Wed 17 Sep, 2008
While this may be somewhat off topic, I think its relevant for the times we live in and the growing “worry” over the financial markets.
It’s very easy to get depressed, carried away or even scared by reading the Bloomberg financial page each day. Let me give you a run down of today’s financial news…
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Stocks in US slide as Bank Lending Seizes Up Following AIG Bailout
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Morgan Stanley and Goldman Shares Plunge
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Russia Pours Cash Into Banks, Halts Stock Trading to Stem Financial Crisis
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AIG Slumps as US Takeover Seen Wiping Out Investors’ Stakes
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Pelosi, Frank Want Bigger Role for Congress in Resolving Financial Crisis
You don’t need an MBA or Financial Advisor to tell you that things aren’t good in the world of money. While you may think this is just bad for the rich and powerful, you’re wrong. What’s bad for Wall Street ultimately becomes bad for everyone.
This blog is not the platform for voicing an opinion on how we should best solve this crisis or which one of the presidential candidates is best suited to solve all our problems. Honesty, I don’t think any one person, government or Central Bank can solve it. However, it is good to get a handle on what exactly is happening.
My old Economics professor used to quote former Federal Reserve Chairman William McChesney Martin Jr. and his famous line “the role of the Fed is to take away the punch bowl just as the party gets going.” Well the party’s been going on for a while now however in an ironic twist, it’s the Fed and their surrogates on Wall Street who were drunk and buying their spiked punch on credit. They didn’t have the where-with-all to stop the party until they realized the liquor store had run dry! Now they are feeling the effects of their partying like a bad hangover the day after and everyone is looking for someone to blame.
Rather than piling on or reacting to the current crisis by stocking up on food and ammo and heading to Montana with the dog, we should be looking towards the one who brings peace in turmoil. Paul the Apostle cautioned Timothy (1 Tim 6:17) that the rich were not to place their hopes in money, but in God. What naturally follows is that we should not imitate the rich and place our hope in either the rich men who control the money or riches we accumulate. Ultimately they crumble. Just ask the former employees of failed Wall Street firms. Entire lives of work and energy were rendered worthless in seconds. 401K’s are now worth less than the paper statements they are printed on.
John Piper said this years ago and it stuck with me.
“There are hundreds of you – who don’t care whether you make a lasting difference for something great, you just want people to like you. If people would just like you, you’d be satisfied. Or if you could just have good job with a good wife or husband and a couple good kids and a nice car and long weekends and a few good friends, good health, a fun retirement, and quick and easy death and no hell – if you could have that (minus God) – you’d be satisfied. THAT is a tragedy in the making….And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. DON’T BUY IT!”
Many are and more will be, waking up to a reality that laying up treasure here is not the root of happiness and joy. The tragedy is not that people are losing their retirements and savings, its the fact they pursued the accumulation of wealth at great cost to themselves, their families and their God. They wasted precious time that can never be redeemed.
A few years back, this book changed my outlook on life. In it, I saw that I was called to consider Philippians 3:7-14, not just as good advice from Paul or the domain of super-human Christians, but as a defining statement of who I am in Christ. These verses were the filter through which I was to see the world and be the guiding principles for everything I do.
In reality, I did waste much of my life. I can’t help the time that was wasted before I was awakened by the Gospel. However, what is more sobering is the reality that I continued to waste my life as a Christian by pursing worldly desires for peace and security.
Don’t waste your life accumulating wealth or prosperity. Don’t place your hopes in your efforts or your broker’s efforts. Don’t define your worth by your 401K. Read this book and get your Bible to follow along.
“The un-wasted life is the life in which everything you do put’s Christ on display, as supremely valuable. You have been given life by God for this one main reason…to make Christ look great! I count everything as loss, money as loss, food as loss, looks as loss, friends as loss, family as loss, job and success as loss, in comparison with the treasure that Christ has become for me” – John Piper in applying Philippians 1:20-21 and 3:7-14 in life.
Tom Humes says:
Nice Site layout for your blog. I am looking forward to reading more from you.
Tom Humes
Art says:
Tom:
Thanks for the kind words.
jon says:
I agree with most of what you said about not wasting your life. I have seen too many spend too much time chasing the bigger paycheck and moving from one place to another. They have their priorities all messed up. Even saying I am making all this money now so I can give to God later are fooling themselves. I was reminded of the big equipment inventor who had a great year and even though earlier that year he told God that he was going to tythe what he made he told God at the end of the year he would invest that money back into his company so he can give double next year. It was an expensive lesson. He eventually got it right and in the end of his life he was giving back to God 90% of what he was making. He still had more than he needed and enjoyed serving God all the day of his life. R. G. LeTourneau was that man. great article