My Uttermost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers, Do not despise the Discipline of the Lord, Daily Devotionals

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him —Hebrews 12:5

It is very easy to grieve the Spirit of God; we do it by despising the discipline of the Lord, or by becoming discouraged when He rebukes us. If our experience of being set apart from sin and being made holy through the process of sanctification is still very shallow, we tend to mistake the reality of God for something else. And when the Spirit of God gives us a sense of warning or restraint, we are apt to say mistakenly, “Oh, that must be from the devil.”

“Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), and do not despise Him when He says to you, in effect, “Don’t be blind on this point anymore— you are not as far along spiritually as you thought you were. Until now I have not been able to reveal this to you, but I’m revealing it to you right now.” When the Lord disciplines you like that, let Him have His way with you. Allow Him to put you into a right-standing relationship before God.

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How the Left cynically exploited a troubled woman's suicide to score points on welfare, writes STEPHEN GLOVER. Daily Mail

To many critics of the so-called bedroom tax, the tragic suicide of Stephanie Bottrill in May last year was proof this is the most monstrous measure dreamt up by the Coalition Government.

Before she walked into the path of a lorry, Miss Bottrill left a note to her son, Steven, in which she wrote: ‘The only people to blame are the Government.’ 

Understandably in the circumstances, Steven declared that the Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, had ‘blood on his hands’.

Less forgivable was the response of David Jamieson, leader of the Labour Group in Solihull at the time. He claimed the ‘cruel’ tax had ‘brought about this tragedy’.

But did it? An inquest into Miss Bottrill’s death heard from her GP on Tuesday that she had been treated for depression ‘on and off’ since 1993, and had attempted suicide in 2005.

In the view of her brother, Kevin Owens, the prospect that the ‘bedroom tax’ would require her to move from her three-bedroom terrace house to a smaller bungalow — or lose £80 a month in housing benefit — may have been the ‘catalyst’ to her suicide, but his sister had been troubled.

As it happens, Mr Owens supports the ‘bedroom tax’ for social housing.  He said: ‘It’s terrible that people are crammed into one or two-bedroom flats with children while others sit on three-bedroom houses’. Isn’t he right?

I don’t believe Mr Duncan Smith has blood on his hands, though Work and Pensions officials were gravely at fault in telling Miss Bottrill that she would have to move or lose £80 a month. It turns out that as a long-term tenant who had claimed benefits continuously she was exempt from the cut.

A terrible administrative error was made that may well have contributed to her death, but it is ridiculous to try to pin the blame on Mr Duncan Smith or the ‘bedroom tax’.

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Comment:

The unfortunate death of this lady through suicide is a tragedy,   she was someone with long term mental health issues,  who felt that she couldn’t continue, and saw no other option but to take our own life, to blame the so called “ Bedroom Tax” and the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan –Smith for her death is unfounded,  Britain’s benefit bill is increasing,  for many living on benefits can be lifestyle choice, however for others  it is necessary short-term safety net.

Now you may need SIX bins: Warning from Britain's biggest waste firm over new EU rules forcing people to recycle more Daily Mail

  Waste company Veolia has launched campaign against 'unnecessary bins'

  Firm says EU rules could mean people have to separate rubbish six times

  However legislation is so badly worded that full impact remains unclear 

Families may have to separate their rubbish into six bins from next year, Britain’s biggest waste firm warned yesterday.

EU rules coming into force this January dictate that councils should collect glass, paper, tin cans and plastic separately, to avoid contamination and ensure they can be properly recycled.

Veolia, which collects or sorts rubbish for a third of the population, said the regulations are likely to force councils to place more bins outside every home.

A spokesman said the firm is calling for ‘a nationwide policy of “no more unnecessary bins”’.

They warned: ‘From January 2015, EU rules mean households and businesses may need to separate their waste into six separate bins. Veolia thinks most of the sorting can be done post-collection and that four bins are more than enough.’

Government officials insist councils should be left to decide how to collect rubbish. They are looking closely at the wording of the revised EU Waste Framework Directive, which remains shrouded in confusion.

They claim the rules may not lead to more bins – as local authorities could be exempted if they demonstrate that adding bins is not feasible.

Officials also say waste could be collected in fewer bins and then separated by binmen on the pavement – but Veolia has dismissed this proposal as dangerous.

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Comment:

Currently I use  3 bins, 2 for re-cycling ,(Brown and Green) and 1 for general waste, (Black)  all of which are provided by my local council,  the council uses an alternative weekly collection, so 1 week the green bin is collected, and on the 2^nd week the brown and black bins are collected,  this is because of some bureaucrats in Brussels have decided we need to re-cycle more,  increasing  from  3 bins up to 6 bins is just stupid  I agree we need to do some re-cycling ,  however for example, some plastics can be re-cycled, some cannot be re-cycled,  The UK Government and local authorities need to provide us with a more considered approach to the re-cycling process.