By Steven Phillips, PhD 

 One of holiday “traditions” around our household is to watch several of the classic Christmas movies during the season.  These vintage films have the power to cause one to think more about the blessings that life has bestowed upon us instead of the momentary problems that we might be facing.  They help us remember the fact that life itself is a gift worth far more than anything that comes in brightly colored wrapping paper – and, remembering that, can give you hope – even  during difficult economic times.  So it was that this holiday season, Rachel and I sat down to enjoy an evening with Jimmy Stewart in “It's A Wonderful Life.” But this year, with our nation in the throes of major bank failures and millions of people losing their homes in foreclosure, the old tale seemed to cry out with an eerie, prophetic significance.  All I could think was, “I wonder who is the evil Mr. Potter of our day trying to buy up the failing banks and seeking to profit off of the suffering of so many?” 

It is a question that deserves an answer and, I am afraid as Christians, it is a question that you and I are required to ask!

At the very core of our mission as Christians within our society is the matter of righting injustices and helping the poor.  In Luke 4:18 & 19, Jesus defines His mission in no uncertain terms, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;  And to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." You cannot make a very convincing argument that anyone who considers themselves to be a disciple of Jesus would have any other purpose in life.  Moreover, every generation of Christians before us has accepted that one of our primary responsibilities is to right wrongs and meet the needs of others.  We have never done a perfect job with commission but none of us could argue that we are not suppose to try.

However, there is a opposing philosophy that has always been at odds with this mission of ours. It's the root of the problem that faced George Baily in “It's A Wonderful Life” and it is the root of the problem facing our economy today – it's name is Greed!

Greed really isn't about money, it's about privilege at the expense of others.  Greed spreads a lie in our society that it's “OK” for a select few to prosper even if it causes others to suffer.  It has nothing to do with legitimate business – it has to do with the manipulation of business, government and circumstances to favor some and ignore others.  That sort of behavior is wrong, it's an injustice and it is sinful.  And that sort of behavior is being wrapped up in a deceptive wrapper and sold to us during the current economic crisis.  And. as Christians, we need to stand against it!

I invite you to read the New York Times article of December 28, 2008 by Eric Lipton and David Kirkpatrick entitled, “Veterans of 90's Bailout Hope to Profit From New One' and I pray it will anger you as much as it did me.  It seems that there are consulting firms in America who have been formed to help clients apply for large sums of the $700,000,000,000.00 bailout funds that Congress made available to keep our economy from collapsing. (I know I could have saved space by simply writing “$700 Billion” like everyone else has been doing these days, but it somehow helps to put the figure into better perspective to write it out numerically with all of the commas and zeros, doesn't it?) 

On the surface, that doesn't seem like such a sinister plot or conspiracy to deceive the trust of the American people.  But the story has a dark side to it.

First of all you must see that this enormous and unprecedented sum of money is coming from the tax revenues of the American people – it is a burden that each of us has  taken on together.  That is important to keep in mind because it is a sacrifice each of us has made to collectively try to avert a disaster.  Those funds are a massive “community effort” to do what we all can to help in a time of need.

Unfortunately, the “clients” of these firm are the very executives who steered our economic ship into these troubled waters in the first place.  And the consulting firms are advising these clients to apply for these funds in anticipation of the massive government auctions that will soon be held to sell off all of the real estate that soon be dumped on the market from the recent and pending foreclosures.  In other words, they are advising them how to use the sacrificial dollars that we made available so they can use them to “repurchase” these properties for pennies on the dollar when they are auctioned off!  However, as bad as that scenario is, there is still more to add insult to this injury of gargantuan proportions.  Apparently some of these same consulting firms are lobbying the government officials charged with managing the “bailout” to try to influence who gets the bailout funds (namely, their clients), when the properties are auctioned off, and even the discounted price that the properties should be valued at.

And, who are these consultants?  Apparently many of them are former senior government people  who benefited in the same way from the bail out of the savings and loans in the 1990's!

This isn't simply a case of “smart business” savvy, it is immoral (and possibly illegal) greed!  A nation that builds itself on the principle of a few people being allowed to profit at the expense of the sufferings of others will find itself at odds with a God who is committed to removing the burdens off of the backs of down trodden people.
I, for one. am sick and tired of Christians who think that God is more interested in “Free Enterprise” than He is in “Moral Enterprise”.  Before we shake our heads and try to chalk all of this mess up to the so called “Dead Beats” who simply bit off more mortgage payment than they could afford, we'd do well to call into question some of the recent changes in the regulation of lending practices that made all of this possible.  There has been has been a massive overhaul of deregulation that somehow escaped media attention but, nonetheless paved the way to bring us to  where we are today.  The “little guy” didn't have the influence to bring this about.  It took people in high places with experience and influence to to set such giant wheels in motion. When you examine who stands to gain the most you may see quite a different picture. 

The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10).  Wow!  there is a lot in that that statement.  Money isn't evil it's inanimate.  You can do a lot of good with money.  You can also do a lot of evil if you choose.   But if you love it – if money and the power it buys  consumes your passions and attentions so fully that you take your eyes off of the values of Jesus – you are headed for trouble.

Isn't it interesting that the primary place we Americans see the phrase, “In God We Trust” is on our money.  It's not on our schools, not on our military bases, not even on our hospitals.  We didn't print it on our flag or write it into our Constitution.  We just put it on our money.  Perhaps it was meant to be a reminder that if we ever start to “worship” money, we'd been in serious trouble.  Perhaps our current crisis has brought us to the brink of that serious mistake.  Perhaps is has revealed that some people have already stepped over that line.  If that's the case, we have to be careful that our nation does not follow them over that precipice.

You are probably thinking that I was against the “bailout” legislation – but you'd be wrong.  In an odd sort of way, I was proud of it.  I was proud that we would sacrifice as a national community to save our nation.  I believe it is a huge risk, but I also believe we are sometimes called to take huge risks for the common good.  I have always believed that God has blessed our nation for our willingness to give to meet the needs of our national community.  I have also thought that God would resist those who try to manipulate the system for their own profit. 

Well, I guess we are about to see if that's true. 

I guess my advice in this matter is pretty simple.  A true Christian cannot be aligned with the “Potters” of this world.  It's the “George Baily's” that more closely represent the heart of Jesus.  God knows who each and every one of us are and whose values we share.  And, in the end, only those committed to making it “a wonderful life” for every one will walk in His blessing and favor.  If there are sinister forces in motion to manipulate the $700,000,000,000.00 that all of us have put up in good faith for our nation, I pray God will expose them and bring them down.  Put your trust in God, America.  He is willing to bless us even more than He has in the past if we align with Him again.