Money matters
March 27, 2008 (Thursday)
ECONOMICS is defined by a dictionary as the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind. Another source defines it as the study of how people use their limited resources in an attempt to satisfy unlimited wants. The second definition is only partially “tongue-in-cheek.”
I do not profess to understand economics. It has always been a mystery to me. I do know that the nature of our country’s economic system is cyclical. It rises and falls. It has good times and bad. Recessions seem to be built into the system. Some of them are really bad, like the “panics” of the 19th Century and the Depression of the 20th Century.
Now we have what is called a “world economy.” I sometimes wonder if anyone understands how it works. At times it seems to me we are being swept along by it rather than determining how it will work.
Lately the economic news has not been good. Wish I knew what to do. I would certainly tell the guys in charge, if anyone is.
So, without any further verbal piddling, I will just try to speak as a prophet. What does the Bible say? It says some people put their money into “bags with holes” (Haggai 1:6 KJV). In other words, some people waste money. They need wisdom. On the other hand, Jesus warned that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15 NIV). So we are to have a balanced view. In other words, money makes a great servant but a horrible and cruel master. We may never understand the world’s economics, but we can understand the teachings of scripture to avoid greed, to be kind to the poor, to work for social justice, to be honest in all our dealings, to be good stewards of all we have, being faithful to the Lord in all things, including money matters.