God Reigns

The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from [Babylon], will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, "Alas, alas, great city, clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! For in one hour all this wealth has been laid waste! -Revelation 18:15-17a

I believe that God reigns as the Creator and Ruler of the universe. Anything and everything else in all creation is secondary to God.

I also believe that in the history of the world, and in particular the history of the United States, a free market and free exchange of money has led to many wonderful blessings. Money and markets have fed millions of people, provided clothing and shelter, given security and safety, and brought peace and hope to so many of our brothers and sisters. But money and free-markets are not God. We must not worship money and markets. While they have been marvelous tools for good, we cannot find ultimate hope in money or markets. They will fail us eventually. Unfortunately the world is facing such a failure today in the current economic crisis.

It is my prayer that a solution for this crisis can be found, whether it be political, financial, or both. More people will be helped and kept safe if the markets can stabilize than if the whole thing crashes and burns.

But because money and free-markets are not God there is a chance that the whole thing could very well crash and burn. Ultimate hope and safety is found only in God. People who put their faith in money and markets will always be disappointed in the end. We see examples of this in Revelation, not because John the Seer is predicting 2008, but because John is pointing out what has been true throughout history: People have always been putting their faith in stuff instead of in God. In Revelation "Babylon" represents the Roman Empire, which itself represents any "thing" that pretends to be the ultimate power in the universe. "Babylon" is Sin and Death's beast. It lies to us. It pulls us away from faith in God. The beast convinces us that there is no power greater than it. Most of my fellow Americans have believed that money and free-markets are the most powerful forces in the world. My faith in God tells me that is a lie.

The current crisis screams at us that we have been believing a lie. If we thought our livelihoods were secure because of our money investments and economy we believed a lie. The truth is that the Lord is our rock and salvation, not money and free-markets. Unfortunately, however, we have lived our lives too often as if money and markets were our rock and salvation. In Revelation 18 the nations who had been suckered into believing the lie of "Babylon's" great power realize the truth like America is realizing the truth today. The nations in Revelation lament their choices and mourn the loss of everything that once was so important to them.

I have read articles and columnists today who sincerely believe our nation will never be the same after the events of the past few weeks. Our faith in free-markets, Wall Street, and businesses may be strained for generations. That very well may be the case, I don't know, but I do hope that this may be an opportunity for Christians everywhere put our faith back to where it should always have been: in Christ. May this also be an opportunity for us Christians to change from greedy ways and instead use our money always as a reflection of our faith. May we all become diligent in using the stuff called money to love our neighbor, serve those in need, help the poor, and be the light of Christ's gospel of the world.