$700 Billion Ticket to Hell
Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 11:58PM 
Photograph by Johan W.M. PappBut We Got Discount Seating!
I’m not a politician, not a lawyer, not a financier. I’m not even an economist, despite my NYU B.A. in Economics. There’s not enough relevant knowledge in my brain to foresee the effects of the bank and mortgage industry bailout being fine-tuned by esteemed members of our federal government tonight.
What I do know is that my still-vibrant parents lived through the Great Depression and yet at this moment we are close to the conditions from which that catastrophe stemmed. The U.S. has collectively forgotten recent history.
This bailout will no more solve our national and individual credit problems than an ordinary bail bondsman‘s loan may turn a thief into a model citizen. The bail and repentance are not remotely connected, but there is no doubt that in the soul of a common thief and in the soul of the United States of America, repentance and reform are necessary.
Where's the Plane Headed?
Old financial regulations must be resurrected or new ones put in place; and at this point a bailout is probably the only way to allow those of us who ran the system into the ground out of greed and ignorance to fix the mess. I hope, in the process, lessons are learned that stick with all of us as well as future generations.
But our economic troubles are just the tip of the iceberg looming in America’s blind path, and no dollar amount or regulatory oversight will steer us clear. These measures can’t save us any more than the Atkins Diet can keep a compulsive overeater from regaining lost weight.
We are so used to quick fixes and more, more, more in this society. We constantly try to satisfy our flesh with food we don’t need, clothes to make us feel better about ourselves temporarily, homes we can’t afford, and cars which require we take extra jobs to pay for the boost to our status. When we go in debt to satisfy our flesh, we are elevating our flesh and its desires above God.
Hijacked!
God has a bailout plan to heal us from the effects of our mistakes. 2 Chronicles 7:14 quotes God saying, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” This is God’s bailout plan: He will forgive our sins and heal our nation IF we 1) humble ourselves, 2) pray, 3) seek His face, and 4) turn from our wicked ways.
My brilliant husband shared this idea in a powerful sermon this morning. Unfortunately, the sermon is neither recorded nor written down, so I’m running with the gist of it, in my own words.
The focus of this website is to teach new Christian disciples. Some may wonder whether this post is off-course or not. No, it’s not. Christians need to be Christians every day, in all situations. If our fiscal decisions are made in opposition to God’s word, how can our spirits be in harmony with His?
Others may say my advice to follow Biblical admonitions in the running a national economy is unrealistic because many of the participants in that economy don’t fear God. But look at the benefits of obedience to God: freedom from want (Psalm 23:1, Proverbs 10:4), respect (Proverbs 14:34), peace of mind (Psalm 119:165, Proverbs 28:20), more than enough (Malachi 3:10), and a whole host of other blessings for the obedient listed in Deuteronomy 28:1-14.
Living God’s way may not be glamorous or satisfy the greedy, but the results are real rather than illusions built on borrowed or imaginary assets. Even non-believers benefit materially from God’s blessings (read Matthew 13:30 and Matthew 5:45).
Inaction is not an option for our government right now if the facts they’re giving us are true. But don’t put your hope in governmental action.
How can we be sure there won’t be a next time with an end as bad as or worse than the possibility that’s got many of us alarmed at the moment?
Let’s accept God’s bailout plan. Let’s humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways.
Reader Comments (1)
The only way that tithing is a biblical promise for blessings is that one obeys ALL 613 commandments of the law. Compare Galatians 3:10; Neh 10:29 and all of Deuteronomy 27 andn 28.
NT giving principles are: freewill, sacrificial, generous, joyful, not of commandmentd (or percentage) and motivalted by love fro God and lsot souls. That is sufficient unless the church is not preaching the power of gospel principles.