Conflict of interest is a serious concern in many walks of life, notably in politics and in the city. A Member of Parliament must divulge all his personal business interests so that he is seen always to be acting scrupulously fairly and impartially in his parliamentary activities. Likewise, those who work in the city must be careful not to use or share their personal knowledge of city business to give either themselves or others an unfair advantage in share dealings.
For us, however, there is a sort of conflict of interest most days. Several times a week we rub shoulders with the criminal fraternity on our visits to prisons to share the gospel. We meet some who have hit the headlines because of their high profile crimes or court cases. On other occasions it is the ‘jack-the-lads’, shop-lifters and petty criminals who regularly end up the wrong side of the bars, often with the ‘help’ of alcohol or drugs or both.
Neighbourhood watch
On the other hand, we are the co-ordinators of our local neighbourhood watch. It is a simple and effective way of doing a spot of community service and being generally friendly and helpful. We want to be salt and light in our road, not just the folk who put DayOne text diaries and tracts in with their Christmas cards.
