Friday, March 13, 2009

Words of wisdom in a failing economy

We see it every day when we turn on the TV. More jobs lost. More government debt. More foreclosures. More people losing everything.

I have been trying to figure out what God thinks and says about all of this. So far, this is what I have, and it's pretty simple.

We have big heads! We live in the richest country in the entire world, yet we lose all of our joy when we lose our homes. Many of us live in big, elaborate, fancy homes, we drive expensive SUV's and sports cars. We wear the finest clothing. We go to the salon regularly and spend an insane amount of money on hair cuts, colors, and highlights. We spend an average of $30/meal to eat out at a restaurant, some of us every day! Women are wearing high heels that cost hundreds of dollars. Our kids are dressed in expensive clothing that they will only outgrow and get dirty. We take elaborate vacations to the beach where we spend a few thousand easily. Our weddings cost thousands, and that's for a cheap one! We'll spend a crazy amount on name-brand make-up and skin products, like Clinique and Mac. We pay for granite countertops and crown molding for our homes. I could go on and on. Bottom line: we are proud. Our standards are set so incredibly high that the thought of lowering them is devastating.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having nice things! But, did you know that the percentage of adult Christians who tithe dropped by 62% last year alone? Yep, that's right. we have all these nice, expensive things, but most of us don't tithe. And I, too am guilty.

So what is God trying to tell us? I think he's telling us that our priorities are messed up. We put more stock into our homes and cars than we do into our neighbors and the Gospel, and our morals. Where have our morals gone? Where is our joy?

Ezekiel 28:1[ The Money Has Gone to Your Head ] God's Message came to me, "Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, 'This is what God, the Master, says: "'Your heart is proud, going around saying, "I'm a god. I sit on God's divine throne, ruling the sea"— You, a mere mortal, not even close to being a god, A mere mortal trying to be a god. Look, you think you're smarter than Daniel. No enigmas can stump you. Your sharp intelligence made you world-wealthy. You piled up gold and silver in your banks. You used your head well, worked good deals, made a lot of money. But the money has gone to your head, swelled your head—what a big head!

We need to get our priorities straight, America. We need to stop buying huge houses we don't need, and stop paying tens of thousands for a car we don't need, and most of all, we need to learn the difference between a WANT and a NEED. I need to learn this myself!

I think God is trying to wake us up, and it hasn't worked yet. We're losing everything, yet none of us seem to have enough faith in God to believe that He CAN take care and provide for us! He is fully able to restore us! Do you believe that?

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