Are You Worried About the Economy?

I go in cycles trying to keep up on the news. Typically, I do a pretty poor job of it -- gravitating only to stories that intrigue me. However, it is hard to miss that the economy is suffering. If the stretch of my paycheck didn't clue me in, the headlines would.

Last night at BN, I was cashiering. I caught the gist of one of the papers. Though the person who spent $350 on books belies the struggle, the problem is of global proportions. One article talked about how Americans' new interest in saving is impacting nations like China that depend so heavily on exporting of goods to this country.

Tonight, I caught a blip on CBS news about newspapers. Apparently, some major holders of papers are filing for bankruptcy. They had already been struggling because of the wealth of free information now available at our fingertips. The sale of ads have decreased and we just don't buy the paper anymore.

I haven't a clue where the phrase comes from, but I believe it is in regards to money. I wonder how long (or if we are already there) until buyers, lenders, or whomever looks at us and says about the American dollar "It's not worth the paper it's printed on."

Between shoppers last night (long waits on a Sunday night), I got to thinking about God's economy. I can imagine Satan looking at our sin ravaged and decaying world and shaking his head, turning to God, and making a very good case that we aren't "worth the paper we're printed on." And in some respects, he might be right. How many times did I sin today? How many cross words or hurtful thoughts?

But God wouldn't buy into it. In spite of the grim economy of my soul at times, I shouldn't buy into it either. God listened to the plea of the hymn writer Robert Robinson when in Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing he wrote:

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above

Jesus takes my ravaged heart from Satan's hand as Satan points out every flaw. Jesus turns it over in his nail scarred hands and points triumphantly at the seal that marks it for His courts above. He states, "Not worth the paper it's written on but so dear to me that I find it worth my very blood."

Tonight I shall strive not to give over to my worries and frets, because Jesus is in charge of the economy of my soul. It's backed by His grace and love.

$2.62 and the Rules -- Hope Chronicles 29

They do not provide parking where I work. Free unlimited parking is about 3-4 blocks away and possibly more depending on when you arrive. If you park closer, you have to move your car every 90 minutes and then it cannot be moved within a 1 block radius or you get a ticket. (This happened to a coworker.)

There is a parking garage immediately across the street, but it is run by the city and there is a monthly fee. It's more expensive to pay by the day. Anyway, the walk is good for me. However, rain, snow (There is some in the forecast!), and sleet make me willing to pay on the particularly blustery days or when I have to hurry to be somewhere after work. There have been a rash of those days this week.

Two days ago, the parking attendant mentioned to me that since the rails were up, people were exiting without paying. He told me, if the rails are still up tomorrow, just go out the back where there isn't an attendant and that everyone else was doing it.

Okay, I had noticed the rails were up, but it had never dawned on me not to stop to pay. I also didn't know about going out the back.

Yesterday, as I got in my car I had the debate. The rails were still up and the parking attendant had suggested the back way. But I found that I couldn't do it. I had chosen to park in the garage for convenience and I owed.... I think I truly surprised the attendant when I told him I just couldn't do it. He gave me a genuine smile and said, "Just when I get ready to give up on humanity, someone does something nice!" Paying $2.62 (it was my short day) never felt so nice!

As you have surmised, I follow rules. Part of it for me is respect and if I think the rules are for my benefit. I've had a few people comment, "You drive at 10 and 2!" in reference to my hand position when driving. That's what my driver's ed teacher told me to do 23 years ago. He also told me not to eat while driving because you can't really see over that Big Mac. While I do occasionally do this, I try not to and get anxious enough doing it that it is a deterrent. I've never had a speeding ticket. Yes, I play by the rules.

I was an Interpersonal Communication major in undergrad. I remember learning about a study that was conducted on children on playgrounds. Researchers discovered that children on playgrounds without fences (rules) hovered together more in the center of the playground. When there was a fence, the children explored the entire playground. The fence/rules provided a sense of safety.

I think the same is true of rules for us as Christians. God provided the rules not to put a damper on things but to give us a sense of safety. While sometimes the rules may seem to chafe, ultimately they are in place for our good.

The hardest time to follow the rules is when we doubt the intention of the one who created the rules. Isn't that where Satan attacked in the Garden of Eden. He didn't come out and say that rule is silly or wrong. Rather, he suggested that God was holding back on Adam and Eve. He made them doubt God's character.

We can find hope in knowing that God's intentions towards us is always, always for our best. Knowing that sets us free to be who God created us to be. And following the rules even when you could just go out the back may turn in to an unlikely witness!