Pensamientos para hoy (afterthought for today)
Trust not in human government
The present (2008) economy is a major worry for many people. The housing slump, foreclosures, rise in cost of living--especially fuel and food prices, and layoffs in the automobile industry all seem to be compounding the economic downturn. Some of these problems, especially in the housing market, can be attributed to misplaced trust. Some of the problems have occurred because of blind trust. Naive and uninformed borrowers took out mortgages far beyond their means to repay. Perhaps they didn't realize that the interest rate on an adjustable mortgage might suddenly increase beyond their ability to make payments. Maybe they failed to calculate all their living expenses correctly and just hoped for the best. Some of the problems in the housing market have occurred because of false hope on the part of the lender. Banks and mortgage companies were pressured by the government to give risky loans to low-income families. These banks and lending institutions gave loans in the hope that these families would somehow be able to pay their mortgages. Unfortunately, many of these families cannot pay their mortgage, and the lenders are getting stuck with millions of bad loans. Now some people are turning to misplaced trust in the government. Politicians and others want the federal government to protect borrowers by putting a moratorium on foreclosures. They want also to help lenders by having the government assume the bad loans and take ownership of the properties which then can be resold to low-income families. All of these proposals will cost the tax-payers billions of dollars. As Christians we cannot have blind trust in anything. We should not make purchases that are beyond our means to pay. We should calculate our income and expenses so that we can make informed decisions. Neither should we have false hope. We cannot naively hope that things will turn out just because we hope so. We should base our decisions on solid facts not pie-in-the-sky expectations that may never materialize. And most of all we should not have misplaced trust. The government cannot solve every problem. It can sometimes help those who cannot help themselves, but this help will only be limited. As Christians we hope not in the government, not in ourselves, not in money, nor in any human being. Our trust is only to be in the Lord. The Psalmist says: "It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes (Psalm 118:8-9)."1 I would wish that all of us would be immune to misfortune. The truth is, however, that all of us will experience trials. The loss of a job, a downturn in the economy, a decline of health are all very real possibilities, but if we prepare ourselves by keeping our focus on God and not on the fluctuating circumstances of life, we can weather these storms. Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world (John 16:33)." Jesus knows that we will face trials, but he wants us to have courage, not because we can overcome in our strength, but because he gives us the faith, hope, strength, and courage to face the trials by trusting in him. Trusting in God who helps us overcome the trials, Pastor SteveFootnotes1 Psalm 118:8-9, NASB (New American Standard Bible). Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
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