By Neil Earle
This summer my wife and I returned home from church services with a message waiting for us from our neighbors.
“Better get your money out of the bank down the road – its about to fold!”
Well, our friendly neighborhood bank had already closed for the day so there wasn’t much we could do until Monday. I comforted myself with thoughts of what I new about FDIC – a federally mandated program program since 1933 that had Washington guaranteeing deposits under $100,000. We were – ahem – well below that but still, here we were, in a scene almost right out of the 1946 classic movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart.
I’m sure you’ve all heard of it. It concerns the crash of the ficticious “Bailey Savings and Loan” and how it sends George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) into abject misery.
Who would have thought of it?
In the end we did get our money moved safely to another bank and urged out Finance Committee at the local church to do the same. Which they did.
So far, so good.
But this shows the kinds of things that can happen out there. Unexpectedly, undeniably the safe secure world of almost 100,000,000 householders in this country has been punctured. It is all a matter of degree and all of us – Christians, non-Christians alike – are all in the same boat. It reminds me of Jesus Christ’s words about the rain falling on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45).
So far the damage has been limited. As I write the Finance Reps of the North Atlantic nations are meeting to stem the tide. Many are worried about another Great Depression and that could happen. But long-term analysts I respect such as the English-born historian from Harvard, Niall Ferguson, devoted the cover story of last week’s Time magazine to show that, in his judgment, no such Great Depression is in the offing. I’m one of those who like to stay up on things so I was happy to see that the Canadian-born, London-based international relations writer Gwynn Dyer feels the same way.
Meanhwile we’ve been urging our congregations to take 1 Timothy 2:2 to heart. That’s the passage where the apostle Paul strongly urges his people to pray for rulers, authority figures, and those in charge to get things done right. Why? So we can live a peaceful and stable life centered about getting the Gospel out.
Actually, one of the best things we have going for us in this time is the Great Depression itself. Just the sheer force of the cultural memory of that horrendous 1930s decade has motivated planners and leaders for 60 years to take precautions to prevent such a mess happening again. Safeguards such as FDIC, a more activist role by the Federal Reserve (sort of a fire brigade for ailing banks) and intense international discussions to repair the damage – all of this happening now is exactly what wasn’t being done in the 1930s, says Ferguson. This is what gives Ferguson and Dyer their guarded optimism.
I must admit I share their outlook. That doesn’t mean there won’t be severe penalties to pay. We could be in some depressing times if not a depression. I’ve already heard of two church brethren who have lost their jobs over this.
Interestingly, Christians are counseled over and over in Scripture. “Be not conformed to this world,” "endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ,” “Watch and pray that that day not come upon you unawares.”
This is not a matter of doling out cold comfort to people with large families and mouths to feed. We had a family of six show up in August and were able to help a little. It comes down to the fact that even though life is worth living and problems are worth facing and that even we Christians are not promised charmed lives. In fact the Bible says, Many are the afflictions of the righteous (Psalm 34:17). The best time to remember all this is when good things are happening in our lives. That’s the time to build a spiritual relationship with the one who says, I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13). But even if you haven’t it’s hardly ever too late.
Times like these are also times to lend a helping hand to those who are up against it. Most churches have members who rally around – putting a brother to work at jobs that need doing, alerting them to jobs that are available where we work, looking out for each other. In short: becoming our brother’s keeper. I know people in our congregation and elsewhere who do just that.
Remember how It’s a Wonderful Life ends?
The whole town of Bedford Falls pitches in to help bail out “Bailey Savings and Loan.” They have a merry Capra Christmas. So can you. Look around, reconnect with old friends and acquaintances if these troubles have struck. And, in the midst of it all, why not go back to church. Chances are you’ll meet more than a few folks who really care, perhaps more than you ever thought, and – who knows – you might even hear a message or listen to a song that can get you thinking in different ways. One like we sang this morning:
“This is my Father’s
world, O let me ne’er forget,
That tho the wrong seems O so strong, God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world, The battle is not done,
Jesus who died shall be satisfied, And earth and heav’n be
one.”