As Christians, we have every reason to see the crisis of confidence in the world’s institutions as an opportunity to be reminded of what is most important and Who it is that truly holds our future.
I recently heard Jack Welch, the former head of General Electric, interviewed about the current economic crisis. He affirmed the banking and credit crisis as very real but gave his opinion that much of the reaction to the banking crisis has been made worse by panic.
As Christians, we have every reason to see the crisis of confidence in the world’s institutions as an opportunity to be reminded of what is most important and Who it is that truly holds our future.
In this time of testing, Christians have been given an opportunity by God to show themselves as thoughtful, confident, honest and reasonable persons who can be trusted. We can claim the truth of Jeremiah 29:11 in our trust in the God who does not fail ”For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.
We can let the Holy Spirit convict us of our unwise use of the resources God has given us, where that is the case. We can be sensitive to the needs of persons on limited and declining incomes who now have one more worry in their day.
We can pray for this experience to humble those who have taken their financial prosperity as a sign of might, privilege and power rather than a resource given by God in stewardship for God’s purposes of compassion and ministry. We can explore the issues behind the turmoil of our day and vote each according to our conscience for those we believe will make a difference and be wise stewards of the blessings God has given ourselves and the nation.
I began by saying we stand in this place “not surprisingly” and I believe that is true. For thousands of years, God’s people have found themselves faced with the choice of faith or fear. I’m choosing faith over fear. Let’s do so together.
Robert W. Guffey, Jr. is pastor of First Baptist Church in Conway, S.C. This column first appeared on his blog at LightReading.org.
