Apples of Gold
Radio Script for September 18, 2008
“The Solution to the Financial Crisis”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“That’s never happened before.”
A statement like that will grab your attention, especially when you read it in the lead article of today’s Wall Street Journal.
So what is it that has never happened before?
Well yesterday the market was so unstable that at one point investors were willing to pay more for one-month Treasurys than they could expect to get back when the bonds matured. The article says, “Some investors, in essence, had decided that a small but known loss was better than the uncertainty connected to any other type of investment. That’s never happened before.”
The first sentence in today’s Wall Street Journal starts like this, “Fear coursed through the U.S. financial system on Wednesday…”
One front page headline reads, “Worst Crisis Since ‘30s, With No End Yet in Sight.” The article says, “The financial crisis…has entered a new, far more serious phase.”
Another article on the front page says, “It’s not yet clear where the devastation will end.”
Senator Chris Dodd said, “These are huge, momentous events with cataclysmic implications.”
The federal government has now hastily taken control of AIG, the world’s largest insurer, as well as mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; and two huge Wall Street firms have ceased to exist as independent companies, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch.
So what is the cause of this financial disaster? If you had to boil it down into one word it would be debt.
Have you ever heard this phrase, “make debt work for you?” For example, you borrow money to buy a house, then you borrow money to fix up the house. Then you sell the house for a profit, pay off the debt, and you make enough money to live all year for just a little bit of work.
That’s fine, as long as the house sells. But if it doesn’t, you have a big loan to pay back. And that’s fine if you have the money, but what if you don’t?
And now what if thousands of people can’t pay back their loans? What happens to the companies that made the loans?
And what if the companies were living on borrowed money themselves? Well now they can’t pay back their loans. If enough of this happens you reach a critical mass and the dominos start falling fast and furious.
Now I’m no economist, and that summary is simplistic, but there it is.
I said earlier that it all comes down to one word, debt. Well now I want to change that. If I have to boil our current financial crisis down into one word, then I want to make that word greed.
According to the dictionary, greed is “a selfish and excessive desire for more of something than is needed.”
Goodness, that doesn’t sound like a vice. That sounds like the American dream!
But now let’s look at what Jesus said in Luke 12:15. “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed…”
This is the only time in the NIV that Jesus is quoted as saying “Watch out!” with an exclamation point. And what is He warning us about so emphatically? To be on our guard against all kinds of greed.
Greed takes place in the heart of each person individually. We can talk about corporate greed, but really there is no such thing. It all comes down to what is inside the heart of each of us, one person at a time.
And this is what I love about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It changes the hearts of individuals.
What can I do about our current financial crisis? Spread the Gospel. I know that sounds cheesy on the surface, but until hearts are transformed, they will still be greedy. And as long as they are greedy, their decisions will be faulty.
You might ask, “Well Doug, what are you doing for your country? Why aren’t you involved in politics or government?”
Because I think the solution is in turning people to the Lord. Then He will work on their hearts, and He will take care of the greed problem. And if we take care of the greed problem we will come out of this financial crisis. So what I’m doing for my country is trying to change hearts by pointing them to the Lord.
After Jesus told us to watch out for all kinds of greed He said this, “…a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
The American way is to amass these possessions, but Jesus said to watch out, this is not what your life is about.
Instead, He said that life is all about loving God and loving people.
So today, let’s take a good look at our lives. Are we greedy? Is our life about the abundance of our possessions?
If so, we need to re-surrender ourselves 100% to the Lord. We need to offer up our bodies to Him as living sacrifices.
And we need to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then Jesus will change people, and He will take care of the greed problem. And as He does, our financial problems will be worked out.
So there you have it. Because of its power to change hearts, that’s my solution for the current financial crisis – spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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