The Economy Trumps Religion
Time Magazine recently released it's list of Top 10 Religious Stories. At the top of that list was a snippet of a story titled, The Economy Trumps Religion, containing the following statement:
Faith had its moment in the spotlight during the presidential campaign: A pastor (Rick Warren) moderated an encounter between John McCain and Barack Obama; former preacher Mike Huckabee made a creditable run; Rev. Jeremiah Wright's "God D--- America" sermon sideswiped former protege Obama; John Hagee's remarks on Catholics and Jews exploded on McCain. Indeed, there seemed to be such parity in piety between the two major parties that faith may have been cancelled out as a factor. A late October poll showed that only one in 10 Americans regarded the country's moral and spiritual condition as their foremost electoral criterion. Obama captured 53% of the Catholic vote (up 13% over John Kerry's 2004 tally) despite claims by several bishops that voting Democratic was tantamount to sin. Faith was simply not a primary concern by election day. By then, the mortgage and debt crises had very clearly pushed religion off the table.
Jesus warned us about this. You cannot serve both God and money (Luke 16:13), were the words of Christ, and yet we as Christians have somehow forgotten his words. When only 10 percent of Americans regard the moral and spiritual condition of the country as their foremost concern in the country, it is evident that their pocketbooks have become their gods.
As Christians, we must be different. The state of our economy is of grave concern to many people, but the nature of our God is such that he owns all that exists. Before we give our attention soleley to our bank accounts, should we not concern ourselves with storing up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19)? Where are your treasures today? I can assure you that your personal calendar and your check register will tell the truth whether you are comfortable with admitting it or not.
Faith had its moment in the spotlight during the presidential campaign: A pastor (Rick Warren) moderated an encounter between John McCain and Barack Obama; former preacher Mike Huckabee made a creditable run; Rev. Jeremiah Wright's "God D--- America" sermon sideswiped former protege Obama; John Hagee's remarks on Catholics and Jews exploded on McCain. Indeed, there seemed to be such parity in piety between the two major parties that faith may have been cancelled out as a factor. A late October poll showed that only one in 10 Americans regarded the country's moral and spiritual condition as their foremost electoral criterion. Obama captured 53% of the Catholic vote (up 13% over John Kerry's 2004 tally) despite claims by several bishops that voting Democratic was tantamount to sin. Faith was simply not a primary concern by election day. By then, the mortgage and debt crises had very clearly pushed religion off the table.
Jesus warned us about this. You cannot serve both God and money (Luke 16:13), were the words of Christ, and yet we as Christians have somehow forgotten his words. When only 10 percent of Americans regard the moral and spiritual condition of the country as their foremost concern in the country, it is evident that their pocketbooks have become their gods.
As Christians, we must be different. The state of our economy is of grave concern to many people, but the nature of our God is such that he owns all that exists. Before we give our attention soleley to our bank accounts, should we not concern ourselves with storing up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19)? Where are your treasures today? I can assure you that your personal calendar and your check register will tell the truth whether you are comfortable with admitting it or not.
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