Yeap, it is here, no doubt about it. The economic tsunami is finally sending its waves after waves gloablly like sending chills to everyone. Investors loose faith in the market, the common people like me loose faith in the banking system. As one after another scandals unfold in the US business areana, all I can say is just simply the ugliest manifestations of human covetness. Experienced investors would believe in ponzi schemes pouring millions and millions of dollars; bankers taking risk in sub-prime and all these simply because of the reason for profits.

Enough is never enough. The economic system we are in constantly talks about more: more products, more buildings, more this and more that: businessmen, governments are all out to look for $. Banks want more returns of investments, bosses want returns of investments, etc etc.. so in the end, when something snap along this system, the whole system simply collapse.

So how are churches responding to this situation so far?

I could still recall until today, I was inside the hotel room of Bamboo Hotel in Suzhou China when 911 happened in front of me on the TV. I was on the phone talking to my colleague in US and he told me something serious just happened. My first thought when I was watching the the screen, I thought it was some kind of Hollywood special effect unti I heard the news reporter was crying “Oh my God!”.

I was shocked and dismayed. I was further shocked and dismayed when I received e-mails forwarded by someone which was being forwarded around probably many times and likely originated from the states. It was a christian or some christians, I recalled, claiming that this was God’s judgement blah blah blah..

In my heart I disagreed immediately. There were innoncent people there that got killed. Christians or non-christians. I couldn’t believe that some christians just like to claim everything under God’s name without understanding the context, and also understanding about suffering. (I wish we could learn more from the book of Job)

Now again, with this economic tusnami, I heard pastors were criticising the US system blah blah (true in a way) and this is God’s judgement too. I just feel that as christians, our callings are not to judge. We are called to love like Christ. A church, should be the manifestation of the presence of Christ on this earth. Wherever there is a church, Christ is (and must) be there.

So, I feel that the first thing first is not to judge, criticise and start acting as though God revealed that it was His judgement that resulted in this. I feel strongly about this is because I do not believe that God will execute His judgement without discrimination. Look at the dialogue between Abraham and God pertaining the forthcoming wrath of God on Sodom. Abraham said something about how he know God:

• “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all deal justly ?” (Gen 18:25)

Here Abraham revealed what he knew about God. When God judges, He will not judge indiscriminately, treating the righteous and the wicked alike.

Christians or non-christians, we all suffer together in this tsunami!

And besides hearing all the criticism what are things that churches of Christ can do or are doing now?

The church is the body of Christ – let’s meet where the needs are, just as Jesus would do!

What would Jesus do if He walk on this earth today? WWJD in short. When we are in church, we put on a hat (not the deBono’s thinking hat) that we start to think like christian ought to be or do we? Many times our discussions and decisions are far cry from dispersing the love and grace of Jesus.

We thank God for giving us: beautiful houses, cash, and build nice chuch buildings. We call this glorifying God or God being glorified.  The church is now the centre of activities, where the money goes to.  But when Jesus walked on this earth 2000 years ago, he went to where the needs were: the widowers, the prostitutes, the sinners.

We have to identify what are the needs at this time: be it brothers and sisters among us or strangers outside. It could be a job, even a part-time job; it could be just simply food on the table. I firmly believe, there are christians doing this quietly as the Lord commanded in their personal capacities. But what about as a church?

As we cry and jump and harp about going all out to save the lost souls, this is the time, this is the opportunity that God has given us: TO LOVE.

Church has all the resources, if not, pool together then!

If a church is too small a congregation, pool a few church together. Look inwardly, we find resources: brothers and sisters who are employers, running small businesses or big businesses; those who are in the human resource profession or recruitment agencies. Pool together, to identify and share any job openings.

Help brothers and sisters to write resume.

Help to counsel those who just loose their jobs. They need the encouragement and support.

Help to advice on how to manage finances at time like this.

Help them on their immediate bills, food on the table.

Help the children with parents totally lost their incomes.

And many many more!

I can only pray that let us not harden our hearts or worry about ourselves only. But to set eyes on those that have greater needs than us. The wise teaching of the Lord Jesus once again make a lot of sense: if you have 2 pieces of cloth, give 1 away. Be thankful if you have surplus. But use it to bless others.
Bless those that can’t repay you. For you are loaning to God almighty. Can you imagine how God is going to pay you back?

So why God allows this to happen?

For many centuries, even since human knew about God, the question is always there asking God, “why?”. Why the suffering? Why the pain? And most of the time, God remained silent.

I personally feel that instead of asking why, we should ask ourselves how did it happen. The world economy is built on trading or buying. We are told to keep building products, innovate new products and services, so that people will spend and the money will flow from one hand to the other.

And so, it is drivne by telling people you need this from me and I take the money from you. However, the problem I think, noticing almost every 10 years we had experienced a crisis with 1997 the Asian currency crisis; all the gains or the cash or wealth, are not distributed equally.

The senior management is the one that gets the big bucks and the people in this organisation have the most buying power. Lesser wealth is distributed to the others inside a company. And then, a vicious cycle is created. For lower income people, in order for them to have something they like as suggested by the ads, they have to work so hard, produce more goods, to be more productive etc.. (actually creating more waste) but the end results are that the gains mostly go to the top management. This equation is an imbalance one. With all the massive products being created and few have the money to buy it, any normal person with normal IQ should know that one day, something bad is going to happen.

The recent economic saga demonstrated my point. These top management with degrees from Harvard, MIT, Stanford; they all get paid exorbitantly. Their contracts are such that they are being measured how they create values for the shareholders. Profit, that’s what it is. It is a very simple maths equation. For as long as it is a positive figures, the manager or the CEO will get rewarded. But no one cares about the other factors that will be affected because of simply persuing profits.

Some called it greed driven. Well, it is a way of life for those CEOs because their jobs are tied to profitability only. The board of directors, shareholders wouldn’t care less about other aspects that could affect the society, other people by simply persuing profits.  A vicious cycle is created. The CEO has to find way to make the company profitable: creating new channels, new ideas, new services and new products to convince people like you and me to buy it.

No one really cares about any consequences. Especially the CEO. They are not paid for abiding business ethics although they might loose their job for not abiding it (what an irony!). They are not paid for being socially repsonsible because the most they get is a pat by the local government. Actually the CEO is a high risk job.

So, should we blame the CEOs? Well, I think the shareholders and board of directos are to be blamed too. The goals they set, the contracts they put down to the CEO, the expectations they put across to the CEOs; all these add up to creating the vicious cycle. They promise the CEOs for millions of stocks, special perks even private jets etc…all about is to “get my stock price to the next high level!”.

So when the economy cracks, we put all the CEOs in the line of fire. What about those people who might have directly and indirectly ‘encourage’ them to do so? It is truely drive behind the big G word, not God but Greed.

What can we as Christians should do in responding to time like this?

Frankly I still think that we need to spend. But spend wisely. The other aspect is to realise that how important it is for us to build up our wealth in heaven than on earth. Jesus promised us that we could use our earthly gains or wealth to turn it into something that would last for eternity. In time like this, we should learn to give, help people in needs. Yes, you and I have our constraints and worries about tomorrow. However, these days will pass but not eternity.

What is the point to have many $ left behind when you find out that in heaven you have such a deficit? All the wealth that God has given you is entrusting you to use it in accordance to His will: listen to Him to care for those in needs. It is in time like this that we can show genuine love. We don’t just pray for our poor friends or friends in need and say “Now walk in faith, God will meet your needs”. Do you expect God will drop some $ from heaven? (Well I always wish that God might do that)

No! It is you and me who are supposed to be the angel to our friends in need. If you have excess (that’s really a challenging thing to define), pray and think about giving and sharing. In the company business world, vicious cycles are created and they are in some way, quite cruel. But in God’s world, we are to be different, we are to distinguished ourselves from this world even though we live in it. A different sets of values driven by the Love of Christ, not Greed.

If you have more than others, yes, it is a blessing and it can only be a blessing when you release it to someone in real needs. Putting it inside a safe (we know how money can loose its value) won’t bring you recognition from Christ for your good deeds living as His sons and daughters. I am not against the idea to save for rainy days but truely, how much do you really need to keep? Yes, it is a balance equation we need to figure out. Not that profit equation without balancing other equations only leading to definite problems. But an equation that when you give because of taking heed from Christ, your profit in heaven is multiplied, and eternal.

So, it is not an economic crisis or downturn but an upturn for Christians to be shaken or awaken.