Market Mess

Can anyone explain what just happened? The past couple of weeks, I mean. The Dow Jones goes into meltdown and headlines predict a global economic collapse. Banks are failing and large investment firms go bankrupt. Ordinary people are wondering if their savings will be there when they wake up the next day. Then, the government steps in and bails out the whole stinking mess. Then the stock market soars for two days and the experts say the problem is fixed. Now Congress is debating the bailout plan while investors are jittery and the stock market jumps up but mostly down. Some financial pundits caution us to consider the proverb: pay now or pay later. I get the Wall Street Journal and have tried to follow what is going on but it is beyond me and I expect anyone else without a PH.D in economics. Although there is sure no shortage of economic experts on CNN, MSNBC and FNC who try to convince us they know what is going on. They talk for a living and they are paid to talk as long as their show is on so the longer they talk the faster they run out of things to say. Here is what I do know: God owns the cattle on a thousand hills; that's what the Bible says. That means He owns it all. He is not affected by sub prime mortgages defaulting or oil speculators or short selling and all the other words for greed in our present day vocabulary. What I have is a gift from him. My trust is in Him, not the stock market. I am called to be a good steward of what He has given to me. That means use credit wisely which means not just for stuff I think I want at the moment. Save for big ticket items. Pay off the credit card every month. Don't go into debt (even though our government does - there is a payday due some day). Tithe and trust God for what you need. Invest in kingdom work where the returns are heavenly. Save for a rainy day but don't get hung up on watching the daily DJA and beware the so-called experts on the aforementioned cable news shows! Be thankful for what you have. In Haiti, people get by with lots less and no government crutches to help them out. Invest in Haiti and other poor places (Luke 16:9) because that is the right thing to do. Don't worry about the ups and downs of the global economy (Matthew 6). That's God's word which makes a whole lot more sense than the words of most of the financial experts spewing forth from the various media sources today.