“Suppose you can be trusted with very little. Then you can be trusted with a lot. But suppose you are not honest with very little. Then you will not be honest with a lot. Suppose you have not been worthy of trust in handling worldly wealth. Then who will trust you with true riches? Suppose you have not been worthy of trust in handling someone else's property. Then who will give you property of your own? No servant can serve two masters at the same time. He will hate one of them and love the other. Or he will be faithful to one and dislike the other. You can't serve God and Money at the same time." (Luke 16:10-13 NIrV)
The following is a brief description of Black Tuesday (October 29, 1929) when more than 16 million shares were traded and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost another 12 percent and closed at 198:
“Many factors likely contributed to the collapse of the stock market. Among the more prominent causes were the period of rampant speculation (those who had bought stocks on margin not only lost the value of their investment, they also owed money to the entities that had granted the loans for the stock purchases), tightening of credit by the Federal Reserve (in August 1929 the discount rate was raised from 5 percent to 6 percent), the proliferation of holding companies and investment trusts (which tended to create debt), a multitude of large bank loans that could not be liquidated and an economic recession that had begun earlier in the summer.”(stock market crash of 1929. (2008), In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved October 29, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/566754/stock-market-crash-of-1929)
Sound familiar? LESSON LEARNED? It doesn’t seem like we’ve learned a whole lot!
Like the rich man described in Luke 16, we as a nation have wasted our possessions, wasted our resources, and wasted our talents. We have had so much money over the years, so many natural resources at our disposal, and so much ability to bless so many, yet we find ourselves at the same crossroads we were in some 80 years ago. Investments have lost value. More money is owed than we have to pay back. Rather than use the resources we have, we buy from others and waste that! We have even wasted our ability to share the Good News with neighbors and nations and we see the world accepting all sorts of lies from cults and false religions.
What do we expect from our God for being so disrespectful and wasteful? Sadly, most of our friends and neighbors simply keep asking (at times it seems like demanding) for God to bless America. I assume that as things get worse (and they will) that eventually the majority will either fall to their knees or raise their fist to God. Why do I believe the latter will occur sooner than the kneeling?
We who trust in the living God must be faithful to live that trust in these trying times. Time is of the essence. While there is still time, we need to be diligent to reach as many as possible with the Gospel, especially through our day-to-day living. At least we can be faithful with all God has blessed us with, especially our faith. God will get His, including His honor and glory. When He comes to claim all that is His, I want to be one He says “well done” to. I also want my friends and family to be in that group. Let’s not blame the nation for our woes. Let’s not get caught up in political exchanges, character assaults, and blame games. Let’s trust the God we have seen faithful over the years. That is a lesson learned throughout HIStory!
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