By Michael Brady
The topic on everyone's mind has been this stimulus package that passed February 13th by our elected officials. This package, consisting of 1071 pages which our officials admittedly did not have time to read in its entirety, basically plans to spend our way out of debt using money that we don't have. We will have to borrow money from other countries; if we can, or borrow money from future tax payers (our children) or print funny money that isn't backed up with gold in our federal reserves that will devalue the dollar by the amount that can't be backed up. Does this make sense to anybody? If I went to my bank and proposed a plan to spend my way out of debt, using their money, I'm sure I would leave as broke as when I arrived.
I listen to Dave Ramsey, author of Financial Peace, on the radio most evenings while I'm finishing up at work. Dave's show comes on at 6:00 pm on 106.3 fm if you're interested. He always looks at financial matters from the Biblical perspective and he had some great ideas on how the government could stimulate the economy such as: offer a $20,000 a year tax credit to employers for every additional employee the company had at the end of the tax year. Do you think that would help bring down unemployment? I do and I would take advantage of it. Another idea he had was to give every legal American taxpayer 18 years of age and older $200,000 to spend back in our economy, save or invest. Do you think this would stimulate the economy? I do and I would take advantage of it, as I'm sure you would too. I mean after all the money the government is spending belongs to the taxpayers and most of us have to work until May of each year to pay these taxes before we take home a dime to support our families. This would most likely bail out the car manufactures, banks and other businesses with out having to actually "Bailing Them Out". You go Mr. Dave Ramsey, you Rock with ideas like these.
Talk about consumer confidence. I think President Obama would do well to appoint you as his chief economic advisor. You see to me it is not about Democratic or Republican views, its about what's best for the American people and are we doing it God's way, the right way, the only way if we want to continue in God's graces. We have been the leader of nations in giving to the poor or helping with disaster aid, feeding the hungry, supplying medicine to the sick, making it possible through private and public donations for our missionaries to reach people who would not other wise be reached to further HIS kingdom. What if we missed used all our money and we could no longer do for the least of these as our Jesus told us to do, what then? We have to get this right. I believe our very soul as a nation rests on getting this right. We need to pray as never before for God to give our President and our leaders in Washington and our state the wisdom that can only be found in Christ Jesus to get it right for the people of this country.
So what does God's Word have to say about being in bondage to debt? When the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, God instructed them how they should live in order to please Him. There were blessings for obedience, and this included the area of finances. Deuteronomy 15:6 says, "For the Lord thy God blesses you, as He promised you, and you shall lend unto many nations, but you shall not borrow; and you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you." It sounds to me like we should continue to give to our brothers in need but not borrow from other nations because they could own us if we do. Deuteronomy 28:12 says, "The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow."
But there were also curses for disobedience. In verse 15, it says, "But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you." Flip over to verses 43 and 44: "The alien who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you will be the tail." One of the curses for disobeying God was being in bondage to debt.
Proverbs 22:7 says, "The borrower becomes the lender's slave."
May the Lord bless you and your families and I pray that He continues to bless us the people of America, as I believe He will if we do the right thing.
Successful Writer and Publisher with over 20 years experience Upstate Printing and Publishing Inc. Founder of the "Boiling Springs TEA Party" http://www.boilingspringsteaparty.com
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