I caught half a news story this morning about the state visit of the King of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, to Britian this week. Apparently Vince Cable, acting leader of the Lib Dems, has announced that he will be boycotting the party.

Now, I really don't know enough to know whether I would do the same in his position, but one of the proponents of the visit made an interesting point on the radio. His argument was, even if you disagree with the actions of the nation, you are better off being friends.

How far would this go? Why didn't we invite Saddam on a state visit, if this is the case? What do you think? How do you decide when enough is enough and the time has come to move from friendship to opposition?

It seems clear to me that God would have us do both, tricky though that is, at least in the personal realm. We are to love while that is possible, but we are also to continually challenge with the truth... and indeed continually be open to challenge ourselves.