Not good enough

           In 1976, my dad was in the carpentry business in British Columbia Canada. The economy went under and I remember long line-ups for gas at that time. Times were tough. Fast forward to 1986 and I was let go in the Oil and Gas industry. It was extremely hard to find a job. Fast forward again to 2008 and the world economy fell through the floor. Countries and major companies went under. Can you see the pattern? The economy falls off about every ten years.

            I never mentioned the 1990’s, but I know there was a bad crash financially there too for many. I am just reflecting on how it happens quite often. The economy seems to be a breathing entity. It inhales and exhales. I say “just relax.” Yes, the economy is starting to fall again but it always rebounds. There is just one small caveat to that remark: maybe not this time.

            I certainly don’t want to be an alarmist. Things are never as good as they seem or as bad. It’s just that my ears have perked up; the hair on the back of my neck has risen; and my spidey senses have gone off. Something is wrong this time in 2015 more than ever before. I am certainly no economist but I feel that my age makes me an expert. If I had a dime for every time I have heard this “this is the worst ever or best ever” I’d be very rich. Still, something is wrong this time.

            You see, I bet it happens every generation. People say that was the best catch ever (as if they have seen them all). They repost this is the coldest winter ever (yet we have only recorded temps for just over a hundred years). I saw a commercial asking you to give money to stop global warming (really). In our little window of life we see very little. Take for instance wars. Napoleon fought in the early 1800’s and things seemed bleak and many men died. In later years we have had two world wars and some thought in both cases this is the end. Throughout history trouble has found us, but yet here we are.

            What does God have to say about the economy? Let’s look at two proverbs: 15:16 “Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil” and 13:11 “Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.” There are plenty more but I see a pattern with God. We need to inhale and exhale when it comes to success and money. God asks us to work hard and play soft. What I mean is that it’s fine to work hard but don’t go crazy with the benefits; over doing it will come back to bite you in hard times.

            Never say it’s the worst of times. Never say it’s the best either. Work hard and do what you need to every day no matter the economy. Now back to this year. It’s early, it’s January, yet I’m wondering if the whiz kids on Wall Street are not good enough. It’s 2015 and we have struggled around the world to get our economies in order for 7 years now. The Americans keep getting deeper in debt, and print money like it’s on sale. Is it possible that the new generation of financial thinkers is less than stellar?

            Why can’t we get out of this mess like we have every ten years before? How could we be heading for a recession this year? I wonder if we never got out of the last one. There was a decision made in 2008 to borrow money until the economy improved. I think that was a mistake. Now when a downturn comes we have debt dragging us down. In history we have had many poverty eras. It was when times were hard and people starved: living was tough. Have we tried to avoid these times by printing money to ease the pain. It appears pain is coming quicker and staying longer.

            They say we have made a soft generation because kids have been given too much. I bet every generation has said that. Still though, the bankers of today have tried to spend their way out of this mess in 2008. 7 years later we are still floundering. In this disposable generation we have left a terrible legacy. Kids today just throw away and replace instead of repair and stick with it. I wonder if in the past we got through tough times because we knew how to ride it out. The proverb says wealth comes from hard work over time. If the young economists today don’t have the inner tools to wait and suffer, maybe there is cause for alarm this time. I’m beginning to wonder if the tools we gave them are not good enough.

Faith comes alive