Almost all economists know that the world cannot go on as it is economically. But specifically, what about America, much less the entire world? What is building up monetarily in the U.S. cannot sustain indefinitely and go on forever. But the average citizen does not see what is coming over the horizon upon this nation.The American public is even deeper in debt on credit card charges than ever. Many have purchased homes with no collateral and with poor credit. Every day, the balance of trade for this country grows more precarious in that we are spending more overseas than we are taking in for the sale of goods manufactured in trade.
A price to pay. The U.S. has almost no energy reserves, and what we have, is locked up in bureaucracy and "green peace" litigation and short-sightedness. We are more and more beholding to the Arab nations for oil and their hatred for Israel could cause them at any time to shut off the supply and bring this nation to its knees. China will soon be the largest consumer of energy, and it will in a short time control the assets and bonds of the world and especially of America.
The United States was the moral beacon of the world, and the most prosperous country above all the nations on the globe. But the country is slipping rapidly into decline. If everything a nation, and an individual does is theological, then there is a price to pay for our spiritual apostasy. Materialism, narcissism, gross immorality, self-centeredness, are all coming together to destroy us within.
Greed and spending. Since 1994, U.S. households have increasingly added to their debt at a faster rate than the increase of their disposable income. In other words, Americans are spending more than they make—and they just add the debt to their high interest credit cards. In the fall of 2007 this accelerated at an unbelievable rate!
With low mortgage rates, they moved upwards to more expensive homes. A vacuum developed at the lower end of the market where buyers were scarce and where they almost always did not qualify for a mortgage. Mortgage brokers were then squeezed by lending banks for more issuances of almost bogus mortgages.
A cycle began that was a worldwide phenomenon. Seeing problems on the horizon, banks began to slice up their holding of a large number of accumulated mortgages. In the Clinton years a dangerous trend began. Many who relied on sub-prime mortgages to own a house, lagged behind their rising real cost of living. Many bought a house with no money down, with no equity, no credit check. When the time came to take on a new loan agreement, the new contract was made on a balloon with a much higher percentage to pay on that loan. Many homeowners then started to go into foreclosure.
When biblical morality and financial sanity ruled the cry was to "Save, save, save"! But now the cry is to "Spend, spend, spend"! Those institutions who hold mortgages believe now this is the only way to save the U.S. economy! However some banks have already admitted to writing off large amounts of losses, compelling them to seek equally large capital injections in order to avoid having to call in loans.
Easy mortgages were the rule from late 2005 to early 2007 and many of these are due to mature to a higher rate in 2008. The only answer, which is a disaster in itself, is for the government to step in and institute measures to protect the U.S. financial system before it falls under the control of perhaps not the most friendly of foreign investors, i.e. the Chinese. Some say our only answer will be higher inflation rates which would cause a death blow to the U.S. economy at this stage of the melt-down and freeze up the entire financial system. Either way, what happens will ultimately be caused by godless selfishness and greed, whether the fault lies with the bankers or unabated consumerism.
Whether our own government or foreign investors, such as the Chinese, try to bail us out, in either case we will become a slave nation brought to our knees by our own sins.
Israel’s fall, morally and economically, came about because the nation turned away from the Lord. The people stopped listening to God and replaced Him with their own brand of prosperity. The Lord then said,
To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed, and they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them; they have no delight in it. ... For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain, and from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely. (Jer. 6:11-14)
Even more, Jeremiah had warned that the nation of Israel’s waywardness would bring on the destruction of the Babylonians. The nation, when it lost God, would lose its prosperity and its protection.
The Babylonians will devour your harvest and your food; they will devour your flocks and your herds; they will devour your vines and your fig trees; they will demolish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust. (Jer. 5:16-17)
The problem for Israel was a spiritual issue, just as with America today. Jeremiah said: "They have refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent" (Jer. 5:3). But the people did not believe that destruction would come. "They have lied about the Lord and said, ‘Not He; misfortune will not come on us; and we will not see sword or famine’" (v. 12).
So with America! We do not believe there will be a price to pay for our sinful waywardness!
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