The root source of the problem

Recently, I viewed my blog from a link on our church website and happened to rediscover that a favorite link listed in my blog was the United Methodist Portal. One of the top articles that flashed in a text box was from Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas.

The article expressed exactly what I felt about our current financial woes in our country. Woes that are beginning to have a trickle down affect in our local economy, and of course, a trickle down affect on our psyche. So, below is the wisdom of Rev. Hamilton’s article, which we should take to heart.

Reprinted with permission from the United Methodist Reporter.

Stress. Anxiety. Fear. These words capture the state of mind of many in
America today.

In recent months we have witnessed dramatic market losses, the collapse of the world’s largest insurance company, the largest savings and loan failure in banking history, and numerous bankruptcies and mergers. Every day seems to bring more economic uncertainty.

Recently the American Psychological Association released a survey of 7,000 American households showing that 80 percent of us were stressed about the economy and personal finances. Half were worried about their ability to provide for their family’s basic needs; 56 percent were concerned about job stability; 60 percent reported feeling angry and irritable; and 52 percent reported laying awake at night worried about this. The report concluded, “The declining state of the nation’s economy is taking a physical and emotional toll on people nationwide.”

Deregulation of financial industries, subprime mortgages, the housing bubble and even fraud are the principle culprits in what has been described as the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression.

But beneath all of these are the deeper sources of the current crisis. These ultimate causes are not financial but spiritual.

At least five of the seven deadly sins came into play both on Wall Street and Main
Street: gluttony, greed, sloth, envy and pride. These led to absurd economic
practices that bordered on the criminal.

It was not simply the CEOs and Wall Street types who danced to this tune. It was every one of us whose 401(k)s prospered by their efforts. More than that, it was every one of us who abandoned financial wisdom and prudence and borrowed beyond our capacity to repay in order to buy houses, cars and whatever our hearts desired.

We used tomorrow’s money to finance today’s lifestyle. We stopped saving, took the equity out of our homes and charged as if there were no tomorrow. But tomorrow did come. And many Americans woke up with an economic hangover.

As we watched the stock market plunge, savings evaporate and home values plummet, there was a collective sense that it was time to say, “Enough.” When the economic house of cards began to fall most of us knew intuitively that things had to change. We had focused too much of our energy and resources on acquiring more and newer, bigger and better.

The funny thing was, all of our efforts at consuming did not increase our joy in
life—if anything it tended to rob us of joy and increase our stress.

I want to invite you to rediscover truths previous generations knew—wisdom that was drawn from the pages of Scripture. Joy and contentment, I will suggest, are found in simplicity and generosity, in faith and in pursuing your purpose in life. I’m
not advocating that any of us live in poverty, but that we cultivate contentment
and re-evaluate what constitutes the “good life.”

There is no sin in having wealth. Money itself is morally neutral. It can be used for good or evil. It is the love of money that the Scripture says is a root of all kinds of evil. The problem arises when we make the acquisition of wealth and material possessions our focus in life. Jesus was right to warn us that we cannot serve both God and wealth—only one can be most important in our life.

The government has a role to play. But the primary problems that led to the economic crisis are spiritual and require a change within the individual.

The New Testament has a word for what is needed—metanoia, usually translated “repentance.” It means a change of mind and heart that results in changed behavior.

My hope is to invite readers to see our money and our possessions with new eyes remembering, as Jesus taught, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).

If we ignore these lessons, our nation will be right back where we are today within a decade. Biblical truths, combined with practical financial wisdom, will guide us
to a different future—a future in which we’ve learned to say, “Enough.”

Pastor Hamilton, thank you for your words. And God, please forgive us with your grace and restore to us the joy of your salvation.

Grace and peace in trying times,

Pastor Jack