![\"loose-change\"](\"http:\/\/192.185.166.32\/~davidfoster\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/loose-change.jpg\" "\\"loose-change\\"")
Well it\u2019s official.\u00a0 We\u2019re going through bad times.\u00a0 When you hear CNN, Fox News, and other major networks use words like \u201ccrisis, never seen it this bad before, no one knows what to do, the bail-out isn\u2019t working,\u201d it\u2019s official.\u00a0 These are bad times.<\/p>\n
But remember.\u00a0 There is always an upside of every down time.\u00a0 Here are seven I\u2019ve been pondering.\u00a0 Maybe you can think of more.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 These good old bad times give us a chance for group humility.<\/span> Let\u2019s face it.\u00a0 We Americans pride ourselves on our ingenuity, our know-how, and our can-do spirit.\u00a0 We\u2019re educated and we\u2019re proud of it.\u00a0 All of our education and organization has led us to this place where we\u2019ve lost trillions of dollars worth of value in markets across the board in a short period of time.\u00a0 Let\u2019s face it.\u00a0 It\u2019s time for repentance and acknowledging that we\u2019re not as smart as we thought we were.\u00a0 This could be a good thing because it helps us appreciate the things that we overlook when we\u2019re going too fast and making too much money.\u00a0 Humility is a thing God values and places a high priority on.\u00a0 He says that He raises up the humble and brings down the proud.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 These good old bad times explode the illusion of command and control<\/span>.\u00a0 It\u2019s an illusion if you think you are in control of the world and that you can command things to right themselves.\u00a0 It\u2019s the old illusion of power.\u00a0 Power is a good thing, but it\u2019s a limited thing.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 These good old bad times break us of the belief that more money solves all things.<\/span> The 700 billion dollar bail-out was supposed to be a cure-all and the markets were bound to turn around and bounce back immediately.\u00a0 That hasn\u2019t happened.\u00a0 Money doesn\u2019t solve all things.\u00a0 The Scriptures teach us that it\u2019s illusive, that it promises one thing and delivers another.\u00a0 Those who love money and depend on it are always disappointed.\u00a0 Surely we know this by now, but will we remember it?<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 These good old bad times provide us a great moment to start over smarter.<\/span> Maybe you\u2019ve lost your job, your company, your house, or maybe everything.\u00a0 And it\u2019s a terrible thing, but it\u2019s not the end of all things.\u00a0 Remember the Scriptures warn us that we come into this world with nothing and we\u2019ll go out with nothing.\u00a0 So starting over smarter is not the end of the world.\u00a0 As a matter of fact, it gives you a chance to free yourself up of a lot of baggage that you gather over the years in building a business, a career, or just about any other thing.\u00a0 Starting over smarter, leaner, and with a simpler approach can be a blessing.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 These good old bad times call us back to the basics.<\/span> We have two epic struggles going on: greed and fear at war with faith and hope.\u00a0 There are those who believe the economy runs on greed and when it won\u2019t run on greed, it runs on fear.\u00a0 And yet there are those of us who believe that God created the world to respond to two more epic important and redemptive forces: faith and hope.\u00a0 Faith in our God, not in our institutions, or the value of the dollar; and hope that God isn\u2019t done with us; that He is still here working, bringing about His purposes, building His Kingdom which has as its themes, redemption, restoration, reconciliation, and renewal.\u00a0 These are our marching orders.\u00a0 These are the basics of a life well-lived.\u00a0 Each and every day, faith and hope always win.<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 These good old bad times give us a chance to recognize that we need each other.<\/span> There aren\u2019t enough assets, money, insurance, or securities to make us islands all to ourselves. It\u2019s during bad times and down times, it\u2019s at the time of loss that the tribe of the Christian faith is at its best.\u00a0 Christianity has always faltered in prosperity and always blossomed in tragedy.\u00a0 This is our opportunity as Christians, instead of forcing our way through political mandate, winning the day by standing up as a voice of sanity, love, grace, hope, and redemption.\u00a0 Will we seize it?<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 These good old bad times give us a chance to read what we\u2019ve written on our money, \u201cIn God We Trust.\u201d <\/span> At the end of the day, that\u2019s what this is all about \u2013 trust.\u00a0 Can you trust your institutions? No.\u00a0 Can you trust your government?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Can you trust your investments?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Can you trust your 401k, that it will be there when you need it?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Can you trust your health?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Can you trust the ebb and flow of financial markets?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 But can you trust God, the creator and sustainer of all things?\u00a0 And to that we say a resounding, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Well it\u2019s official.\u00a0 We\u2019re going through bad times.\u00a0 When you hear CNN, Fox News, and other major networks use words like \u201ccrisis, never seen it this bad before, no one knows what to do, the bail-out isn\u2019t working,\u201d it\u2019s official.\u00a0 These are bad times. But remember.\u00a0 There is always an upside of every down time.\u00a0 … Continue reading “7 Benefits of These Good Old Bad Times”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,10],"tags":[],"series":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}