Strategy 6 - Spiritual Preparation

In light of the coming financial, economic & political storm, and despite the calamitous events that may occur, let us remember there is the promise of something better around the corner.

Our strategy today is to reflect on spiritual preparation, something not normally associated with writings on finances, economics, and civil liberties, so I ask my atheistic readers to bear with us for a short time.
This type of preparation is foundational to the others we mentioned in the post a Year of Preparation.

The first category we will examine is that of Scripture:

A quick review of the Bible, a book about faith, shows a significant number of passages concerning debt and interest.

Some examples follow:

  • The rich rule over the poor, and borrower is a slave to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)
  • You shall not charge interest to your brother -- interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest.  To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that the LORD your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess. (Deuteronomy 23:19,20)
  • For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.' (Luke 14:28-30).
  • No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)

  • For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10

    The next category is Prayer:
  • Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  James 5:16
  • Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7

    The third category is Fasting.
  • "By the decree of the king and his nobles:
    Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."  10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.  Jonah 3:7-10
  • 12 "Even now," declares the LORD,
    "return to me with all your heart,
    with fasting and weeping and mourning."
    13 Rend your heart
    and not your garments.
    Return to the LORD your God,
    for he is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger and abounding in love,
    and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:12,13

We can see from these passages that a theme is common connecting the three categories.
There is God's concern for:
1) justice
2) the negative consequences of selfish actions
3) false (or pathological) devotion to "money"

The remedies offered are:
1) prayer and confession of wrong doing - which act as agents of healing
2) fasting - representing a change of thinking, attitude and ultimately, behavior
3) scripture - remembering what is true, in spite of what we have been taught, and that there is a logical conclusion to a series of poor decisions.
4) community - we are in this mess together. Let us remember that a support system, whether it be family, friends or a church group where we can discuss our concerns and needs, will assist us in persevering in tough times.

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