I came across this article that Dave Ramsey shared with his assessment of the President’s State of the Union address and it got me thinking about one part in particular:
If you have problems in your life that you’re waiting on the government to solve, you’re going to be waiting … and waiting … and waiting. And it’s likely you’ll never get the answer you need. – Dave Ramsey
It is in these times of difficulty that we see what we are made of right?
Will we continue to fight and rip apart our neighbors that we are called to love simply because what is important to them is not the same thing that is important to us? Or will we rise above the challenges, see each other as God sees us and love radically when others are showing hate?
I can’t even believe some of the things I have heard my Christian brothers and sisters say that they thought was perfectly justified when in reality it oozed with hate and bitterness.
You see, it doesn’t matter where you fall on the spectrum. If you love the president, hate him, or fall anywhere between the two extremes I am afraid we are all expecting something from our government that is never going to happen. And crying about it is not going to change things.
Can I just say it?
You will NEVER have a government in power that will give you the life that you expect to have. It doesn’t matter who the president is, they will never fully line up with every single person’s beliefs 100% of the time. This means we are all doomed to be disappointed right?
Or maybe, just maybe it is this time in history that we will start to see for ourselves that if we don’t start to take drastic measures we will indeed be hurt by the squeeze.
But can I tell you that there are huge populations of people living below the poverty line that have been squeezed a whole lot longer than we have?
And that thinking that they should just pick themselves up by their bootstraps doesn’t work for those who don’t have a pair of boots.
The Bible tells us that our provision comes from God alone. And that we are to give unto Caesar what is Caesars, and I didn’t see the part where Jesus said it was okay to complain and moan about it the whole time until someone else comes along to give us our way.
This is a chance for us to turn to Him for reassurance that He’s got this all under control.
There are some things that YOU can do to take action and hopefully control your own life, that way when things are not going your way you won’t be hurt as badly as those who are unprepared or mistakenly looking to a government to care for them.
Take these steps to better prepare yourself for the next few years and beyond.
Cast out fear!
Do you know that it is fear that motivates so many of us and we are blind to the fact? We are called to love, and the bible tells us that fear and love cannot coexist! Pray that God will show you areas where you are being motivated by fear and ask him to instead shower you with love and grace.
Work REALLY hard to get rid of debt!
Seriously this has to be the #1 way to get out from under the control of any government. Start with taking a good hard look at all of your bills. Then pick out the smallest one and make it a priority to pay it off as soon as possible. Then move onto the next one until you have no more. I look forward to the day I no longer owe anyone, anything!
Learn to be more self-sufficient.
Find ways to grow your own food and create relationships with local area farmers. Find out what skills you have that you can share with your neighbor so you’ll have a way of bartering if you find yourself in a position to need to do so. I am looking for ways to depend more on myself and my neighbors and less on municipalities this year.
Reduce your spending!
I see people complaining that they have less in their checks now. Yet it has not stopped them from unnecessarily spending on restaurants, entertainment, or getaways. When things get tight, we need to reevaluate how we spend until the tide turns again.
This may be a good time to cut back on extracurricular activities too. It won’t hurt your kiddos to learn that sometimes in life we have to give up things, in fact, I think it will make them stronger adults and less apt to fall into the entitlement mindset.
Save, save, save!
Even if all you can muster up is a $1 this week, put it away for a rainy day. You never know when the rainy day will come, and nothing works better than cold hard cash when emergency situations arise. And trust me they will arise.
Look for new ways to earn.
Garage sales are a great way to clean up your house and earn extra money. BUT don’t think of it as extra, instead, this is to go directly towards paying off debt or into a savings account. Other ways to earn extra income are online surveys, Craig’s List, and hiring out your own services. Maybe you can babysit for some extra money or offer yard cleaning services to someone willing to pay for them.
Pray, and then pray again.
Most importantly, if you are worried about the direction of things, please pray and continue to show love to everyone anyway. Especially those who are not agreeing with us.
Be willing to see the world through someone else’s eyes, and fight the urge to band together with others who want to spend their time whining and complaining about the state of things.
This post is not meant to become a political debate. I am a Christian that believes that love is more important than any of the issues
I know that talking about these things is risky here because some of us may not agree on all of the issues.
But for the sake of argument can we just agree that times like these give us a chance to show the world what we are made of. And sadly I am seeing a lot of Christians who are not showing their love when they spend more time sharing propaganda than they spend sharing the gospel.
So I challenge you – Before you get defensive, check your heart to see if it is possible that you are looking for a government to solve your problems.
I am open to hearing your point of view as well, just as long as you don’t use this site to attack others personally. Please share your views and opinions with love and grace <3
