The Economy's Emotional Toll

It grieves me to read stories such as the recent account of the murder-suicide of a family in Los Angeles, allegedly due to the recent firing of the husband and wife amidst mounting debt.  The Great Depression was marked by stories of investors who had lost everything jumping out of skyscraper windows, but it looks like the less dramatic, but still devastating deterioration of our economy is going to have a mounting human toll as well.

An article in CNN.com confirms this, reporting that the economic meltdown is causing a rise in the number of calls to counseling hotlines.  I applaud this, and think that any program which can help bring people out of despair into a place where they can gain perspective can only be positive.  Surely churches and other institutions of faith can be meeting these needs as well. I wouldn't be surprised as programs such as these take their side along with job training and job creation programs as supplements to government stimulus packages making their way through Congress.

I'm all for problem solving, but at the same time, I wonder if we as a society have sufficiently gone through a period of confession and acknowledgement of the sin that pervades this whole environment.  As a society, we have shown awful stewardship by living beyond our means.  We have been consumed by greed, accumulating more for ourselves as our fellow man starves.  We have coveted the things our neighbor has in our purchasing, not being content in what God has provided for us.  As a result of our greed and covetousness, we have made idols of our jobs, worshipping the means of provision as opposed to the Source.

Many months ago, before the financial meltdown marked by the failure of Lehman Brothers and sale of Merrill Lynch, I had posted a blog about my own struggle with the idolatry of work (which can include job security) and how I try to deal with it.  I concede that much of my approach is not rocket science, but a fundamental need to "get back to basics" as it relates to where (or I should more correctly state "in Whom") I put my trust.  The "laddering" technique is just a way that helps me get there, but to understand the logic behind a construct is one thing - to own it with your heart and soul is another.  I understand that.  If and when I find myself in a situation where I am without a job surrounded by criticism, negativity, and mounting debt, that God-willing I won't react as Ervin Lupoe did.  I acknowledge that the pressure, stress, and despair is immense, but I pray that my response would be in the words of my dear friend once posted on his wall: "Let the struggles of the world bring you to your knees - for there you will find victory."