The Word's Eye View

The Word's Eye View is a newspaper column written by
Dr. James Modlish

 Your Personal Economy

According to the most recent polls, the number one concern of Americans as we face the prospect of a national election is the economy.  I never have had much faith in polls, but for the sake of conversation, let’s assume this one is correct.

I doubt the average individual spends a great deal of time pondering the principles of economics, but rather the more imminent possibility of his income being severely diminished.  Ronald Reagan said, “A recession is when your neighbor is out of work; a depression is when you are out of work.”

What does it really suggest about us as a society when our greatest fear is lack of money, and that trumps any anticipation about national security, individual liberty, moral decay and the guarantee of life itself?

God actually provides us with a formula for prosperity when He told Joshua, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”  (Joshua 1:8)  This admonition was given not only to an individual but corporately to a nation.  Could the real cause of recession be a people’s unwillingness to rearrange their priorities?  Is the cart now in front of the horse?  George Washington said, “Preoccupation with materialism to the exclusion of moral and spiritual values produces no reward that lasts.” 

The Bible requires men “to do {their} own business, and to work with {their} own hands…that {they} may have lack of nothing.”
(I Thessalonians 4:11-12)  The work ethic of the Scriptures has been abandoned by so many that America’s work force is now in sad shape.  A few months ago I met a businessman in Pueblo who had done some construction work in Washington D.C.  He told me of going to the one Home Depot in our nation’s capital only to discover the store was ill supplied and lacked even the basics.  After searching out the manager, he was met with this response, “I am short 87 employees in this store, because I can’t find anyone who can pass the drug test.”  That’s 87 people who could be making a pay check and spending money in their communities.

Obviously, the first step of decline is a moral and spiritual one.  God told Hosea that He had a controversy with the inhabitants of the land because of their many sins, and the consequence was going to be a severe economic downturn. (Hosea 4:1-3)

Without a doubt, the greatest stock market crash was described by Jesus when He said, “For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Nothing like a Word’s eye view to upset traditional applecarts.

 




 

 

 

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