Council Grove Christian Church

10/29/25
Servants of God,
“The rich rules over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”
-Proverbs 22:7
“Owe no one anything, except to love each other,
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
-Romans 13:8
Perhaps you have heard that our federal government is shut down. It is a lie. A convenient half—truth, of course. More word games from Washington, D.C. Most of the government has not missed a beat. Some spending is mandated and not subject to this game. Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid fall into that realm. The fight is about discretionary spending. Everybody wants their pet projects to be funded (more this year than last) and the various groups lobby hard to get our tax dollars. It is the discretionary portions of the government that will go unfunded as of November the first. If the congress does not vote to continue the funding of those programs soon,  the political stakes will get exponentially  higher. When the money for the food stamps (SNAP) program dries up there will be political hell to pay from the political left. When our military personnel do not get paid, the political right will be up in arms (no pun intended). Why are we in such a mess?
The short answer is that, as a nation, we are violating a fundamental law of God’s universe. We are not living within our means. That never works for the long haul. We are living in a pretend world where we have been told you can spend money you do not possess. This is a deeply theological issue. God forbids it. It is theft. Sooner or later, we will experience the consequences of thumbing our financial nose at God.
We are very near a total financial disaster because we have spent too much money—money we do not have to spend. Because we have pretended to have money by printing worthless money, we have bought some time. The amount of dollars increases but that makes our buying power decrease. God will not—in fact a just God cannot—let us escape the consequences of our financial irresponsibility. Unless America has a great spiritual awakening and repent of our financial sin, we will drive our financial future over a cliff of debt.
Paper is not money just because a government declares it to be. We can learn some things by watching the price of gold and silver. When I was a young man gold sold for $35 an ounce. Yesterday gold went down slightly. It lost $45 an ounce. Because gold is now worth about $4,000 per ounce, the downward move hardly made a ripple in the market. Gold is real money and always has been. Its value is a reality. God lives and acts with reality in mind. When humans refuse to do so, disaster eventually comes.
Christians should be concerned about a lot of things that get headlines in our world. Murder of innocent humans should be hated. If it happens next door or in Ukraine or Gaza or Sudan or Nigeria or at the abortion clinic, it is murder—the unauthorized killing of human beings. Lawless behavior in general should get our attention. The burning streets of Portland or the gang shootings in Kansas City during a Super Bowl celebration should alarm us. They should alarm us, but they cannot possibly surprise us if we know anything about the Bible’s teachings about human behavior. God has warned us that sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Sin is living in violation of God’s instruction about life (law). It is also rebellion against God’s divine authority. America, by living irresponsibly financially, is acting as if the borrower is not slave to the lender. And we are denying that the rich rule over the poor. People with a poverty mindset live as if there are no rules governing human stewardship of resources. The United States is living a financial lie.
Some have been shocked by the recent arrests of NBA players and coaches who have been charged with crimes related to gambling. Gambling has crept into almost every arena of American sports at both college and professional levels. Gambling violates God’s instruction about how to get ahead financially. Gambling promises something for nothing—or at least a great deal of reward for a negligible amount risked. God, on the other hand, promises blessing to those who work hard, steward resources by saving and prudent investment, and accumulate over the long haul. Calling gambling “gamming” indicates the deceit involved.
True Christian conversion touches on every aspect of human existence. The Bible teaches us that we are to act righteously, be loving and kind, and be satisfied with the estate we are in (Micah 6:8). We must work, accumulate and steward our resources to God’s glory. Such a life will lead to careful planning, prudent risk taking and generosity when God provides opportunity.
Why are Americans in such a death spiral financially? Because as a whole we have denied God’s authority. We are acting like God has nothing of substance to say about our stewardship of the resources he has graciously given us. If we do not have national repentance and drastic changes in our spending patterns, it is not a matter of when our economy collapses but when.
Christians must think biblically about all things and money and the use of money is a part of our living obediently before the face of our God. What we are doing is not deficit spending. It is stealing from our grandchildren. They are the ones most likely to suffer from the current undisciplined spending. Christians ought to urge our representatives to live within our national means. But we must teach the rising generations the high costs of rebellion against God.
Blessings, Pastor John
Coram Deo