Tough Times, Tough Questions (4-What Can I Do?)

This is the fourth post in the “Tough Times, Tough Questions” Series. You can check out Parts One, Two, & Three in the Archives.

On the evening of Thursday, April 23rd, Dave Ramsey hosted a live TV/Internet simulcast from Oklahoma City entitled, “Town Hall for Hope.” If you’re concerned about our economy and your place in it, or struggling with getting yourself into better financial health, I highly recommend watching it here.

He closed the two-hour event with three points of advice that we’ll use to answer the question, “What can we do?”

Get Up & Take Action. If we’re struggling financially, Ramsey has the following advice: “Your best chance at success is you—and probably your only chance.” “If you wait on some congressman to fix your situation, you’re going to have a long wait.” “There’s a great place to go when you’re broke: to work (from his grandmother).” “Effective people happen to stuff; they don’t just let stuff happen to them.”

Solomon says a lot in Proverbs about working diligently. In 6:6-8, he tells us to be like the ant, who without having anyone to tell her to work, prepares her bread and gathers her food. Chapter 10:4 says, “The hand of the diligent makes rich.” Finally, 14:23 says, “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.” God instilled within us the ability and necessity to work, and to do so diligently. In order to restore godly hope, we must begin by being diligent, hardworking, and active.

Don’t Listen to “Loser-Talk.” The economy has become like the weather: it’s always portrayed worse than it really is. Many in the media have contributed to this; some in our communities have as well. Ramsey quotes from Dan Miller (48 Days to the Career You Love), “Your income is probably within 10% of the average of your 10 closest friends.” Associations determine perspective and direction. If everyone around us is doom and gloom, then we’ll be doom and gloom. If our attitudes are doom and gloom, then our actions will advance those mindsets.

Interestingly, scripture connects laziness with unwise speech. After several verses about the “sluggard,” Solomon says in Proverbs 26:16, “The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.” When Paul instructs Timothy regarding younger widows, he warns the church about supporting them financially because, “Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.” As Christians, we should always be mindful of our attitudes and words. We should especially remember how influential for good—and not for bad—we should be during difficult times.

Learn to Give Again. Ramsey says that the United States is the best-giving nation the world has ever seen—not necessarily the government, but its people. If we don’t have enough to give financially, it’s important we learn to give something, especially our time and talents. “I’ve got a plan,” he says. “If we put our hearts, minds, wallets together; if the church got its act together and individuals got their acts together, we could give the government out of business.”

As Christians, we know the importance of giving. Not just to the church each Sunday, but exhibiting a spirit of giving. Jesus is quoted in Acts 20:35, “It is better to give than to receive.” Notice Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:28, “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” Proverbs 21:26 says, “the righteous gives and does not hold back.” Our country and our world will be their best only when their people are giving their best. May we have the courage to give once again.

As we close, we need to remember that true hope only comes from God. We have hope in this life and the next because he gave us His Son (1 Cor. 15:19).

And now, the best question to answer is, “What will I do?”

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