The Economic Meltdown: A Christian Perspective

Since July 2008, fear and alarm has spread around the globe as the world economy has experienced a severe shaking. Stock markets have plummeted, banks and companies have failed, and tens of millions of jobs have been lost. Millions of people feel helpless and fearful of the future, but in this article I would like to encourage Christians with the fact our help and confidence should not be placed in the economy, but in Jesus Christ. We do not know what the future may hold, but if our lives are in the hands of God, the peace of the Holy Spirit will flood our lives, regardless of how dire circumstances around us may get.

Having studied economics, none of these events have come as a surprise. In fact, it is a surprise that things managed to go so long before the inevitable collapse took place. It is funny to me when I hear a politician or economic "expert" express amazement at the events of recent months, as though it was something completely out of the blue which nobody could have predicted. In fact, many economists and financial experts had been issuing dire warnings for years, but those men and women were invariably written off by the mainstream as being kooks and alarmists. Their predictions, however, were not based on some kind of mysterious set of beliefs or weird worldview, but rather they were based on a simple analysis of the available economic data. Some of these economists, ironically, now find themselves held up by the media as geniuses!

Indeed, the Christian financial advisor Larry Burkett, who often appears on James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio program, wrote a book way back in 1991 entitled, The Coming Economic Earthquake. In this book, Burkett warned readers of the dire economic meltdown which is now upon us, 17 years later.  Several times in the book Burkett noted that he "is not a prophet," but that he was simply basing his predictions on basic economic and financial principles - if you spend more than you have, you are heading for trouble.

Dark Clouds on the Horizon

On a recent trip to the United States, many Christians engaged me in conversation and, as it seems to be the topic on everyone's mind at the moment, the conversation soon turned to the economy. Most people seemed completely oblivious to the problem, believing it to be a temporary glitch that will soon fix itself, and life in America will return to normal. Others just can't grasp all the talk going on. They are unable to fathom what a 'billion' is, let alone a 'trillion' so they just tune out and continue their life as normal. With 600,000 people joining the unemployment line every month in America, however, life may never return to "normal" as the meltdown continues. It will soon affect everyone to one degree or another.

Firstly, let me say that I would much rather talk about the Lord Jesus, and about the wonderful things God is doing throughout Asia. He continues to reach the unreached, and love the unloved. The kingdom of God continues to advance, and thousands are being won from darkness to light every day. Jesus is my passion and the expansion of His kingdom in Asia is my call.

Briefly, however, let me provide some links to those who want to learn more about where I believe the economy of America (and the Western world, and indeed most of the whole world) is heading in the near future. I believe that the unbridled taking on of personal and national debt, and the unashamed printing of money out of thin air means we are heading towards an inevitable 'hyper-inflation.' Hyper inflation is something you would want to avoid. It has occurred in about 70 countries in the last 100 years (Germany in the 1920s, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe right now, etc). During a hyper-inflation, currencies become worthless and society ceases to function as we know it. I am not talking about normal inflation. Normal inflation is when a meal at your favorite restaurant costs $9.95 last year, and $10.95 this year. Hyper-inflation is when you need to bring a wheel-barrow of cash with you and negotiate the price up front, because by the end of the meal the price may have increased from when you sat down!

This may sound far-fetched, but it is exactly what has happened in numerous places around the world. During the German hyper-inflation of the 1920s, people found their money so worthless that they used it to light their fires, as pictured in this famous image from the time (right). Those living in the United States should not feel that their great nation is immune to hyper-inflation. Indeed, the curse of hyper-inflation already ravaged the US, from 1861 to 1865. During those four years, the average price of commodities in the Eastern Confederate states increased 90-fold and cash became near worthless.

I believe the US government's current action of printing and borrowing more money in a bid to get out of the current crisis is doomed to failure. Inflation by definition is the increase of the money supply. By increasing the money supply at a rate never before seen in the history of the world, terrible results are sure to follow. It may take a while before the excess liquidity works its way through the system and shows itself in runaway inflation, but it will come. The two things that got America into its current predicament were overspending and excessive debt. They are now trying to get their way out of the mess by spending more, and taking on board even more debt.... Go figure. For those readers who live outside of the United States, there is no reason to feel smug. The money supply is also being increased at a massive rate in the UK, European nations, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

Before we all criticize the governments of the world, many of us should also realize our personal responsibility and errors. I have met numerous Christians who, even though they work hard, were pursing a lifestyle far beyond their needs, and beyond their means. Statistics show that the average worker in China is able to save 30% of his or her wages, while in America and several other Western nations the average saving rate has plummeted to zero. I believe the Lord wants His children to live reasonable lives, staying completely out of debt and to live within our means by not wasting the resources God has placed in our hands. Governments and economists think they can stimulate the economy by getting people to spend and borrow even more, but God's way for handling money is for us to give, save, and invest.

John Williams is a respected economist who used to work for the US government and knows a thing or two about inflation. Back in April 2008 (before most people knew there was an economic storm on the horizon), Williams posted a "Hyperinflation Special Report" on his website. If interested, you can read his report here:  http://www.shadowstats.com/article/292 . The report is quite long, but if you just read the first few pages you will get the main idea of what he wrote.

If you are somewhat confused by the whole world of economics (you are not alone!), yet if you have the desire to at least get a grasp on some basic principles that will help you understand the causes behind what is happening, then I strongly recommend you view economist Chris Martenson's 'Crash Course': http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse . The entire course will take you about 3 hours to watch (which you can spread over as many days as weeks as you like). It is free, and presented in such a simple and clear way that most people will have no trouble understanding what he is talking about. A warning however: if you have no idea that we are at the start of a massive financial upheaval in society, you may need to take your time and try to slowly assimilate what you will learn bit by bit.

What about Asia Harvest?

Several years ago a colleague and I visited the headquarters of Overseas Missionary Fellowship in Singapore. OMF was founded as the China Inland Mission by Hudson Taylor in 1865. For decades they were the only Christian organization forging ahead with the Gospel in interior areas of China, and many Chinese church leaders to this day consider the current revival sweeping their nation owes much to the efforts of those faithful missionaries and their Chinese coworkers.

The staff at OMF kindly allowed us to spend as much time as we needed going through their library and archive room, copying old books and magazines, which we have since used to produce several books on Christianity in China. As I read through these rare documents, I realized there were several times when the economic climate of the day deeply affected the mission’s work. Donations dropped dramatically during World War I, and the missionaries in China had to adjust their lives and budgets accordingly. Some returned home. The same happened during World War II. In between, the Great Depression of the 1930s ravaged the world’s economy, and the mission’s income fell to just a fraction of what it had been previously.

During all these times, the leaders of the China Inland Mission didn’t complain. They weren’t running a business, but were serving the Lord in a ministry that He had established. During times of plenty, they served as the Lord provided. During times of difficulty, they continued to serve faithfully, even if it meant personal hardship.

A number of people have contacted us and asked how the present economic developments will affect the work of Asia Harvest, and whether we are taking any preventative actions.

To begin with, we are thankful that 2008 was a record year for giving to our projects, and we have been able, by God’s grace, to print more Bibles than ever before, support more evangelists, conduct more free surgeries for children in Vietnam, etc. We thank the Lord Jesus Christ for every person who has helped His work through their prayers, participation and giving. Secondly, from the very start of Asia Harvest more than 20 years ago we have been acutely aware that it is God who must be the motivator, empowerer and leader of this organization. We have never gone out to actively fund-raise or anything like that — our goal has always been to simply serve as a link between the Church in Asia (especially those unreached and more difficult areas), and Christians around the world.

We present certain strategic projects in our newsletter which we feel the Lord would like us to help with, and people give as they sense the Holy Spirit prompting them to get involved.

Our philosophy is quite simple: If the Lord provides, then we pass it on to the front lines in Asia where resources make a great difference. If the funds dry up in the future, we will continue to serve to the best of our ability. We believe this kind of outlook helps us not to worry about what tomorrow may bring, and enables us to serve with peace and joy in our hearts now.

A Christian Perspective

What I have written so far probably doesn't encourage you too much. It is actually much worse than what I have written here! There is no space here to mention that even if the current recession/depression does come to an end after a number of years, several other massive storm clouds are gathering in the distance, ready to sink the system. These include the unfunded liabilities of the US government (i.e. they have already spent the $85 trillion needed to fund Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid). The 'baby-boomer' generation is set to reach retirement age in the next few years. When Social Security was started in 1940, the ratio of workers to retirees in America at the time was around 20 to 1. That is, for every one person planning to retire and receive Social Security benefits, there were 20 tax-paying workers providing for it. In a few years, the demographics will have changed so much that for each retiree in America, there will be just 1.7 workers! You may try to imagine what consequences this will bring.

In summary then, I think you will have the impression that from a worldly perspective I think the outlook is extremely grim.

However, as Christians our hope is not in this world! There is another perspective that we should cultivate and possess.

Now that the stock market and other investments look like they will continue on a downward spiral, and people have seen their savings, investments and retirement funds shrink before their eyes, there are many people in the financial world claiming to know where people can put their money for a sound return. Many claim that gold and silver will protect them, but while these may guard against inflation in the short-term, Jesus warned, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).

Friends, whether you have any money or not, there is a place to invest where the most amazing returns are guaranteed! While we have time, let's invest our prayers, energy, and resources into the kingdom of God, especially in those areas of the world still waiting for the Gospel light to come for the first time. Believe me, there are still many such places where the Name of Jesus Christ has never been uttered. These should always be our priority.