On Tuesday of this week, H M the Queen
announced in Parliament a proposed law to implement the EU Reform Treaty. The
Treaty will apply to Jersey - but only to a limited extent in connection with
existing arrangements for Jersey.
The Treaty makes the EU head - the
President of the European Council - a permanent post instead of a 6-month
rotation. And it creates a new ‘High Representative of the Union for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy’.
The hierarchy develops and establishes
itself – but what will the hierarchy achieve? The UK Prime Minister, Gordon
Brown, in a statement to Parliament a week or two ago, expressed his priorities
for the EU as "a focus on jobs, competitiveness,
prosperity, climate change and security …”
That focus is similar to the
States of Jersey in its Business Plans. Most Jersey families would adopt it: we
need jobs, prosperity, security, competitiveness (ensuring that others don't
win against us), and so on.
They were also the priorities of Cain at
the beginnings of human time. In fact, right at the beginning (see above -
as expressed in the first book of the Bible, Genesis (Greek word = origin)),
immediately upon the disobedience of Adam and Eve towards Almighty God, Adam
tried to be the winner over his wife before God by blaming her. Then, after two
sons were born to them, Cain got rid of Able, keen to be the one to succeed, to
be boss, to win in the competitiveness stakes..
So, now, with the EU. The main problems
in Europe over recent centuries have been ruler supremacy combined with
national supremacy – the need to be top, to succeed (in various ways). That
competitiveness led to WW1 and 2. The Cain/Able syndrome was still alive. The
first EU Treaty was dated 1957 - to avoid further wars. Now the EU needs to
become even more united - in Foreign Affairs particularly - so as to compete
globally with other large nations and groupings of nations. Like the US, China,
India, Russia and OPEC.
The competitiveness that led to overt
killing is replaced by a bigger competitive grouping that, whilst apparently
allowing internal killing to cease, creates a bigger, stronger grouping to
fight competitiveness battles.
But has the killing ceased? Ask folk in the
Third World, suffering and dying from EU strategies – strategies to benefit EU
citizens. Ask also the poor of the EU.
Thankfully, there is an
alternative - a simultaneous kingdom to the present nations and the EU – but a
complete inversion. It's the kingdom of heaven of which the God/man Jesus
Christ taught and in which he lived, died and rose again AD 0 - AD 33.
This man, who leads that kingdom, said to
his key followers, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it
over them, and their great ones [the great ones among the rulers]
exercise authority over them [the rulers]. It shall not be so among
you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever
would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man [Jesus
Christ] came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom
for many."
What a
contrast to serve a leader who gives his very life for others, and inspires and
instructs his followers to compete - in serving others; in giving; in using
talents for others.
Citizens are
entering that parallel kingdom daily – seeing its fantastic attributes. Have
you spotted these folk in Jersey? They will never have to leave that kingdom
(unlike the EU which death will require them to leave, just as Able found).
It’s the only sustainable kingdom – the kingdom of givers not getters.
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