People look to the government for help. Some people believe that the government's job is to "take care of its citizens," and make sure they have everything they need. Where does it say that in the Constitution of the United States?
Some believe that the things they want are "their rights" and that the government must provide them. In the Declaration of Independence, it is very clear that when forming this great country of the United States of America, the founders recognized the people did indeed have rights.
Among those rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This nation was never founded on the idea that the government would provide happiness for the citizens. Part of what the government agreed to do was to give the people the freedom to pursue their own happiness.
I am not against stretching out a helping hand to people who are less fortunate. I have done so in various ways my entire adult life. But it seems to me that more and more people are expecting the federal government to come to their rescue and provide help for many, many things.
The problem is that the federal government is funded by the taxes of its citizens. As more and more people demand more and more from their government, the government must demand more and more taxes. Now this topic has been and continues to be argued by proponents from differing opinions.
Rather than trying to debate this issue, I am concerned with where Christians are looking to for help. Where are their expectations? Whom do they choose to rely on, their God, or their government?
Recently the country of Greece was in an upheaval because the government "system" failed. The government could no longer provide what it had promised. The people who had long trusted and believed in that system were outraged. And now, as a result, there are many unpleasant policies that must be implemented that will affect all the people.
In these days of world wide economic uncertainty, Christians need to ask themselves who they trust; their God or their government. Are the promises of God really true and valid? Or, is what the government saying that it will provide true and valid?
The time is now to get honest and find out just what you really believe. You can go to church every Sunday and sing hymns and say all the right phrases. You can call yourself a Christian and profess that you believe in God. But what do you truly believe in your heart of hearts?
Are we as Christians really "believers' or, are we just part of a comfortable organization that makes us feel good? I am not trying to be critical. The days we live in demand these questions be answered.
Throughout the Bible you can read promise after promise of God's desire to provide for those who trust and believe Him. You can read record after record of Him doing just that time and time again, many times in the most impossible looking situations.
There are those today who do believe that things are about to turn around, and happy days are just around the corner. Others see darker days on the horizon, with real economic recovery years away. But whether we are about to see bright days, or, whether those days are a long ways off, God's promises have not and will not change.
The principles of prosperity and abundance recorded clearly in the Bible have not changed. God hasn't changed; He is still unlimited in His resources to supply all that we could ever need, and more. We all have a choice as to where we will put our trust.
There will always be those, who in a crisis, will turn to God for help. Perhaps these very trying last two years have caused some to call upon God. Maybe there have been a greater number of people accepting Christ as their lord and savior because they want to trust and believe in something.
But we who have been for some time calling ourselves Christians and think of ourselves as believers, should be continuing to strengthen our trust in our God. While others are distraught, we are hopeful. Some may be worried and afraid, but we are confident and trusting. While many are stressed out, we carry His peace.
Being hopeful, confident, trusting, and peaceful are not things that you can just turn on and off. These attitudes comes from conviction in your heart of hearts. They are a way of life that we choose to live by choosing what and who we will believe.
We can choose to have hope and confidence that our government will fix everything and take good care of us. Or, we can pray for our country and our government, and look to our God to do what he has promised; to supply all our need. The choice is ours, day by day by day.
