The Next Financial Crisis

Lately, we have talked a lot about the U.S. imploding because of the financial mess we have put ourselves in. To Bible readers, this should come as no surprise....why?...because that's what happens to nations who worship false idols.

The idol that America has been worshiping is the god of Mammon. Mammon is the god of wealth and luxury. Our God is a jealous God. He was jealous when the ancient Jews started worshiping the Canaanite gods thousands of years ago....and He is unchanging....so He is jealous of us all worshiping at Mammon's trough.

Today in the Wall Street Journal, a prof from Carnegie Mellon University had this to say;

The United States is headed toward a new financial crisis. History gives many examples of countries with high actual and expected money growth, unsustainable budget deficits, and a currency expected to depreciate. Unless these countries made massive policy changes, they ended in crisis. We will escape only if we act forcefully and soon.

As long ago as the 1960s, then French President Charles de Gaulle complained that the U.S. had the "exorbitant privilege" of financing its budget deficit by issuing more dollars. Massive purchases of dollar debt by foreigners can of course delay the crisis, but today most countries have their own deficits to finance. It is unwise to expect them, mainly China, to continue financing up to half of ours for the next 10 or more years. Our current and projected deficits are too large relative to current and prospective world saving to rely on that outcome.

Read article here; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704224004574489251193581802.html

His comments go on the back of what we talked about last Sunday in adult education. Our lavish lifestyles were built on the fact that foreign investors were only too happy to finance our huge budget deficits.

It's exactly like someone going out and buying furniture, vacations, SUV's, and motor boats on a low interest rate credit card. It's fun as long as the credit card company keeps raising your credit limit...and keeps your interest rate really low. But the whole party comes to a halt the instant they raise your rate to 21% and at the same time quit giving you any more credit.

Only then does the reality of what you have done sink in. Only then do you realize that you will spend the rest of your working days and ALL of your income paying back money for a motorboat that doesn't even work anymore. What fun is that??

Revelation 3:17 warns believers; "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor blind and naked."

Sounds a lot like all of us who have sat contentedly in our church pews... happy to listen to a nice story and hear a good song...but anxiously looking at our watches so we can get back to enjoying our furniture, vacations, SUV's and motorboats.

Pray earnestly that God will forgive us for worshiping Mammon and heal our hearts.