Sarah Edwards Exec Director JustMoney Movement
A word I’ve been hearing more of recently is ‘resistance’. Resistance to an economic system that is failing to enable the basic necessities of life, such as affordable housing, decent work, education and healthcare, while the climate is burning. But also resistance to a turn towards extreme political ideologies, or the comforting myths of populism: a refusal to angrily blame someone else for the troubles we face. If we want to see change, if we want to hold on to hope for a fairer, greener future, resistance is essential. Resistance can sound radical, violent even, but it can be made up of small choices and actions we can each take. We can resist an economy that only values profit and instead take action with our own money or support policies that care for the vulnerable and for nature. We can resist treating one another solely as commodities, or competitors for jobs and houses, and instead seek abundant life-giving provision for all, building relationships with one another that strengthen our communities and places. For those of us who have just celebrated the birth of Jesus in Palestine 20 centuries ago, there is much we can learn about resistance from our faith tradition. On receiving the news that she was to give birth to the Messiah, Mary sings,
“God… has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.” Luke 1:47-53
Jesus then begins his ministry speaking about bringing good news to the poor, and calls forth a kingdom that has been called ‘upside down’ in its values and priorities: blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, those who hunger for righteousness, in this new order that is breaking in. As we move from the holiday season into a new year, let’s work together to seek ways to resist the prevailing systems and put alternative values into practice. That might mean switching to a bank or pension provider that invests its money ethically, or buying from companies that pay their workers decent wages and don’t harm the environment, or using our voices to speak up for a fairer tax system and a greener finance sector. It means doing these things alongside others: resistance is more powerful when we do it together.
Sarah Edwards is Executive Director of the JustMoneyMovement, www.justmoney.org.uk, a campaigning and education charity which works with Christians and churches to seek a greener, fairer future through a more just use of money. JustMoney Movement equips individuals and congregations to use their own money in ways that care for people and planet, and use their voices to call for transformation in our financial and economic systems to make them more just and sustainable.