Hola blogworld.
In case you haven't noticed, people all around the world are worried about the economy. I know this because everyone that can possibly find a reason to be in front of a camera is saying we are in the midst of a major economic disaster. Some have even used the term 'apocalypse' which I find interesting, because there really isn't much in scripture pointing towards a downward economic climate as a sign of the end of times. If there, is be sure to let me know. I'm too scared to read Revelations myself.
Let me share another story with you from the Bible. The Israelites have just crossed the Red Sea, fleeing persecution, and are now on a journey through the desert. No wandering just yet. After the first three days of celebrating their new freedom, they can't find any drinkable water, so the Lord provides. A few weeks later they are starting to wonder where their food will come from, so the Lord provides. Let's park here for a minute. When the Lord is providing bread for the Israelites, He commands them to take as much as they needed, just enough for each person in their tent. Then Moses tells them that no one is too keep any of it till morning. The funny thing is, there are people that decide to stockpile their bread and they find in the morning that it is covered in maggots and beginning to smell.
Here's the thing, these folks have seen the Lord do some pretty impressive things. Between the ten plagues, and the Red Sea alone, you would think they would listen to every command the Lord gives them. He's already proven HImself over and over. Yet they still keep some bread for tomorrow.
Fast forward a few years to a country founded by people fleeing religious persecution.
There are a lot of moving parts to our economic crisis. But I'd like to take apart a few of the events that I see as key to our current situation. First off, the housing crisis. For years we have promoted the 'American Dream,' which comes standard with a house, white picket fence, and some apple pie. Over the years this dream has gone from a goal to an expectation. The difference is a dream is something that you work for, and an expectation is something that you are to be given. It's a matter of rights versus privilege. So over the course of the past few years people who can't afford houses, are 'misrepresenting' their income because they feel they are entitled to a home. Corporations let this gross negligence fly, because they see a huge potential for profit, and they are entitled to make money by any means necessary.
Closely related, at least in my opinion, is the auto industry. I forgot to mention that every American dream house comes with a luxury car and an SUV. By no means does it stop at cars, but they make a great example. For years we've been upping the ante when it comes to automobiles, creating an industry that thrives on our excess. We've been demanding things that we perceive we will need, and committing ourselves to more than we can take on. We have become entitled to our luxuries.
Or extra bread is starting to smell bad, and is covered with maggots.
You see, before God provided for the Israelites, He told them IF they obeyed His commands THEN He would continue to provide for them and keep them safe from the same ills of Egypt. There is no entitlement in that proposal.
Also, most of the laws were about keeping God as a priority, a lot of the laws He gave served to preserve the health and stability of the people.
So back to us. Can we really expect anything less than a crisis when we aren't relying on God? These past few months we have begun to see the results of a basic breakdown of our core beliefs. Little white lies have created collapsing industries, selfish accounting has cost people their savings, and a culture built on scraping together as much bread as possible is now so far in debt it may take us 40 years to recover.
Keep in mind we are still the richest country in the world.
There's a phrase in the Bible that seems to pop up constantly through the journey of the Israelites; "The Lord heard their cries..." Wether it's about water, food, slavery, impending battle, or political strife, you hear this phrase repeatedly. The Lord heard their cries...
Lord,
We cry out.
On behalf of a nation that struggles with putting you first,
We cry out.
On behalf of a people that are realizing that our idols have let us down,
We cry out.
On behalf of a culture that has made a mockery of you,
We cry out.
On behalf of those with their priorities out of line,
We cry out.
For our rebellion,
We cry out.
For the lives we have destroyed,
We cry out.
Four abusing your blessings,
We cry out.
For our selfishness,
We cry out.
For our deceit,
We cry out.
For our greed,
We cry out.
Give us this day,
our daily bread.
One love, One heart.
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