Response:Should you blame God for the Subprime Crisis?

As I get older, I find myself looking more into the news and current events. I am not sure how many of you have seen this article. (http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1847053,00.html?cnn=yes) . The time magazine website has an article discussing the mortgage crisis blaming preachers that are preaching and teaching the prosperity gospel. First, I would like to say that I don’t really care for the title of this article, “Maybe you should blame God for the Subprime Mess”. This is crazy. Everyone is trying to point fingers except to the people that actually desire the blame, but why God. I have an issue with people blaming God for random things. In “Skinny Dipping with the Savior”, I discuss that just because a person (or group of people) in the church does something wrong, that does not mean that you blame God. Personally, I would like to blame the people that want God out of the picture. Have you noticed that it has been a degradation of our prosperity as a nation since we started taken God out of the picture? Think about when we took prayer out of school and we took the power for parents to properly discipline their children. Since then, there has been a major problem with our children, but….that is a different blog entry. Back to the actual article that I read. David Van Biema highlighted some very interesting things in this article. I have been having issues with this doctrine for awhile. Now, I have been at churches that have definitely made statements similar to those that are in the article, however I do believe that God can bless this way. There are two main thoughts of the blessings of God that I have seen within the church. One, is that if you believe God and have faith, then ask, he will give it to you. That is the doctrine that is in the article, the other is that God is complete Sovereign and he is going to do whatever he chooses. I see both of these doctrines as one sided. God is Sovereign (Acts 4:24) and His thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), there are going to be things that you ask for and God is going to tell you NO. He is going to say that you can’t have certain things. You have to be mature and be able to handle the no. God is also a Father that want to have His children ask for things (Mark 11:23-25). There is definitely truth to this doctrine, but the doctrine is not completely true. There is a level of maturity that the church needs to have concerning this. For example, is God going to get the glory and is it going to help people to know (or trust) him more. Are you seeking the gift or the gift giver? God can bless you with anything that is in this world. Houses, Cars, Money, etc….but these things are extra things. God did not call his people to drive around in luxury cars and live in big houses. That is extra! He called us so that we can tell others about Him and disciple them. Christians should be praying for and telling people about Jesus wherever they are. The BIG issue with the prosperity doctrine is that it takes the focus off of God and onto self. Some people grab a hold of this and do not think about how they can bless God, but how God can bless them. Another thing is that Christians should not abandon basic biblical principles, such as being a good steward with what He has given us. God can bless those with poor credit with a house; however they must be good stewards with their money. The American way is to borrow to get whatever you want, but that is not the Godly way. Please do not use God’s grace, mercy and blessings as an excuse to against other financial principles that the bible established.

The True Bailout

Every day I get up and start my day. Take my shower, get my work items together. Talk to my wife and head out to work. Once I get into the car, I turn on the news and listen to events that are going on in this nation and around the world. This week, the buzz has been on the 700 Billion dollar bailout that the Senate wants to give Wall Street to jump start the economy. I am not sure about where you are from and the background that you have, but 700 Billion dollars is a lot of money where I come from. Really the figure will possibly be more. If you have a governed body over Wall Street, then who are paying these people to govern it? There are alternatives to this plan that are all over the internet that I have been reading. I am not an economist and I am not a Congressman. I cannot say that we are receiving all of the information that is available about the future of the American economy and ultimately the American Dream. What does this Bailout means if it passes. I would guess that Congress would need more money and try to stimulate the economy again. The reason is because God wants us to be good Stewarts of our money but the American way is to borrow to live the dream. No one tells you that one day, someone will collect the debts that you owe. If the bailout does not go through...well...we saw the nose dive that the market took dropping 777 points after the House of Representatives said no to the plan. It is time to face the facts. America is in a bad spot and if you have more faith in the Economy then God, you are too. The Kingdom of Heaven has its own Bailout plan. God looked at the Earth and all of the people upon it. He saw mankind and knew that there was a debt that we could not pay. We were slaves to the law of sin and doomed to die...but then Jesus came. He paid a debt that we were not and never would have been able to pay. (John 3:16) It is time to turn back to the God that made us a great nation in the first place. It is time to honor and trust him. Have you been bailed out?