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Are you worried by the credit crunch? |
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Written by Matt Frost
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Wednesday, 01 October 2008 11:23 |
There have been a few little difficulties in the international finance markets in recent weeks (in fact it all stretches back for at least 2 years). What is going on? And more importantly, what's going to happen in the future?
How do we respond? Do we:
a) Take all our money out of the bank and buy ingots of gold?
b) Form a survivalist cult and head for the mountains?
c) Blow everything on a huge party at the Savoy in the knowledge that the world is bound to end soon?
I think that as Christians we have a couple of responses that are crucial in any time of uncertainty or difficulty.
1. DO NOT WORRY
The biggest ruin-er of our lives is anxiety. It achieves nothing, except making our lives and those of people around us a misery. It also makes us sick.
God repeats Himself again and again throughout the bible in saying "Do not fear"; "Be anxious for nothing"; "Don't worry about tomorrow,". Why does He say it so often? Because it is difficult. Worrying comes naturally to our flesh - and it requires lots of God's grace, and lots of our choices to live free from worry.
But it is the most powerful thing to free our lives - and to offer an alternative to an anxious and frightened world.
So if you find yourself worrying about money; stop it, and ask God to renew your mind so that you can trust Him. Stop feeding your mind with things that will increase the worry (I have decided to stop reading endless articles about the financial situation on the BBC website because they just helped me to worry).
2. Serving one another
Committed religious groups throughout history have weathered financial and social storms much better than society in general because they have been committed to helping each other in a variety of ways that have alleviated the effects of crises. The Jews throughout their history have worked together, even in hostile environments to promote the survival and prosperity of their community (that's one of the main reasons why many of them have become so wealthy). The Huguenots were expelled from France in the 16th & 17th century - and yet prospered in their new homes because they helped each other.
We have in our church a wide range of skills and abilities with which we can serve each other. We also have those who have more money than others. The picture that we find painted in the first few chapters of the book of Acts is of a church that is serving each other, sharing whatever they had and helping those who were unable to work (widows etc) so that the bible can say "there was no needy person among them".
Not only is a community like this much more able to survive and prosper - it is also well placed to reach out beyond to help those who are not part of the church. And to stand as a light to the world, that says 'there is a different way to live'.
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Last Updated on Friday, 22 May 2009 21:31 |
