Treasure and Anxiety

I spoke recently about Jesus' well known words to His disciples, "Don't be anxious; seek God's Kingdom; don't be afraid."  In the midst of considering ravens and lilies, Jesus invites us to trust that God knows our needs and will meet our needs.  But the key lies in orienting our lives around God's purposes.  This seems particularly apt when there is so much anxiety about our financial markets.

Gary Collins says that we live in an Age of Anxiety.  Is the increase in anxiety linked to an increase in wealth?  Would we be less concerned if we had less to lose?  If we had no share portfolios, smaller mortgages, less superannuation?  I'm not sure about the answer to my questions, but I do know that I was more concerned about where I parked my car when it was new than I am about it now.

Perhaps now is an ideal opportunity to reflect on the words of Jesus, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" and reorientate our lives so that we find our treasure in God and are rich in Him.

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Comments

[Stuart]

Great blog Dave. There is a lot of world hysteria as a result of the highly volatile stockmarket. I wonder how much it has been over emphasised by the media and politicians hyping it up for a good story or political gain. If you look at history a drop in the stock market to this extent has happened before, even to a greater extent, and if we look at history again we see that in time it rebounds to give us record growth! People who wisely invest for long term growth, which is what Super is really, see a sudden drop in their investments whether it be shares or super or property, and then quickly forget the huge growth they've had in the past 3-5 years. This has a similar ring to it as to when people seem to remember the mistakes we make far more then all the good things that we may have done. So it's a time to stay calm and not make knee-jerk reactions.

If anything it's a great time to reiterate in our own lives what is really important. Money will come and money will go, but by far the greatest riches anyone can attain is through Jesus Christ alone. I don't mean financial gain, but riches of the soul that are infinitely more valuable!

The western world lives in such an affulent society. We are all wealthy compared to so much of the world. But with the wealth we have it doesn't come close to a strong and intimate relationship with God through Jesus. The joy and peace that God gives those who surrender all to Him and say "I trust You with my life" can not be attained from this world. People try to attain it through material wealth or social status or through inappropriate relationships etc, but in the end they all come up very, very short. God created us to be in relationship with Him. Many of us don't realise that and try to fill it with something else. In a world that sends our emotions and the stock market spiraling up and down like a roller coaster, it's such a breath of fresh air to experience the consistency and security of God through Christ. Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:38-39) and we KNOW that God causes ALL things to work together for GOOD to those who love God, and have been called according to His purpose. We must trust God, as only He can see the big picture.

In these tubulent times let's not fret, but rather turn to God and surrender all to Him. He knows our struggles. He knows world economics better then anyone. He wants us to focus our energies on the best investment we can ever make... and that is trust in Jesus with our lives. It's the only investment that secures us for all eternity.

[Paul]

Stuart, you are certainly correct when you state that: "Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:38-39) and we KNOW that God causes ALL things to work together for GOOD to those who love God, and have been called according to His purpose. We must trust God, as only He can see the big picture."

However, I would like to take a different perspective on this one.

One should not conclude that the stress that some are feeling is somehow trivial, nor does their concern necessarily reflect an inappropriate focus, ie materialistic vs spiritual.

Many have lived a frugal, financially conservative lifestyle all their lives, carefully managing their financial resources for retirement. They have avoided the trap of excessive materialism and, so they thought, wisely invested their income in so-called secure investments in order to provide for themselves during their retirement years so that they wouldn't be a burden on their families or society.

Then along comes this unforeseen financial downturn. One third of their investments evaporate in the course of one month. Retired people do not have the time nor income to replenish their diminished resource base. It's no wonder people are worried - even people who put all their trust in God.

We should be sensitive about the concern these people are feeling and not in any way suggest that their spiritual focus has been misplaced.

[Stuart]

Hi Paul,

I agree with where you are coming from. No matter what anyone says, these are tubulent times for the world economy, especially for those who are looking at retiring now, are thinking of it or are in retirement. Saying just trust in God is a lot easier said then done, and if we are honest and real about it for many of us it would understandably cause much anxiety in respect to our current financial situation, especially given the practical impact it will have on our families. This is even more so for those who are not driven by materialistic gain but have been looking out for their family's future well being through sacrificing personal short term gain for wise long term investments. It's hard to see the so called reward for prudently and wisely investing for long term gain when we focus on the current economic situation. But I stand by what I said about looking at the bigger picture.

You say people have seen a third of their investments drop in recent times (not sure if you mean Super or sharemarket investements). Once again I draw attention to the fact that the positive gains have been considerable over the last 6 years and if you look at the big picture you still have a good overall investment return despite the recent drop. Of cource it would've been better to draw on the investment a year ago rather then now, but that's the volatile nature of the market.

The point I was trying to emphasise is that volatility is not present in our eternal position or investment with God. Under God's grace our eternal inheritance is consistenet and secure. For me personally, I draw on much comfort when I rest in that fact. In saying that, we still need to be sensitive to where people are at and try to encourage each other through these trying times. For me it just helps to look at the big picture, with the economy, but most importantly in our investment and eternal security with God. I hope I have articulated where I am coming from better :)

[beth]

So you guys are fully aware that we're not talking hypothetical 'some people out there'. Whatever we blog about, it's personal and real to someone. Trusting in God is good, and personally, I'm signed on...but when there are turbulent circumstances like these that require a change in our decision making - 'trust in God' and keep doing what you were doing is not possible. 'Trust in God' and work out how to live into tomorrow in all the full practicalities of that is far tougher. Sometimes the wise and prudent thing to do economically and practically would come at to great a cost for others in the situation who are vulnerable. To say to them 'just trust God' could be plain abusive.

To love is to walk on water. It is inherently risky-more vulnerable than the fortunes lost and gained on Wall street. It's not only the material things that we suffer loss in, but the threat to relationships on many levels-marriages are under stress with shame and blame, tenants fear households having to dissolve if the rent goes up, teams of colleagues who have built up trust are wondering who will be made redundant, and how the restructure will affect those relationships.

When I was little, the garage my dad worked for burnt down. We had to leave town because there was no work for him. It wasn't through bad management of finances-we were just a family with no margin, because mum and dad had spent all their funds going into ministry. We came to Melbourne and lived in a caravan. My parents trusted in God...but the emotional cost for my brother, suddenly leaving a little country school and coming to the city took a long time to regain. When people lose their houses it's not the material loss, but the wrench from community and relationship. To a kid who is moving house the fact that the market will recover in the next decade is immaterial. And to an older person who has lived their whole life in one street, deeply significant in their community, the recovery of the market in 5 years is trivial. There's more than just financial and spiritual in separate domains here.

Finances are not inanimate things, but are implicated with our values. If we value community and have sufficient resources, we can afford to put time into supporting, mentoring, providing for and blessing others. We set ourselves up to fund the things we think are important. If these funds are lost, it's not just the material that is lost...but the structure that we had in place. The thing I know I really need to trust God for in this situation is that in the restructure God will be shaping our lives so that although it might not look the same, we will still embody, with whatever resources we have, the kingdom of God.

[Stuart]

I like your comment Beth that saying just to 'trust in God' to someone going through a difficult time is unproductive. I remember when I was going through a horrific time in my life and someone close to me just kept saying "trust in God" but didn't try to understand what I was going through. What I really needed was someone to travel along side me, reassurring me despite my struggles. To say just "trust in God" in itself can come across as some super spiritual, cliche response that could imply that you are not trusting in God at all! Trusting in God doesn't mean we will not struggle, and struggling with life's many challenges doesn't mean we are not necessarily trusting in God.

The way I see it is that we respond to the situation accordingly and trust in God with it. God is not going to do things for us. Often what we experience is a result of reaping what we sowe as Sripture teaches. However at times it is not. We can do things with the best of intentions and still find ourselves in a tough situation. At times it can be down right confusing and seem completely unfair! We have to actively make decisions accordingly with our daily lives and trust in God with them. For me personally when I have really struggled during stages in my life, I found it so reassurring to know that my inheritance with God is secure and that I am safe with Him soley because of the promise He has made in the Bible to all those who trust in Him with their lives. It didn't take away the pain I was going through at the time, as I had to work through that. But it did reassurre me that not all is lost and gave me strength and hope to push on. God is with us through the good and the bad. That in itself is a comforting thought.