help

In searching through the Google news feed today, I came across a headline that reads:

"Fannie Mae posts record $29 billion loss in 3rd qtr."

The subtext reads:

"Fannie Mae said on Monday it is losing money so fast it may have to tap the government for cash to avoid shutting down after the largest source of funding for US homes reported a record $29 billion loss."

And I'm sitting here, wondering:

How is a follower of Jesus supposed to view and respond to that?

This isn't the first time I've asked myself this question.  I would say that I've endeavored to have an informed, well thought out opinion about the economic crisis, so that I could converse and vote accordingly.  I've tried to weigh out the balance between mercy and justice--to live in that tension, even as it concerns financial policy.

But what struck me is this: $700 billion dollars later, this problem is not fixed.  They are asking for more money.

And that's scary.  It scares be because the presence of a large amount of cash was supposed to solve the problem.  Not instantaneously... but measurably, at least.  It did not.  It scares me because I think we're putting our trust in money--liquidity, to be more economically precise--rather than in the strength of character that comes from owning poor decisions, accepting the consequences thereof, and operating differently to change things over the long haul.

This makes me wonder:

-I wonder if we are too afraid to experience the pain of our poor financial decisions.  I wonder if we are willing to learn the hard lessons that come through grappling with the real consequences of our choices.

-I wonder if we're afraid to be tested.  I wonder if we're willing to live on a lot less, or if we're even able, having lived on more that we could afford, much less need, for so long.

-I wonder if we lack courage.

-I wonder if we crave freedom--pure, unadulterated freedom--like we used to.  Freedom from debt.  Freedom to give out of what we have earned.  Freedom to help those around us from the means that God has blessed us with, and the freedom to trust him with the rest.

-I wonder if the American people, apart from the American government, could or even would help one another through difficult times.

-I wonder if war is the only thing that has the power to bind us together, spurring us toward a common goal.  I hope not.

-I wonder if we are willing to endure discipline.

-I wonder why we expect so little from ourselves and so much from our government.

Several realizations are being reinforced in me through all of this:

-We are all connected.  All of us.  We are not just a group of individuals, each taking responsibility for himself or herself alone.  What I do affects those around me--my consumer debt, my education debt, my home debt, my whatever debt.  I'm giving my money away to people who may or may not use it appropriately.  And they may be giving my money away to people who either don't deserve it, didn't earn it, or will misuse it.  We are all connected in that way.

-The government should help the people, but should also help the people take ownership for their decisions.  Legislation should be passed and supported to help those who can not help themselves.  But laws should be enforced that penalize those who make unlawful decisions--including spending borrowed money without the means to pay it back.  

-The American people should strive for mercy toward one another, and justice for themselves.  This was inspired by a story that my grandmother told me recently, as we were discussing the economy, and the recent election (at the time of the conversation, it was the upcoming election).  She recounted what it was like when her and her then husband (my now deceased grandfather) made a bunch of poor money choices when they were first married.  She said, as-a-matter-of-factly: "You know, there wasn't anyone around to help us out then.  But, we knew what we had to do.  There were a couple of real hard years there, but we pulled ourselves out of it."  

Now, that doesn't negate our obligation to show mercy toward those in need.  I hope that a church family or community would see a young couple like my grandparents back then, come around them, and provide support for them to make it through.  But: I hope that their community would do it in such a way that encouraged my grandmother and grandfather to take responsibility for their actions, to admit to their fault, to accept the consequences, and to strive to live better.  Mercy should never replace justice.  It should work with it, work towards it.

That's the kind of help we should want, and that's the kind of help we are obligated to give.