You don’t have to read the Wall Street Journal to realize our economy is in crisis mode right now. Over the course of the first ten days of the month of October, the Dow Jones Industrial average dropped 2380 points, or 22%. From a little over a year ago (Oct. 8th, 2007) the DJI is down almost 40%. The national jobless rate is at a 14 year high of 6.5%, while in Michigan our jobless rate at the end of September was 8.7%, the second highest in the country, largely due to the collapsing of the big three auto manufacturers. Both the automakers and their suppliers have cut 140,000 jobs nationwide over the past 12 months. Mortgage lenders and insurance companies have been going out of business of filing for bankruptcy.
I realize these are just numbers, but they represent real people. People who have lost their job, or are afraid of losing their job because of the large number of companies in our area either going out of business or downsizing. It represents people whose investments are doing a nose dive, and they are watching their retirement nest eggs evaporate. They are wondering will we have enough money to retire or to live off of if there are already retired, some may have had to rethink going back to work. Even those retired folks who live on a fixed income with social security or pension are wondering how they will keep up with the increasing costs of food, heating. With all of the depressing news we’ve had recently it is certainly reason enough to worry and for some people even to panic, especially if you are one of the people directly impacted by it.
That’s why Jesus’ words to us from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:19-21, 24-34 are as relevant today as they’ve ever been. [Read passage]
Boy, does Jesus hit the nail on the head for us or what? When the economy starts to head south, what do we do? We begin to worry. Why? Because we are afraid we won’t be able to keep the same standard of living we have enjoyed in the past. Will we be able to buy the same Christmas presents, and go on a trip this year? While for some the fear is more critical, will I lose my job? Will we have the basic things necessary to live: food, clothing, shelter?
Jesus hits it on the head because our worry goes back to two things, our faith or trust in God, and who or what we really serve. Living in one of the wealthiest nations in the world means we have flirted so long with trying to serve two masters, that when the one master starts to fail us, we worry, we panic because it’s always been there for us.
This is going to sound strange, but I am one of those crazy people who actually think the economic crisis is actually a good thing for our country? Not that I want people to go without or to lose their job or not be able to have their basic needs met. But I believe an economic crisis will allow God to help teach us some valuable lessons.
1. God is giving us the opportunity to trust him more
One of the first lessons God is teaching us is how to learn to trust him more. Let’s be honest with ourselves. Do we learn to trust God more when times are good, or when times are bad? Yeah, of course, we learn to trust God more when times are tough. When times are good we don’t have to think about where our next meal will come from, or how we will pay the gas bill or electric bill. We know our income will cover all our needs so we don’t even think about it. We really don’t need to trust God for any of our physical needs. But when the economy starts to crumble and the Dow Jones takes hit after hit, and our nest egg begins to evaporate, or we are facing the threat of the company cutting jobs, or cutting back on wages or benefits, that’s when it becomes real to us. That is when our faith is put to the test. Do we really trust God to provide for our needs, or do we begin to panic? Worry works against faith and trust. The more we worry, the less we trust. That’s why I see our economic woes as an opportunity for us to learn to trust God more in the face of financial hardships.
That’s why Jesus challenges us in our thinking about God. He says, doesn’t God provide food for the birds of the air, even though they don’t even work for it? Doesn’t God clothe the lilies of the field in beauty even though they will last only a short while? If God cares about them, don’t you think he will care even more about you?
What this really boils down to is our view of God. Does God really care for me? Does God really have the means and the willingness to provide for me? Do I really trust him? We can read Jesus’ words here over and over, and they sound great until we are the one who’s struggling, until we are the one who is facing a crisis.
Notice what Jesus says though, "seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you." Jesus says here, if we put him first, if we live for him, and make his kingdom our primary concern then he will provide for our needs. The problem is we say, "ok, you go first God." But of course it doesn’t work that way. God wants us to go first.
I think we have a great opportunity here to learn to trust in God, because as the economy continues to go down, it will cause people to think about what they really serve. Do they serve God or Money? Do we trust in God or money?
[Pull out a dollar bill] What does it say on our money? It says, In God We Trust. Why do you suppose it says that? Truthfully this piece of paper is worth virtually nothing. We don’t have enough gold bullion to back up all our money so our economy continues on faith.
If you find yourself worrying, fretting, even panicking over the economy, and you’re thinking, "but you don’t understand my financial situation." You’re right I don’t, but Jesus does, and he says seek him first, and he will provide. It’s a matter of trust, do you trust him to provide for you? This doesn’t mean we sit back and wait for checks to come in the mail. We still need to work hard, to get out there and do our part, but we let God take care of the results. It still means we need to be good financial stewards of managers of God’s money as well.
2. God is helping us learn Biblical stewardship
Which brings me to the second lesson we need to learn, Biblical stewardship. A steward is someone who manages someone else’s stuff. The Bible says everything on this earth is God’s, he has allowed you to have what you have, and when you die you can’t take it with you. We are called stewards of God’s resources. The problem is we have done poorly in being good stewards. Because we have been so prosperous we have spent years spending money without thinking about how God wants us to spend it. We pay for stuff on the plastic cards, even though we don’t have the money to back it up. We are like Whimpee in the old Popeye cartoons, "I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." We buy more than we can afford, including houses, which is one of the reasons we have this sub-prime mortgage meltdown.
Just to give you an idea of what I am talking about here, I found an interesting article in Fast Company Magazine which was looking at the size of homes in the US asking the question, "how big is too big?"
Average size of a new single-family house in the U.S. in 1950 = 1,000 sq. ft., take a guess what it is in 2008? It is 2,400 sq. ft. Almost two and half times the size. Let’s compare that with some other industrialized nations around the world today:
U.S. 2,400 sq. ft., Canada 1,800 sq. ft., Japan 1,000 sq. ft., Great Britain 815 sq. ft.
Source, Fast Company, July/August 2008, "How Do You Inspire a Revolution?"
How big is too big, how much is too much? Our country has the sickness of affluenza, we have become infatuated with wanting more and wanting it now. Our desires have outpaced our income, and now we have been caught with our pants down. Jesus told the story of a man who kept building bigger barns for his bumper crops. Yet Jesus said he was a fool because he died that night, and he was never able to enjoy the benefits. Do we buy things we don’t need, and can’t pay? Are we spending money on habits or hobbies that we really can’t afford?
Jesus said, where your treasure is…that’s where your heart is. Our spending patterns reflect our values, and our nations values have not been in line with God’s for a while now.
With the economic downturn it’s an opportunity for us to take a step back and reevaluate what we really value and how we are managing the resources God has given us. Jesus said the best investment you can make is not in the stock market, bonds, CD’s, or annuities. The best investment we can ever make is in God’s kingdom. Why? Because it has eternal rewards. It’s the ultimate version of ’paying it forward’. Pay it Forward was a movie a few years back which popularized the simple idea of doing something good for a few people, so they would in turn do good things for a few others and it would cascade affecting millions around the world. If you watch the Liberty insurance commercials on television, they show it in action, one person does something good for someone else.
Jesus’ says, why aren’t you paying your money forward making investing in God’s kingdom, churches and parachurch ministries and mission organizations whose task it is to help people, and share the good news of Jesus so they can experience life. It’s an eternal reward, which you receive when you get to heaven. We have put our treasure in heaven.
During tough times, the tendency is for us to cut back on our giving to God, telling ourselves, we can’t afford it right now, there’s just not enough money. But God tells us we can’t afford NOT to give. God’s promise is to bless those who give generously, particularly giving of the tithe and offerings. In Malachi 3:8-11
8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, ’How do we rob you?’ "In tithes and offerings. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
God actually asks us to test him by tithing the first 10% of our income, so he can prove his faithfulness to us. The problem is we tend not to act in faith, instead of giving God the first 10% of our income, we give God the leftovers at the end of the month. Perhaps the greatest lesson in trusting you could learn right now is to pay it forward by investing into God’s kingdom by giving the first 10% of your income to him.
3. God is giving us opportunities to help one another
This economic hardship is giving us the opportunity to help one another. Someone once asked me, if God says he will provide for all our needs if we follow him, than what about all those Christians in our country and others, like Haiti, who don’t have food to eat, adequate clothing on their back, or a roof over their head? Why hasn’t God provided for them? Isn’t that a great question? I answer the question with a question. How does God usually provide for our needs? Does money just drop out of the sky? If it has for you, please let me know because I want in. No, God doesn’t work that way. God provides for our needs through other people and through opportunities God open up. God works through people to bless people.
This is why God gives us a spiritual family in the church so we can help each other. During our 40 Days of Community, our focus was on loving one another. God has placed us here to demonstrate our love for each other in tangible ways. We become the means of blessing others. We are the hands and feet of Christ. I remember as a youth hearing some of the stories from my grandparents about the depression. Of course they were only kids at the time, and they were better off than most, but they remembered people coming to the house and having dinner with their family. It may have been the only meal they ate that day.
James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
NLT 1 John 3:17 But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help-- how can God’s love be in that person?
God calls the church to do more than just say we love each other, our love and our faith are demonstrated in tangible ways. When we have people in our own church going through difficult times, it gives us the opportunity to help each other. We help our brothers and sisters in Christ when they are in need. Not just here in our community but also around the world. God has given us more than enough means to help meet the basic needs of other Christians believers around the entire globe. Back to the question, why don’t they have? Because the church is not redistributing resources to help others. Some people who have are going to learn that they need to give more.
God is giving us opportunities to reach out to our community
But God doesn’t just want us to provide for other Christians, God makes it clear we are to help others as well. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan to remind us we are to help more than just those whom we know, or who are like us, (family, church family, other Christians) we are also to love our neighbors, those who are in need no matter what their spiritual, ethnic, or cultural background is. Loving our neighbor as ourselves.
[Sheep and goats]
Let’s be honest, most people don’t really think they need God, or Christ in their life. They manage to get through life okay, not as good as they could be but they survive. In fact most adults don’t turn to God unless things are going poorly in their life. What that means, is that during an economic crisis, with people having a tougher and tougher time making ends meet. They may start to realize they can’t do it on their own, perhaps there is a better life out there. And they begin opening themselves to other possibilities, and that is where we are to show them someone cares. We care. God cares. It gives us to reach out to our community. To be the church. To step up to the plate and live out our faith.
Application: Local food pantry, food baskets for Thanksgiving and Christmas, clothing drive for the winter months, shoeboxes, Jesus lifting children program.
