What in the world is the matter with our economy? Over the last few weeks I have been asked this question more than once. This past Sunday I was teaching a Sunday School class in a little town in Schuylkill County and it hit me that the answer to the question is in the question.
One of the topics that was covered Sunday morning was what the Bible says about debt in our individual lives. (No surprise here since I am a seminar instructor with Crown Financial Ministries.) What struck me was how we collectively as a society have completely violated these biblical principles.
The four principles from the Bible on debt are:
1. Debt is discouraged
2. Pay off debts quickly
3. Avoid risky debts (surety)
4. Pay back all debts
Compare these principles to our society today where:
1. We are continually encouraged to take on more debt
2. 90 year term mortgages are available in some parts of our country
3. Foreclosures are up over 400% since 2005 and banks are closing due to risky debts
4. In 2005 over 2 million families/ individuals declared bankruptcy
Could it be that the answer to the question “What in the world is the matter with our economy?” is that the world’s approach to handling money is what is the matter with our economy. Do God’s principles apply to individuals, ministries, churches, small and large companies and national economies? Was Larry Burkett right when he wrote the book “The Coming Economic Earthquake” published by Moody Press in 1991? Was he just 17 years too early?
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
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1 comment:
As a Christian I am not
worried about the ups
and downs of our economy.
I have seem several recessions
in the past 50 years and
think the country lives beyond
their means and now we must
find a lower level of
spending and living until
the economy finds itself
again. The government
should not have bailed out
the system. Now we are
locked in to bigger
government, more taxes and
a Socialist World view.
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