MONEY
Christian Stewardship
Christians are called upon to be good stewards of the gifts and prosperity, which God has given us. Jesus teaches that He expects us to be faithful in taking care of what we have. In a parable about faithful service (Matthew 25:21), Jesus said: “His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” We do need to be careful with how we spend our money, how we invest our money and how we share our money.
We also need to understand how the actions of our government can impact our being good stewards!
North Korea
A North Korean source provided information on an apology by Premier Kim Yong-il, which he gave on Feb. 5, 2010 regarding the currency devaluation executed in late 2009.
In an attempt to reduce national debt, in late November 2009, Pyongyang scrapped its old currency and forced its people to exchange their old money for new money at a rate of 100 to 1. The government also limited how much old money could be exchanged for new money. At the same time the government outlawed the use of foreign currency and shut down all free market activity. This move essentially wiped out the savings of millions of people and sent prices skyrocketing.
The people of North Korea openly protested against the currency devaluation, protesting is an action that is extremely rare in North Korea.
America
Currency devaluation is not something new and it has happened to many countries throughout history. It could even happen in the United States of America.
Our National Debt is totally out of control and increasing at a rate, which will destroy the U.S. economic system if it is not stopped. The chart below shows just how much of a crisis we are in. Take a good look at what has transpired in the last 9 years!
An individual could not survive personal debt growth at such a rate; a business could not survive ebt growth at such a rate; what makes us think that the United States can survive such a rate of debt growth. The truth is that we cannot!
Before we continue looking at United States economics, lets quickly talk about money from a global perspective … let’s look at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
IMF
1930-1940: Most nations reacted to the Great Depression’s impact on their economy by sharply raising barriers to foreign trade, devaluing their currencies in an attempt to steel export markets away from other countries, and by restricting their citizens' right to use foreign currency. It did not work. Overall world trade sharply declined, employment dramatically went down and living standards fell. It actually took a World War to eventually turn things around.
1944: During the war, representatives from 45 countries met in the town of Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to discuss how to stabilize world economics.
1945: December 1945, the first 29 member countries of the IMF signed Articles of Agreement.
1947: IMF began operations on March 1.
1947-1971:
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More countries joined the IMF, 186 today
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All exchange rates based on U.S. dollar
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U.S. dollar redeemable in gold
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Bretton Woods, “par value system” of fixed rates
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Under a fixed exchange rate system, devaluation and revaluation are official changes in the value of a country's currency relative to other currencies.
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By the early1960’s the U.S. dollar was viewed by the world as overvalued
1971: In August, Richard Nixon announced the "temporary" suspension of the dollar's convertibility into gold and the fixed exchange rate system was definitely failing.
1973: In March, major world currencies began to float against each other and the Bretton Woods system was finished.
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Under a floating exchange rate system, market forces generate changes in the value of the currency, known as currency depreciation or appreciation.
1973- Present: IMF members have been free to choose any form of exchange arrangement they want to. The can float free on their own, link up with other currencies, adopt another currency or do as they wish. The only restriction being that they cannot back their currency with gold. (Think about this for a bit.)
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IMF is strongly linked with international banking and is a major lender!
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The latest global financial crisis revealed a serious weakness in free global economics, which will eventually result in a renovation of the system that has oversight of world money (think about this for a bit).
Back to America
The American debt has driven us to the brink of a major economic downturn for our country.
1. The historic strength of the United States led other nations to want to invest their money in the American debt, which they still do … kind of.
2. Our government and the western world’s free market approach to economics has brought about a serious fiscal situation and it has driven America to the brink of bankruptcy; both nationally and publicly.
3. The EU and others, such as the G20, do not want to keep the American dollar as the international reserve currency standard.
4. Inflation is just around the corner … it has to happen … western economics demands it, unless something is done to fix the problem.
5. Devaluation of the American dollar will(is) happen(ing) … lets hope that it is a slow and controlled process.
6. US household savings rate is too low to absorb a trillion dollars of net Treasury issuance a year … China buys a lot.
7. We have more than 700 military bases overseas … we will have to start shutting these down … watch for it to happen.
8. We will have to raise taxes … the elitist plan requires a big government, which means big spending. We will have to raise taxes, unless something changes!
9. Social security is endangered … big time.
10. Tax dollars will always go into programs to provide security for the government and to control the populace. The worse the situation gets the more money our countries “bread & circuses” program will require.
11. The American standard of living will continue to lag behind other nations and it may very well actually worses. In other words, next years standard of living in the U.S. may be worse than it was this year (think about when this last happened in America).
CONCLUSION
This is not a doom and gloom message: just facts. Our country is probably not about to see an economic implosion, but we are more and more at the mercy of global banking. Some would say that the economic crisis in Greece foreshadows what is happening in America. I find that hard to believe; but I must admit that things are far worse than the average American understands. The truth is, when other nations control our economics they control our country. I guess you could even say that whoever controls global economy can control U.S. economy. BRICK (Brazil, Russia, India & China) will soon dominate factors controlling global economy.
Who really knows what tomorrow will bring? For a Christian, it is not all that important. A Christian needs to focus on their service to Christ; and a part of this service (yes, perhaps only a small part) is to do everything we can to be wise stewards of our gifts and our money. I have heard it said: “ If you trust a financial institution you are unwise with your money; if you trust the government you are stupid.” I do not know about such things, but I do know that a Christian should be aware of world economics and be agile enough to react to changes. The idea of any long-term investments is very scary. A Christian should actively look for legitimate tax shelters! We really need to maintain some liquid assets in spite of the potential for low bid-ask spreads. As Christians we do not worry about tomorrow but that is no excuse for putting our tomorrow in someone else’s hands.
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