Saturday, 18th October 2008
In recent times, there has been nothing but bad news in the newspapers. Major banks and financial institutions that appeared to be sound have either collapsed or are on the brink of collapse, so much so that the governments and central banks have had to step in to prevent things getting from bad to worse.
The latest buzzword is "bail out" and reactions to this by the "man in the street" have mostly been negative. After all, these folks got into trouble by their own greed and since they made their bed, so to speak, they have to lie in it.
But if one were to step back and look at the situation again, there are several spiritual lessons to be drawn from this:
The first and most obvious one would be that we live in a fallen world and something like this is a reminder that we cannot trust even the best of man's efforts. We have to keep fixing our eyes upon Jesus.
The second would be that these are signs that the end of the world is nigh. Jesus did say that the signs of His second coming would be earthquakes, wars, rumours of war, famine, etc. However, we who are under the New Covenant need not be afraid because we will be raptured before the worst happens.
The third, which in my own opinion is the most important, is that this "bail out" is actually a fantastic example of "undeserved favour". The system of justice and fairness that has been ingrained in us ever since Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil tells us "do good, get good. do bad get beat", and that same system tells us that those investment bankers did not deserve to be bailed out because of their greed.
But before we start to point fingers at them with self-righteous pride, let us remember that a bail out also took place 2,000 years ago. Sinful mankind was destined to spend an eternity in hell, but God intervened. He bailed us out, not with US$1 billion dollars, but with Someone who is worth infinite times more than that. Paul said in Rom 5:8 that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us". I don't know about you, but that sure sounds like a bail-out to me. In fact, what Jesus did was an overpayment over and above all the sins of mankind put together, past present and future.
As I reflect upon the recent bail-outs, as well as the guarantees that are being given by central banks, I thank the LORD for the biggest bail out in the history of mankind, and the seal of guarantee that the Holy Spirit places upon every believer that we belong to Him (2 Cor 1:22). Hallelujah!
4 comments:
I'm sure that many Christians too have been caught in all the financial turmoil around the world over the past few months. Many have probably lost part or almost all of their savings.
I find it ironic that the huge salaries and perks that the leaders in the world of finance enjoyed were never questioned (it is naturally accepted that they must be paid very well) while there was plenty of chatter over the renumeration of the pastors of mega churches.
Some of those financial leaders saw the collapse of their organisations while the pastors of the mega churches are seeing continuing growth in congregation numbers and funds.
The recent COC review confirmed that the mega churches are run prudently, albeit of course with room for more improvement.
I wonder if those Christians - who are not from the mega churches but are concerned that the pastors are paid too well for their own good - were ever concerned over the renumeration of those highly paid financial managers who had now wiped out their precious savings.
Shouldn't the pastors, who feed the members good spiritual food and manage the church as an organisation excellently, be paid well for the good work they have put in?
These pastors are placed in their positions by God, and we should trust that God is guiding them every step of the way.
The same cannot be said of those so-called leaders of the financial world.
The world's financial system has been thoroughly shaken. Pastor Prince just preached today that we should invest in God's system which cannot be shaken i.e. through our tithes and offerings.
I have heard some Christians say that tithing is not biblical. They can choose to believe that but as for me, I choose to believe the Word preached by PP and invest in God's system.
PP said today that the world is now in darkness but it is also the perfect time for the church to shine as we follow God's system.
Isaiah 60:1-5 (NKJV)
1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “ Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
I thought that's an interesting way to look at the bail-out, undeserved help and blessing. Never saw it that way. Thanks.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so..
Surely, the Lord is going to bail us out bodily soon!!
Yes..I agree with PP...The Word of God is so true and we are all blessed...We were also there listening to the preaching...Indeed investing in God's kingdom is so fruitful. Let's all keep focused on Jesus and be blessed!God bless all of you!
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