The government keep referring to their ‘Levelling up Agenda’. I didn’t know much about it. I looked it up…
Part of the Conservative 2019 election manifesto… last week a ‘White Paper’ was published. It includes regional investment – levelling up the rest of the country with London and the South-East… improvements in primary education, high-quality skills training, transport, broadband access, law and order, home ownership…
This morning I was reading Leviticus:
‘No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed, or has a broken foot or arm, or is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or has a defective eye or skin sores or scabs, or damaged testicles. No descendent of Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar…’ A levelling up agenda?!
Musing…
- I’ve been going to church all my life. I’ve never heard those verses preached on! It’s easy to focus on the comfortable, convenient and easy, avoiding the difficult, untidy, controversial…
- Jesus came to bring inclusion and levelling up, fulfilling, explaining the law. Part of Jesus’ manifesto was that all are accepted. The lists of those excluded in Leviticus were welcomed without exception.
- There is a bigger challenging agenda… These chapters of Levitical law also excluded divorcees, prostitutes, homosexuals, adulterers, those who consult with dead spirits… promoting capital punishment…
- This is levelling up not levelling down, raising the lesser up to the highest common denominator. This isn’t a democratic compromise that accepts less than the best; it’s looking at improvement towards the highest possible standard.
- There’s levelling up of moral standards. The government’s talking about policy, practice and action; Jesus was just as strong on high moral standards… talking also about the indwelling power to make it possible.
My ‘levelling up’ prayer/musing for today…
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up, to more than I can be
malcolmsmusings.org 
I think I’ve cracked it.
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It’s always good to have you on board Chris!
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