How Rich Were We?
 
On Sunday we begin a two-week look at the ways that financial pressures complicate our quest for a more simple and Christ-focused life. The research for the sermon has been fascinating, though at times I came close to drowning in a sea of statistics. But I dog paddle well enough and made it safely to shore before the last wave of numbers threatened to pull me under.
 
I’ve read about the national debt and consumer debt (non-mortgage debt such as car loans and credit card debt), and the metaphor of drowning becomes more serious as we measure our situation. We’re in trouble. No wonder finances are among the big three stressors in our lives (along with time and relationships).
 
I’m no economist, but it seems pretty simple. We have debt because we borrow. We borrow because we want something we can’t afford. And some – not all – that we want and for which we borrow, we want a lot more than we need. Simple to describe, difficult, nearly impossible, for some to escape. Continue Reading »