The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel Youth

['History is in many ways a story of influence. Leadership is about influence. Everyone influences someone. Therefore, in a sense, everyone is a leader. Sociologists tell us that even the most introverted individual will influence 10,000 other people during his or her lifetime. We all influence one another in all sorts of ways – from what to have for lunch and what films to watch, to more important matters of truth and ethics.\nMy life has been influenced by so many people – my parents, teachers, friends and family. Just as I have been influenced by others, inevitably what I do and say will influence others for good or ill.\nAs the African proverb puts it, ‘If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.’ The mosquito makes a difference in an annoying way, but the principle is the same. One person can stop a great injustice. One person can be a voice for truth. One person’s kindness can save a life. Each person matters.\nHow can you maximise your influence and use that influence for good?', None]

History is in many ways a story of influence. Leadership is about influence. Everyone influences someone. Therefore, in a sense, everyone is a leader. Sociologists tell us that even the most introverted individual will influence 10,000 other people during his or her lifetime. We all influence one another in all sorts of ways – from what to have for lunch and what films to watch, to more important matters of truth and ethics.

My life has been influenced by so many people – my parents, teachers, friends and family. Just as I have been influenced by others, inevitably what I do and say will influence others for good or ill.

As the African proverb puts it, ‘If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.’ The mosquito makes a difference in an annoying way, but the principle is the same. One person can stop a great injustice. One person can be a voice for truth. One person’s kindness can save a life. Each person matters.

How can you maximise your influence and use that influence for good?

['We lived in Oxford for three years. I was training for ordination in the Church of England and studying for a degree in Theology at Oxford University. One of the things we noticed while we were there was that, compared to London, Oxford seemed to be relatively non-materialistic. People, on the whole, were not impressed by wealth. Success was measured differently.\nThe people in Oxford tended to be more impressed by brains than by money or beauty. Success was measured in starred firsts, distinctions, PhDs, professorships and published works. It made me wonder whether intelligence and ‘knowledge’ could be as much a false god as money and wealth.\nKnowledge is, on the whole, good. The facts are your friends. Education is good – reading, learning and discovering are all good activities. However, as Lord Byron wrote, ‘The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life.’ We need to see ‘knowledge’ in perspective. Our knowledge is very limited. The more we know, the more we realise how little we know. God is our creator and he alone knows everything.\nThere are also different types of knowledge, and they are not all equally valuable. In French, there are two different words for ‘to know’. One (savoir) means to know a fact, the other (connaître) means to know a person. God is more interested in us knowing people than facts. The most important knowledge of all is knowing God and being known by him. Even this is not the end though. It is never enough simply to have knowledge – you must also have love.', None]

We lived in Oxford for three years. I was training for ordination in the Church of England and studying for a degree in Theology at Oxford University. One of the things we noticed while we were there was that, compared to London, Oxford seemed to be relatively non-materialistic. People, on the whole, were not impressed by wealth. Success was measured differently.

The people in Oxford tended to be more impressed by brains than by money or beauty. Success was measured in starred firsts, distinctions, PhDs, professorships and published works. It made me wonder whether intelligence and ‘knowledge’ could be as much a false god as money and wealth.

Knowledge is, on the whole, good. The facts are your friends. Education is good – reading, learning and discovering are all good activities. However, as Lord Byron wrote, ‘The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life.’ We need to see ‘knowledge’ in perspective. Our knowledge is very limited. The more we know, the more we realise how little we know. God is our creator and he alone knows everything.

There are also different types of knowledge, and they are not all equally valuable. In French, there are two different words for ‘to know’. One (savoir) means to know a fact, the other (connaître) means to know a person. God is more interested in us knowing people than facts. The most important knowledge of all is knowing God and being known by him. Even this is not the end though. It is never enough simply to have knowledge – you must also have love.

['Some people see life today as the Three Witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth put it, ‘Double, double toil and trouble.’ My own perspective on life changed when a friend wisely pointed out to me that, in a sense, this life is a series of problem-solving exercises. We will never be without problems in this life. If, in the midst of all the challenges, you cannot learn to thrive in the situation in which you find yourself, you will never find contentment.\nThe writer of Ecclesiastes says, ‘We should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now’ (Ecclesiastes 5:19, MSG). Learn to enjoy this wonderful gift of life in the present. If you do not, life will pass you by and you will never enjoy where you are right now.', None]

Some people see life today as the Three Witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth put it, ‘Double, double toil and trouble.’ My own perspective on life changed when a friend wisely pointed out to me that, in a sense, this life is a series of problem-solving exercises. We will never be without problems in this life. If, in the midst of all the challenges, you cannot learn to thrive in the situation in which you find yourself, you will never find contentment.

The writer of Ecclesiastes says, ‘We should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now’ (Ecclesiastes 5:19, MSG). Learn to enjoy this wonderful gift of life in the present. If you do not, life will pass you by and you will never enjoy where you are right now.

['Anxiety can rob you of the enjoyment of life. The causes of anxiety are numerous: health issues, work (or lack of it), finances (debt, unpaid bills and so on) and much else besides. The global pandemic has greatly increased levels of anxiety. Sometimes we may need professional medical help. Some of the biggest causes of anxiety are those dealt with in today’s New Testament passage: relationships, marriage (or lack of it), sex (or lack of it), singleness and divorce.\nIn our Old Testament passage, the book of Ecclesiastes suggests that much of the anxiety we experience is caused by something deeper. This could be described as the anxiety of meaninglessness. In the midst of all this, you are called ‘to live in peace’ (1 Corinthians 7:15).', None]

Anxiety can rob you of the enjoyment of life. The causes of anxiety are numerous: health issues, work (or lack of it), finances (debt, unpaid bills and so on) and much else besides. The global pandemic has greatly increased levels of anxiety. Sometimes we may need professional support or medical help. Some of the biggest causes of anxiety are those dealt with in today’s New Testament passage: relationships, marriage (or lack of it), sex (or lack of it), singleness and divorce.

In our Old Testament passage, the book of Ecclesiastes suggests that much of the anxiety we experience is caused by something deeper. This could be described as the anxiety of meaninglessness. In the midst of all this, you are called ‘to live in peace’ (1 Corinthians 7:15).

['When I practised as a barrister most of the judges I appeared before were extremely good. However, I remember one occasion when I appeared before a judge who was not good. It was a terrible experience.\nI was representing the defendant in a criminal case. It was only the second case I had ever done in front of a jury. I was young and inexperienced. Nevertheless, it seemed to me that there was something very wrong with the way in which the judge was conducting the case. She kept interrupting me whenever I was speaking. She intervened over and over again with her own questions. I ended up having what the court usher described as a ‘stand up row with the judge’.\nThe judge’s summing up was more like a second prosecution speech; my client was duly convicted and sent to prison. We appealed, on the basis that the defendant was entitled to a fair trial and he had not been given one.\nWhen I appeared before three very senior judges in the Court of Appeal, I was extremely nervous that they might not approve of my part in the ‘stand up row with the judge’! To my relief they were as appalled as I had been by her conduct of the trial. They overturned the original decision and my confidence in the British legal system was restored.\nGood judges are scarce. In many parts of the world, judges are subject to bribery and corruption. There is no rule of law. The result is terrible injustice. The poor, in particular, tend to be the victims.', None]

When I practised as a barrister most of the judges I appeared before were extremely good. However, I remember one occasion when I appeared before a judge who was not good. It was a terrible experience.

I was representing the defendant in a criminal case. It was only the second case I had ever done in front of a jury. I was young and inexperienced. Nevertheless, it seemed to me that there was something very wrong with the way in which the judge was conducting the case. She kept interrupting me whenever I was speaking. She intervened over and over again with her own questions. I ended up having what the court usher described as a ‘stand up row with the judge’.

The judge’s summing up was more like a second prosecution speech; my client was duly convicted and sent to prison. We appealed, on the basis that the defendant was entitled to a fair trial and he had not been given one.

When I appeared before three very senior judges in the Court of Appeal, I was extremely nervous that they might not approve of my part in the ‘stand up row with the judge’! To my relief they were as appalled as I had been by her conduct of the trial. They overturned the original decision and my confidence in the British legal system was restored.

Good judges are scarce. In many parts of the world, judges are subject to bribery and corruption. There is no rule of law. The result is terrible injustice. The poor, in particular, tend to be the victims.