These past few weeks and months have been rather interesting, from a historical perspective, particularly as it comes to the discussion of faith, action and eschatology. It seems like the level of panic has ratcheted up significantly, and I have even caught myself obsessing on it unhealthily, as well.
In all of it, though, I continue to find more and more comfort in the promises made to us by the Lord. In some way, I am reminded of 8 years ago when my infant daughter had to have open-heart surgery – it was an incredibly worrisome and stressful time, but the closer the date of the surgery came, the more at peace I felt with God, with my own life and with His control of all things. In fact, on the day of the surgery, I felt at a level of peace I can’t remember experiencing since. During that time, it enabled me to be the man my wife needed and the father my kids needed and the son my parents needed me to be.
I knew that, in all of the events transpiring, I had no control to speak of – no ability to alter whatever outcome or trial we would face. After 8 hours of surgery, my daughter came through beautifully – the second time she had been given to me as a gift.
And so today, with so many world events transpiring, I find myself in a position where I’m being asked questions, giving what answers I can, and doing my best to give my anxieties to God. While I’d like to think it’s something strong within my framework, the truth is, I’m just realistic about what I have the power to change and realistic about what I just need to accept will happen regardless of me.
Financial Crisis
With all of the dire predictions about the world financial situation, I’ve been inundated this past week with questions, stories, questions about stories, and even stories about questions dealing with the financial crisis – both in the US and in the world. In some corners, the sentiment has truly bordered on the hysterical. Even from some Christians, who ought to know better.
With much of the financial crisis, it is a case – in the US primarily, and worldwide in some cases – of the chickens coming home to roost.
The blame falls squarely on four groups of people – 1) People (including many Christians) who desired to live beyond their means and incurred risky debt, finding themselves unable to pay the piper when the music stopped; 2) The government, for forcing some financial institutions to give risky loans (as social policy) all-the-while turning a blind eye to regulating risky loans and Freddy & Fanny (to line their own pockets); 3) The lenders who created all sorts of creative ways to make ninja loans and other subprime loans; and 4) the idiots on Wall Street who broke the loans up and used them as securities.
Basically, a majority of the US population was at fault.
And if it all melts down? The church gets a glaringly obvious chance (like during the Great Depression and during the Black Plague) to be the hands and feet of Christ to each other and to the community at large.
If it recovers? The church needs to take a role in providing sound financial advice, based on Christian principals, to its own members and to the community at large. Living within your own means is a hard lesson to learn, but one that we, within the church, should have already been living.
Obama the Antichrist?
In the past few weeks, I’ve been asked (or heard asked) at least a half-dozen times if it is possible that Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ. Geesh. Now, a few of the questioners were folks that I know are Creasters, so I had to be pretty basic in my answers to the questions. Others, though, ought to know better. Basically, though, I tried to at least do a bit of teaching on eschatology, and on the uselessness of playing pin-the-tail-on-the-antichrist.
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