Repost of "State of Affairs"
Friends and family,
I am writing some of you with concerns I have about the world we are living in, which as the year passes on I find more disturbing. I am concerned about a housing market that some believe will tank any day now and a country that is increasingly becoming a slave to other nations. What kind of world are we living in now? One where we chase an "almighty" dollar that is absolutely worthless, backed by nothing and at any point in my life could become worth less than the paper it is printed on (remember Germany after WW1?) One where the US debt and inflation just keeps on growing and growing without the government giving us the true numbers or even allowing the economy to correct itself (which would involve a depression). Instead, some predict the US dollar will eventually hyperinflate, causing the country to eventually abandon the dollar for an American form of the euro (one step closer to a one world currency).
We have fallen away from the Founding Fathers' intentions and the principals of God: Prov. 22:7 "The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender."
How many of our friends and family would be able to ride out a severe recession if they lost their jobs and not have to file for bankruptcy or be foreclosed on? How many of us own our homes outright and are debt-free? I know I'm not. Some of us move around to follow jobs instead of protecting and investing in our communities over the long haul. We build disposable subdivisions, run up housing prices through speculation and our mortgage industry has devolved to the point of lending 100 percent on a loan or allowing people to even add to their principal through negative amortization! I recently read a statistic that 42 percent of homebuyers are putting down 0% on their homes (I can attest to that as I basically did the same thing and am paying the price for it). Others are doing adjustable rate mortgages and are in for a rude awakening when interest rates reset. And according to the California Association of Realtors, only 18 percent of the households in California can afford to buy a median priced home with a conventional 30-year mortgage. In a balanced economy that number should be 50 percent.
Meanwhile, our church is fiddling, with many preaching a prosperity message that if you do everything right God is going to bless you with a business, a new job, new car, etc. Only thing is we use the world's system of credit and debt to get what we believe we deserve. We are behind the eight ball. Why aren't we preparing ourselves for the misfortune this country will reap? I have been to many churches but haven't heard a plan that spans demoninations and locations that will provide for our people in the event many of us lose our jobs or the price of goods increases to the point where life is a struggle. On a smaller scale, our families need to be making plans to assist one another in the event of trouble. Like a disaster plan it should list where folks would go and the 411 on employment possiblities. Think about Hurricane Katrina and what happened when all those people flooded the other states, seeking refuge. Imagine a Hurricane Katrina (whether a terrorist attack, disease, war, etc.) on a grander scale. The fact is the country knew a Katrina-type hurricane was coming and basically did nothing. We are doing the same thing now with our economy. I remember writing stories about Katrina, talking to crying people who fled Louisiana with basically the clothes on their backs; others who lived on credit cards for weeks. In July I visited New York where Queens had been without power for more than a week and people were baking in the 90-degree heat. That was just a power outage and people were freaking out. But we forget.
I don't want to ramble, but I hope that we can start discussions about what we can do to help each other out. The Lord calls his people to sacrifice for one another and to live prudently. The End times is drawing near and only the faithful who can endure will survive.
MJ
I am writing some of you with concerns I have about the world we are living in, which as the year passes on I find more disturbing. I am concerned about a housing market that some believe will tank any day now and a country that is increasingly becoming a slave to other nations. What kind of world are we living in now? One where we chase an "almighty" dollar that is absolutely worthless, backed by nothing and at any point in my life could become worth less than the paper it is printed on (remember Germany after WW1?) One where the US debt and inflation just keeps on growing and growing without the government giving us the true numbers or even allowing the economy to correct itself (which would involve a depression). Instead, some predict the US dollar will eventually hyperinflate, causing the country to eventually abandon the dollar for an American form of the euro (one step closer to a one world currency).
We have fallen away from the Founding Fathers' intentions and the principals of God: Prov. 22:7 "The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender."
How many of our friends and family would be able to ride out a severe recession if they lost their jobs and not have to file for bankruptcy or be foreclosed on? How many of us own our homes outright and are debt-free? I know I'm not. Some of us move around to follow jobs instead of protecting and investing in our communities over the long haul. We build disposable subdivisions, run up housing prices through speculation and our mortgage industry has devolved to the point of lending 100 percent on a loan or allowing people to even add to their principal through negative amortization! I recently read a statistic that 42 percent of homebuyers are putting down 0% on their homes (I can attest to that as I basically did the same thing and am paying the price for it). Others are doing adjustable rate mortgages and are in for a rude awakening when interest rates reset. And according to the California Association of Realtors, only 18 percent of the households in California can afford to buy a median priced home with a conventional 30-year mortgage. In a balanced economy that number should be 50 percent.
Meanwhile, our church is fiddling, with many preaching a prosperity message that if you do everything right God is going to bless you with a business, a new job, new car, etc. Only thing is we use the world's system of credit and debt to get what we believe we deserve. We are behind the eight ball. Why aren't we preparing ourselves for the misfortune this country will reap? I have been to many churches but haven't heard a plan that spans demoninations and locations that will provide for our people in the event many of us lose our jobs or the price of goods increases to the point where life is a struggle. On a smaller scale, our families need to be making plans to assist one another in the event of trouble. Like a disaster plan it should list where folks would go and the 411 on employment possiblities. Think about Hurricane Katrina and what happened when all those people flooded the other states, seeking refuge. Imagine a Hurricane Katrina (whether a terrorist attack, disease, war, etc.) on a grander scale. The fact is the country knew a Katrina-type hurricane was coming and basically did nothing. We are doing the same thing now with our economy. I remember writing stories about Katrina, talking to crying people who fled Louisiana with basically the clothes on their backs; others who lived on credit cards for weeks. In July I visited New York where Queens had been without power for more than a week and people were baking in the 90-degree heat. That was just a power outage and people were freaking out. But we forget.
I don't want to ramble, but I hope that we can start discussions about what we can do to help each other out. The Lord calls his people to sacrifice for one another and to live prudently. The End times is drawing near and only the faithful who can endure will survive.
MJ
posted by Mojoglo | 4:58 AM
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