Kyle Gebhart

So, there’s some bad economic news: Merrill Lynch, AIG, Lehman Bros, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc, etc, huh? What’s it all mean?

Many people are freaked out.

Obama likes it because it makes him look like the Republicans are screwing up. McCain likes it because today the Republicans stopped (or at least seem to have stopped) the sliding Dow Jones and brokered an economy saving buyout with Bush’s name behind it.

Fear tactics = good politics.

So, the challenge for us Christian types is to decide who to respond to such reports of more bad news.

I have a couple suggestions on the matter:

1) Don’t freak out. Seriously, economies rising and falling is nothing new and nothing particularly notable. People are throwing around words like ‘historical’, ‘unprescendented’, etc. Really though none of this is new. It may be a slightly new experience for a particular generation of Americans – but it is not new in the broadest sense of the word. In any case, new or not, our a Christian’s security isn’t founded on the strength of the US economy, right? Last time I checked, it wasn’t Uncle Sam who daily opens his hand to satisfy every living thing.

2) Don’t make huge unqualified pronouncements. The truth is very few of us understand the extremely complex relationships and ideas that create the vast global network of finance that is growing on the earth. We are ignorant about what the heck is happening on Wall Street. Yes, as believers in the Bible – we see where it ends: the mark of the beast and some kind of unified economic system.

However, when these dramas arise, there is a tendency toward emotionally charged statements about ‘judgment’ that are usually not helpful. If you have received the Word of the Lord about the situation, by all means get to to a high mountain and open your mouth. But if you have vague speculations, best to keep it between yourself and your friends.

3) Don’t be a hater. Watch the amount of energy that is spent (wasted) over the next month finding someone to blame for the mess we’re in. The temptation to pick a flesh and blood enemy will be quite powerful. The next Presidential Election may depend on it. Don’t get sucked into the finger pointing.

3) Pray for revelation about what is going on. We (I’m definitely guilty) of speaking more than I listen. I want to be a person who can be proactive in the event of crisis, not scrambling for answers following a crisis.