RECESSION PROOFING--Introduction

(In this picture: Christian Businessmen faced with hard times meet over breakfast coffee in Minneapolis to study what the Bible says about recession-proofing and to stand with each other through prayer. I shared with them these principles that I will be discussing).

A few posts ago I wrote here on how to live well in the middle of economic anxiety (See October 8th 2008 post). My premise was that the Bible, more specifically Jesus, gives us a blue-print for recession-proofing our lives. I wrote that it is possible, in times such as ours, to live anxiety-free. I gave five approaches or principles to such a way of living which we find in Jesus' teaching from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:19-34. Among these principles was the principle of expectation (Vs 19). Jesus warned that we should expect a sudden collapse or meltdown of our earthly economic securities and investments. He warned that moth and rust are sure to nibble away on our lives' savings. Over the next few posts, I will be taking a more detailed look at each of these principles. I will delve deeper into why they are important to pay careful attention to them. We will start with the above mentioned principle of expectations discussing the biblical approach to expectation management. Next will be the principle of investment prioritization as we take a look at Jesus' call for us to invest differently. This principle is about safe-guarding whatever little we have left. Moreover, although we may have lost financial savings it does not mean we have nothing left to invest. Thirdly we will discuss the principle of Refocusing. Sometimes life requires us to reboot. The principle of refocusing is a call to evaluate our present state and if necessary, reboot. Jesus clearly calls us not to let the darkness out there encroach on the light inside of us. But when the light inside of us is darkness, we must of necessity reboot. Fourth will be the principle of Loyalty. We will see Jesus' call for us to remain loyal to God and how that brings about our personal well-being and ushers in our economic recovery. We will explore the connection between loyalty to God and sound financial management. Fifth and final is the principle of trust. This is a principle based on the premise that God cares more about us than we care about ourselves. The idea that whatever economic anxieties or life-situations we are going through have not escaped God's attention. That in fact we will emerge out stronger and with a more comprehensive outlook on life if we do not give up. So there you have it. I hope you enjoy and are strengthened through this series on recession-proofing our lives as given to us by Jesus. See you back!