t’s made front-page headlines in almost every newspaper we look at. The problems plaguing the global economy seem as if they’ll never end. When you flip on the television, talk show hosts and guests still are debating the cause of the debacle in the financial industry and how it might have been prevented. As a banker, I just don’t read and hear about it: I live and breathe it every day. It’s troubling—to say the least. But how should Christians relate to this financial crisis? What should be our role in helping the world get out of this mess?
The Cause
Because I work in an industry bursting with corporate pressure to add numbers to the bottom line, I’m exposed to people obsessed with accumulating wealth and see it as a means to internal peace and happiness. In reality, the desire for wealth can be the beginning of turmoil and stress. At least, that’s what the Bible says.
First Timothy 6:9, 10 reads: “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
One of the main causes of the financial crisis was a term Americans have grown all too familiar with: “subprime mortgages.” These are mortgages made out to borrowers with lower credit ratings and who therefore have a higher risk of defaulting on the loan. These mortgages prompted a trickling effect on the global economy. If the mortgage loans go bad, they don’t just hurt the banks that are forced to foreclose; they also hurt the investor who bought the loan. Once a mortgage is sold, if the loan goes into default the mortgage banker has no penalties to pay. Within a few weeks after borrowers sign a mortgage note, the mortgage banker who sold it receives a commission check. After a few months, that mortgage is no longer held by the bank that provided the money. That bank has sold the note in the form of a bond to an investor. The person who is hurt when the loan goes bad is the investor, not the banker.
The “investor” could be many entities. It could be another bank, an individual, or a large corporation. Because there were no penalties for the banker, in the past few years a few mortgage bankers simply continued to provide bad loans and pocket their commissions. The problem was that the mortgage bankers who ruined the economy handled the highest volume of loans. These bankers reasoned that they wouldn’t be penalized by their employers if the loans went bad, so they saw this situation as an opportunity to make a lot of money doing less-than-ethical business. The result is that the world has been plunged into what is quite possibly the most devastating financial ruin since the Great Depression.
The Problem With Wealth
Money can be like a drug. It’s addictive because we view it as a means to contentment. Being wealthy isn’t wrong, but when acquiring wealth becomes our primary goal, the results can be disastrous—and eternal. The more luxuries we experience, the more we want. We can easily become accustomed to the level of contentment wealth brings us, so we grapple for more. This cycle can continue until our lives become one long quest for more wealth, leading us down a path of destruction. As Hebrews 13:5 tells us: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
Because I’m a banker, I’m often asked my opinion on the cause of the financial crisis and how it might have been prevented. My answer is summed up in just one word: “desire.” Desire caused the economy to take the plunge, and desire could have prevented it. Desire for more worldly riches caused the depressed economy, and desire for heavenly riches could have prevented it.
Those who live in the United States have immersed themselves in a materialistic culture. Those who have the most expensive cars or the largest homes are idolized and envied for their success and prosperity. We’re always trying to get “ahead” and be the “best.” The problem, however, is that too often we measure ourselves, not by what’s on the inside but by what’s on the outside, because that’s what’s visible to the naked eye: money, status, and material possessions. Our quest for material satisfaction, however, often leads to a life of dissatisfaction and an insatiable thirst for even more “things,” as described in Ecclesiastes 5:10: “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.”
The Christian Difference
In all of this there is still good news: humankind has the opportunity to rise above the storm by giving of ourselves and our resources to those in need. Fifty years from now—if Jesus has not returned—when what some are referring to as the second Great Depression of the early twenty-first century is studied in history classes, wouldn’t it be gratifying if what stands out as memorable are evidences of compassion, cooperation, and help for one another on a previously unparalleled scale?
How can we assist our fellow humans to weather this crisis? One way is to increase our giving. Many families have lost their homes and are struggling to put food on the table. Breadwinners have become unemployed, and life is growing increasingly more difficult to manage. Many people need our financial gifts to help get them through these hardships.
The owner of an apartment complex I recently financed has several tenants who lost their jobs as a result of the economic crisis. They could no longer pay their rent and had to move out of their apartments and into the homes of their respective families just to survive. Many of these former tenants have young children whose Christmases and birthdays are lean, if not nonexistent, in terms of gifts and food.
Another way to help is to utilize your vocation to provide free advice and training to those who might benefit. For example, as a banker I’ve offered consultations—free of charge—on debt management. Other professionals are helping in similar ways, such as Christian therapists who are providing free counseling to couples growing apart because of the intense and overwhelming financial strain. Professionals offering these types of services can be of great service to those who are struggling.
We also should not neglect to pray for one another, offering spiritual as well as practical encouragement and support. In short, we need to help others in any way we can.
The One Constant
The economy will continue to go through cycles such as this, but one thing will always remain constant: hope. Hope that today God will put food on our tables and peace in our hearts. Hope that one day we will never again have to experience such intense emotional and physical distress. Hope that the end of sin and its devastation is near and that Jesus will come soon.
The desire we have should be to serve Christ and others. Living by that principle alone can buy much more joy than money ever could.
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Bradley Skilton is a commercial banker living in Florida. This article was printed January 14, 2010.
