Fateful times for the faithful!

It’s Wednesday the very first day of October 2008 and we have been through a very scary economic upheaval over the past few weeks. Our sitting president is taking most of the blame but the seeds of greed and corruption that are now blossoming were not all planted by him. While it is easy to put it all at his doorstep, there’s plenty of blame to go around as the extent of corruption prevalent in our commercial world is now being revealed. Making enough bad loans over a long period of time will eventually bring down any economic system. Why were loans made to people who were known in advance to never be able to pay them back? Greed. Those making the loans and those they reported to were paid big incentives based on volumes booked not the validity of the loans themselves. An old adage in business says you usually get what you pay bonus for and here’s a sterling example of just how this works! Had they paid bonus for the long-term viability of the loans issued, that’s what would have come out of the process.

Now multiplied millions will pay for these abuses in ways that will be hard to identify or quantify for years to come. It’s a mess and on top of it all, it’s a complicated mess. It would be like paying premiums to all involved in keeping the Titanic clean and on schedule while paying no attention whatsoever to the structural integrity of the vessel. That big ship would sail and everything would be great until something serious was encountered that challenged the fundamental underlying strength of its architecture. That’s what happened to the financial markets as these bad loans began to evaporate when under stress. There’s a very famous sermon preached by a revivalist by the name of R. G. Lee and it had this title: “Payday Someday!” Folks, we have come to America’s payday and without God’s help we are in for a rough ride over the next several years.

I would like to tell you that the retirement funds we are counting on are immune from this upside down turmoil but I do not have a clue and would be very foolish to think they are not impacted. Why? Because the same incentives that brought on this current crisis are pervasive throughout our so-called free enterprise system. Making bad loans as a way of life and then expecting average taxpayers to foot the bill reflects the wickedness involved within the system. Thankfully, you and I who are believers can rely on our God to be with us before, during, and after these troublesome times. There’s an interesting Bible verse that is often misquoted and misunderstood. It says this: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” ( 1st Corinthians 10:13) Most people grab on to the escape and miss out on the endurance and bearing part. The truth of this verse tells us that even when we are in the throes of great challenge, difficulty, and pain, He will make a way for us to somehow get through it! Given all the turmoil bubbling all around us, I am so thankful for this verse and what it means to us! Amen. ….More later.