action on climate change has been scandalously low, demonstrate that as a global community we have failed in this duty to put the poor first.

A broken relationship

Weak regulation has ‘permitted’ financial institutions to exploit the poor. Developed countries have maintained high levels of import tariffs to protect their own economies, at the same time as the IMF and World Bank press conditions that require opening up of markets in low income countries.

We are asking the G20 to take action to treat people and the natural environment fairly and overcome the abuse of people who bear the image of God.

These leaders have the power to guide the direction of steps taken to address the world’s economic crisis. They must therefore assess the impact of their decisions on the poorest, and place their needs first, without forgetting our responsibility for the natural environment.

It would be too easy to put all the blame on the politicians for this structural breakdown in relationship. In richer countries like our own, the electorate as a whole has benefited from the consumer-driven economic boom. A boom which has deepened the exploitation of poor and marginalised people and has driven environmental damage.

This structural breakdown includes the church. We should be penitent as individuals and communities – and as a church – where we have failed to make the case for justice to those in power. And for the times when we have accepted without question benefits to ourselves that come in part from injustice or environmental damage. For us too, money is too often the master, not a servant.

A new vision

It is not enough to restore a status quo which was already driving a deep cycle of poverty and accelerating environmental damage to the point of global disaster.

As Christians, we should be seeking a world where a Godly dignity is accorded to all, rich and poor, and where we care for the environment as God’s creation. A new way of functioning as a global society is urgently required. And to achieve this we need to stop measuring success and happiness in monetary terms. Christian teaching is clear both that poverty and injustice are unacceptable.

But are equally clear that personal fulfillment is in not found in excess wealth. It is in a restored relationship with God, between rich and poor, and between people and creation that we find wholeness. At present ‘success’ is measured purely in terms of monetary growth – while this continues, the ‘engine will continue to drive the car’.

The assumption that growth will ‘trickle down’ to the poorest, without structures that balance market forces with protecting and providing opportunities to the poorest, has been shown only to benefit a rich elite.

A call to action

In pressing for action by the G20 on reform of the global financial system and the governance of international financial institutions, and to commit to strong action on climate change, we want them to prioritise the needs of the poorest and oppressed.

In asking for commitments on aid and climate finance, we are demanding a release from the slavery of poverty, in the same way that the Old Testament laws required that those with the power to do so release the poor and vulnerable from destitution.

In asking for commitments on the environment, we are highlighting the responsibility for stewardship, and our concern for the righting of relationship with God’s creation.

These actions may require us to make sacrifices. Where our consumption has become excessive and harmful, to people or the environment, we must also be prepared to stop our damaging behaviour, in line with the Biblical duty placed upon those with power and resources to look first to the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable.

Christians are called to be prophetic. To speak truth to power, and to live prophetically, embodying a lifestyle which does not exploit people or the environment. We must each be prepared to embrace the challenge and the joy of living more simply.

It may be difficult, but the prophets of the Old Testament, and Jesus himself, did not just speak out in times of ease, but in times of crisis and conflict.

The proclamation of a new vision is not a luxury to be postponed until the crisis is over, or the economy is back on track – it is central to charting the path forward.

take action for climate change

The job is not done. Act now for climate justice Please email Prime Minister Gordon Brown today to call for tougher EU emissions cuts. World leaders must act boldly. They’ll only act if they feel the pressure

join our networks