Fighting fear with faith

Well, here we are in October and in some parts of the US leaves are already falling! Also falling, it seems, is much of our confidence in our current situation. The economic tribulations of recent times have produced headaches and headlines and have absolutely shaken the optimism that one normally finds among us. (I'm unable to resist inserting here the insightful apercu of Father George Rutler who said that optimism is the pagan substitute for the Christian principle of hope!)

It would be insensitive at best, and Nero-like at worst, to pretend that we are not facing turbulent financial waters for our society, our governments, our businesses and ourselves.

However, it is not improper to point out that much of our concern is exacerbated by hype. I was amused to see TV coverage of a "crisis" that seemed to imply that no one anywhere could get a loan for anything. Fortunately, that is not the case - I personally know several people - friends and family - who have just secured home equity loans and car loans in the past couple of weeks. The 24 hour media cycle virtually demands the infusion of more drama so that individual entities can stand out from the onrush of the "white noise" out there, so we all need to sprinkle a liberal dose of Morton's favorite product into our media meals here.

Times like this require sober analysis rather than hysterical reaction. While my chemistry grades in school were less than stellar, I propose a formula to assist us in understanding our dilemma. This is : Pride + Greed = Fear

Now I know in speaking to some pastors and committees that there is a sense of trepidation out there and a desire in some quarters to just place everything on hold and not try to raise any money. I would greatly encourage you to check out the blog of my boss and friend, John Cunneen, who has published a list of reasons why institutions should move forward now in addressing their needs for stewardship. Our firm has crafted this analysis to help clear the smoke from the eyes, so to speak, so that we can proceed to address our needs in a reasonable way. Good stuff indeed.

My aim, here, by contrast, is to examine our scenario from another perspective, so I want to go back to my "equation." C.S. Lewis, I believe, has said that all sin ultimately begins with pride. Our pride, our sense that rules don't apply to us, or that limits are for others, for instance, enables us to delude ourselves that we can take or get for ourselves what we want. To complicate the situation, we add in the next deadly sin - greed.

Greed is defined as "a selfish and excessive desire for more of something than is needed." That can certainly be a defining characteristic of our society today. We have taken our blessings for granted and have substituted greed for gratitude in many cases. Ergo, we plant the seeds of our own demise. Think about it. I remember thinking, as a young Army officer stationed in West Germany during the Cold War, that if I could just purchase that new silver Volvo GLE that I would quench my thirst for a fine automobile. Buying that car - and it was a fine set of wheels by any standard - did not satiate my desire, however, it only stoked it.

This materialistic impulse has many causes and ramifications -too many to consider here. (Hilaire Belloc, the profound and prolific historian and author, felt that our materialistic streak was a reaction to the rise of Communism; a very compelling insight, in my view) But suffice to say that the potent combination of these twin terrors -pride and greed - has produced the inevitable by-product, our fear.

Yes, much of the economic climate's cloudy condition is blamed on the wild excesses of Wall Street. I have no qualm with that diagnosis nor much sympathy for the perpetrators whose greed and arrogance are well-documented. Yet, we are the willing participants in this cauldron of chaos. It's us - the folks who signed on for mortgages we knew couldn't afford, invested in creative financial vehicles with dubious foundations and generally just gorged like gluttons at the table of plenty that we have been blessed with in our land.

Cures are often distasteful, but they are prescribed because they ultimately will be of greater and more lasting benefit than the short-term discomfort. Perhaps this is our medicine. We can learn from our binge that this is not an aberration but an unavoidable condition that we'll experience whenever our greed and pride run rampant over our good judgment and humility.

It is in times of distress that churches need more of our help, not less. This is because the material, emotional and spiritual support they provide us all will be needed all the more. I would humbly suggest that we think less about the economy's impact on our trips to the mall and a bit more on how fewer trips to that mall might enable us to discover a better use for our dollars. I promise to do such thinking myself! We've all heard the adage about the lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness. It might also behoove us to reflect upon Saint Paul's admonition in his letter to the Galatians (6:2-3): "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, deceives himself."

We must lose the prideful sense that we are the sole determinants of our own destiny. We profess our faith with the understanding that we participate with Our Lord on our journey to salvation. We are called to believe the tenets of our religion both in season and out, so our call to be good stewards does not have an exemption clause when our 401k balance takes a tumble. Perhaps we have been a little too smug in believing that because of our "advanced civilization" that we are immune from the vagaries of the market and of life and that our wealth will just increase unceasingly. Our forebears understood some things we are loath to accept - among them that thrift is a virtue, consumption is not always virtuous and that sometimes life will deliver events that are unplanned and unpalatable. G.K. Chesterton referred to modern man as practicing the tyranny of the living -in that we feel superior to our ancestors just because we're alive now and that what they thought "back then" doesn't matter anymore.

I want to close this reflection with a call to faith from the prophet Jeremiah (9:23-24) "Thus says the Lord, 'let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him who glories glory in this, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.'"



Quote of the posting: "Our fears do make us traitors."
Shakespeare (Hamlet)