Plenary,

Meeting date: Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Official Report 482KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. As on every Wednesday, the first item of business is time for reflection, which will be led by the Rev Alex Forsyth of Markinch parish church.

Every day we make hundreds of decisions, which range from the small and insignificant—cappuccino or espresso, white or wholemeal, cash or credit card—to the important, life-changing decisions that affect our relationships, our careers, our communities and our country. Many of our decisions are fairly insignificant and easy enough to make. However, experience reminds us that decision making can be fraught with pitfalls and difficulties. Indeed, according to popular wisdom, to every complex problem there is a simple solution—which is wrong.

Our decisions, large or small, have consequences. The arts critic Brooks Atkinson defined the perfect administrator as

"the man who manages to make no decisions and escape all responsibility."

That is as may be, but for the rest of us decisions and indecision have consequences. As George Jones declares in his hit song "Choices":

"I'm living and dying
With the choices I made."

In his book "The Three Edwards", which tells of the fortunes of the Plantagenets, Thomas Costain describes the life of Raynald III, the Duke of Burgundy. Raynald was grossly overweight; indeed, his nickname was Crassus, which means fat. This Duke of Burgundy had a violent argument with his younger brother, Edward, who led a revolt against him, captured him, and built a room around him in Nieuwkerk Castle. Edward then declared that his brother could regain his title and all his property as soon as he was able to leave the room.

The room had windows with no bars and a door with no lock. The problem was Raynald's girth. To regain his freedom, he would have to lose weight. Every day, Edward provided his brother with a huge selection of food and made him face a decision. However, instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald put on more weight. When he was accused of cruelty, Edward replied, "My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave whenever he decides to leave." Raynald stayed in that room for 10 years, a prisoner of the consequences of his daily decisions, and was freed only when Edward was killed in battle.

Decisions—every day we make hundreds of them and they determine the life that we lead. Those decisions also make a statement about us and reveal to the world who we are and what we are. St Paul was right: we reap what we sow.

And so we pray:

Living God, grant us wisdom in all our decision making and enable us to do the right thing.

Amen.