Around the globe the news media report that share prices are on a downward spiral, and the news-speak attributes the free-fall of the global economy, blaming it on what is described as 'The Credit Crunch'. Of course, what this really is all about is the breakdown of confidence in the world's markets.
There are many who believe that it all has to do with the way that so many in our nations have conducted themselves. The overt greed of the materialistic and hedonistic is finally coming home to roost. John Donne famously wrote that 'No man is an island . . .', yet in a materialistic world this is what people seek to be, concerning themselves with the amassing of personal wealth irrespective of the expense to either the individuals around them or the nations in which they practise. To live out life in such a way is to court ultimate disaster, and the current situation is, I believe, a prime example of the sort of thing that can happen when greed and materialism take over. To see such examples it is only necessary to look at the vast amounts of money paid out in bonuses in the financial institutions, both to Traders and Directors of Companies, for many of these bonuses and pay-packets can only be described as financially obscene.
So who is to blame for the situation that we are in? One thing for sure --- it can't possibly be me! After all, one of the things that I've learned from the society in which we live is that no matter what happens, even things on a personal level, there is always someone else who deserves the blame! We can blame the government, can't we. After all, they are the ones who make all the decisions, aren't they? Well, the problem is that the government is made up of representatives of the people, and those representatives are elected into power on the votes cast by people like you and me. This means that we must all share a portion of the blame.
It is said that the current FREE-FALL of the FREE MARKET is largely down to loss of confidence in the housing market due to irresponsible lending. Well, I guess that is part of the trouble, but with irresponsible lending goes irresponsible borrowing surely. I think that one of the most unfortunate things that has happened in the last thirty years or so is that houses have changed from being simply 'homes' into 'investments', and with this has come the crazy price rises of properties based, not upon need for somewhere to live, but on how much someone is prepared to pay. Only recently I read reports of people who will pay several million pounds for a property in places such as Sandbanks (UK), only to tear the property down and build new on the site. Where is the sense in that?
When I was growing up there was little credit in the community at large. If you wanted something then you saved up for it. The general exception to the rule would be housing, although even there it was necessary to save a large deposit in order to qualify for a mortgage. It would appear that, to some extent at least, we are moving back to that part of the equation, although house-prices are still, I believe, disproportionate to the individual income. For years people have said that you cannot live indefinitely on credit and with rising prices, and that the time would come when the 'piper would finally have to be paid'. It would appear that we might well have come to that time now.
Before the current problems are resolved there will be much more pain for people to experience, and nobody knows precisely how it will affect them, although it is bound to effect everyone in some manner. It is likely that there will be a sharp increase in unemployment for instance, with all of the heartache that it causes. House repossessions are likely to increase as people find that they simply cannot find the money to meet their mortgage commitments, and that will inevitably be responsible not only for family break-ups to to the pressures involved, but will push the economy still further into decline.
Possibly the greatest problem that needs to be resolved is how to deal with the situation and stop the free fall. On a global scale, if nothing is successfully done to rectify the situation, the potential disaster is too immense to contemplate, yet perhaps it's only by doing just that that an answer might be found. The resolve to work together, irrespective of party allegiances, is a necessity. In many respects, nations are on a 'war footing', fighting for their very survival. Not nation against nation --- although this will continue in some areas, just as it always has done --- but nations against principalities.
2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
It is time for people to turn to God and REPENT of the greed that has motivated much of the world for so long. How can it be right that people live the way of so many in the so-called 'civilized world' when so much more of the world is struggling simply to exist? If the truth be known, we are ALL GUILTY! Therefore it is necessary for us ALL to REPENT and turn to God in prayer. If we can do that then He will provide the answer.
One thing is for sure, and that is that the face of the world will have been changed for ever by the time this is all over. It is up to each of us to ensure that the change is a positive and good one.
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