On 2nd April 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a British territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Three days later the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Carrington, resigned taking full responsibility for the failure of his department to foresee the invasion. His resignation wasn’t asked for, but he felt it was the right and honourable thing to do.
Sadly, it is hard to think of another cabinet minister since who has offered their resignation in such circumstances. More often these days politicians take ‘full responsibility’ by keeping their post and sacking those around them. The example of public service exemplified by her majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who leads as ‘your servant’, has become a rarity.
But perhaps we should not be surprised that a culture that has cast off the Bible as the bedrock for its values, no longer reflects them in public life. The Queen’s personal faith in Christ is well known. She is inspired by John the Baptist who stepped aside for the coming of Jesus, the servant of all, who offered his life as a ‘ransom for many’; and the apostle Paul who regarded himself as ‘less than the least’ of all the apostles. Perhaps, then, it is only when we are willing to serve Christ that we can truly become the servant of all.
