Facing the food fuel weather and financial crisis today January 17, 2008
Posted by Han in : Life's Challenge , trackbackFor the first time, the world had to go through a series of crisis one after another. The recent hikes in food & fuel price, the financial crunch or economic crisis and not forgetting the ongoing weather crisis which we are still trying hard to fight had undeniably brought much suffering to millions around the world.
Modern economies today depend so much on fuel that a surge in its price could easily increase the price or cost of almost every other thing in the world. As a result of tight supply of fuel, some have resorted in using plants such as corn, sugar crops, palm fruits to convert to fuel & thus causing an increase in food prices which we have all witness.
Bad weather had made our food cultivation activities even more difficult as crops are often destroyed in floods & etc. We saw how huge banks such as Lehman Brothers could go bankrupt and huge corporations such as AIG in the U.S. succumbed to the financial meltdown. Stocks value in the Exchanges fell like never before and many had lost millions almost overnight.
Amidst all these crisis which happened almost simultaneously, many are finding hard to cope with their daily life. To ease people’s pain and misery, governments of many nations had provided subsidies such as for fuel and food. Billions of funds had to be injected to bail out corporations and into the stock market to ensure that stock values would not deplete any further.
For most poor to medium income earners, many are having almost only 2 meals a day. Some are forced to take on 2 jobs per day resulting in increased stress and perhaps even strain to their relationships at home due to financial problems. In many countries, these crisis have sparked street protests, strikes and increased crime rates. As much as we hated these crisis and the problems & sufferings we had to go through, these crisis are definitely here to stay for now and we MUST LEARN to cope with it.
Yes, we must work harder to manage our finances wisely but most important we MUST NOT lose sight of the importance of GOD in our lives. It is good to ask ourselves perhaps during this period of most difficult times what we really need and what could be depended on most to continue with our survival and have a good life in this present state.
Life Giving Bread
It is without a doubt that everyday we need physical food to sustain our physical lives. We feel the pinch when prices of food went up and for most of us; we had to give up some of our favorite snacks & food, which we once used to enjoy freely. It is also a known fact that our lives are only temporal in this world.
No matter how much, how expensive or exclusive the type of food we consume, our physical body will still have to expire one day. However, God offers us food that differs from this world.
In John 6:48-51 “I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the dessert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat & not die. I am the living bread that come down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh , which I will give for the life of the world.” Our God offers us bread that when we eat, we will have eternal life.
Life Giving Spirit
While some Government partially subsidises food and fuel bills. Our God fully subsidises the life giving bread and life generating spirit. Even with the subsidies many people were still unhappy with prices of goods and are felt unhappy. Here, our God had made it absolutely free. All we have to do is to ASK.
God had paid a tremendous price through the life of His Son Jesus Christ to make this 100% subsidy possible. Isaiah 55:1-2 “ Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters: and you who have no money, come buy and eat! Come buy wine & milk without money & without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, & your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me , & eat what is good, & your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”
Abundant Life
The surge in food, fuel price & the current financial crisis had led much people grumbling, complaining and even organized street protests. Some of Jesus’s disciples also grumbled when He declares that He was the life-giving bread from heaven. For those who reject Him will continue to live the suffering life and those who choose to follow Jesus & accept Him, will have abundant life.
John 6:43-47 “Stop grumbling among yourselves.” Jesus answered, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, & I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: “They will all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to the Father & learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God : only he has seen the Father . I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.”
So stop grumbling or complaining with what we are going through now & follow Him if we want an abundant & everlasting life.
Debt Free Life
If we were to go deeper and find out what was the root cause for the serious global financial crisis, many would agree that it must begin with BORROWING. The credit crunch in the U.S, which brought about many of the financial institutions to bankruptcy in the U.S. was all about borrowers unable to repay back their loans from purchase of properties.
The temptation to borrow and purchase properties just because property market was booming had led many including the moderate or low-income earners to purchase expensive properties. Never did they expect that the property market would collapse.
The Bible warns about the consequences of borrowings, Proverbs 22:7 “ The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender”. During this difficult period of time, it is obvious that one should not obtain new loans and for those who have an existing loan, the focus would be to repay them completely at the soonest possible.
There are undoubtly many people who wanted to be rich fast and quick and hence invested most of their life savings into the money market where returns are normally high as compared to the conventional deposits placed in the banks. Often, we are too eager to get rich. Proverbs 22:7” Dishonest money dwindles away but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow”
Let us not always pressure our thoughts with the idea that we must make our money grow fast & make foolish decisions eventually. As for those who are fortunate that they have not lost their savings & are continuously seeking & asking where should be the safest place to put their money in now?
Perhaps the Bible holds the answer in Matthew 6:19-20 “ Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth & rust destroy & where thieves break in & steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth & rust do not destroy & where thieves do not break in & steal.
It is solely up to us to decide how we should live our life especially during this time of crisis. Mistakes must not be repeated to avoid serious consequences. What choice will you make?
Article by: Reuson Seet
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