The Upside of Recession? It Shows Who Your Friends Are

So, how are you doing in this recession? Whether you are doing well or not so well, have you measured your current financial situation against friendship?

In “Economic Parables: The Monetary Teachings of Jesus Christ,” I argued that the economy reflects who we are as individuals and as a society. The notion that the economy manipulates us misses the point, because in fact it is people who manipulate the economy at all levels. However, pointing to fat cats and greed at the top also misses the point. In the economy we all act, and the economy gives us a measure of our actions, both good and bad.

One outcome of this is that when people run into financial difficulties they soon find out who their friends are. We learn to distinguish between true friends and hangers-on. Ask anyone who has been famous or successful, and they will tell you that at times of difficulty “friends” have rapidly deserted them. But you don’t need to be wildly famous or successful to find this out.

In good times, we have money to spend on attracting friends, amusing them and even pretending we are happy when we are not. Recessionary times highlight the cracks in the structure of our life. It isn’t just about saving up for a rainy day, but figuring out how we conduct ourselves in the good times and prepare ourselves for the inevitable bad times. In recessionary times people have to dig deep, not just within themselves but within relationships.

The economy highlights this. When the economy is good, and we feel we are master of our universe, we make decisions as if there were to be no downside. The current recession exposes this reality, not just for individuals but for society.

The sadness of modern life is that the anonymity of urban life and the increasing dependency on government for welfare and care demonstrates how profoundly we have lost relationship. Family and friends have been destroyed by the notion that in times of difficulty increasing numbers of people have to turn to the government for help, instead of a network of friendships and family ties.

The current debt crisis reveals how much we depend on government and how little many individuals showed responsibility. In recessionary times many of the people we can turn to have problems of their own, and then we find out who our friends truly are.

On a national scale it is the same. Americans have to dig deep and decide what kind of nation it is in the 21^st Century.

By David Cowan

What started out as a financial crash has started to hit the real economy hard, and some are looking for easy salvation. As we contemplate in our Advent season with Christmas just ahead, the stores are not so full, jobs being cut, the idea of lots of presents under the tree and a joyous Christmas seems distant for many of us. Yet, wait, there is reason for joy and hope amid all the doom and gloom.

The reason for hope and joy is the original reason for Christmas: the gift promised us in the form of the Christ child who was born on Christmas Day. The great thing is, this gift is free, costs us nothing at all, not even the dollar the automaker’s chief executives are prepared to take as a salary. To celebrate this Christmas, to receive this gift, costs us nothing at all.

We are used to shopping and parties leading up to Christmas, with decorations out before Thanksgiving. Yet, in the early days of Christianity, Advent was a season of penance. It was a time to think of WHY we needed the hope that Jesus brought to us in a lowly stable. The feeling of joy didn’t happen until Christmas morn.

Maybe we can learn from this. We can learn that Advent, instead of being a long prelude of festivities and shopping leading up to Christmas day itself, is a time to reflect. It is a time to reflect on what we wait for, trembling with the joy of a child, on Christmas Morn: Unto us a Child is Born!

So, what shall we do this Advent? Well, can I suggest three things?

First of all, we should celebrate a joyous Christmas regardless of our economic situation. It costs nothing, and last long after the wrappings are in the dumpster, and it is a daily event, unlike the decorations we will put away for another year.

Secondly, we should look forward to years to come, not with fear of an unknown Recession, but with the hope that the Christ child brought into the world. If we take on the hope that God is beside us in these troubled times, then we need not fear.

Lastly, we should remember that the joy of Christmas Day stays with us all year round. Daily we have the opportunity to look at the world anew with the full faith and credit of Jesus Christ.

The point to remember is that Christmas is what we make of it. It is that unique time of the year that is all about the joyous atmosphere, and the opportunity to look back as well as forward.

So, maybe the downturn in the economy offers us all the opportunity to realise in this coming season of Advent that while times were good, we forgot to prepare for the bad times. We can ask ourselves whether we honestly saved for a rainy day, like our grandparents did. We can also ask ourselves whether we clung to Jesus as surely in the good times as we certainly need to do now that times are not so good.

This Advent season why not look at your material and spiritual bank balances? We may not have much in left the material bank, but we always have to make sure we have enough in the spiritual bank. If we have financial problems, we need to seek help from debt counsellors and others. If we are doing well, then we can see how we can help others get through this.

This Week’s Video: David Cowan on Serving Two Masters.

Order “Business Ethics Today: Stealing.”

Click HERE for a recap of the 2011 Business Ethics Today: Conference.

In follow up to the recent Infiniti car ads, you may also consider the following:

There were two ads done by the same agency for the Infiniti winter event.  Our LAST BLOG touched on the ad labeled “Competitive.”  The other ad is labeled “Inspired.” Both video’s with a bit of background can be found HERE. From a business ethics perspective the contrast between the two adds is compelling.

Please comment on the following:

1. Does the “Inspired” ad communicate the Christmas season as well, or better than the “Competitive” ad?

2. Does the “Inspired” ad give equivalent incentive to buy the car?

Clearwire update!

Wall Street Journal reported today that Clearwire Corp. made the interest payments noted in the first article on time! (To view the original blog post click HERE) While the latest report credits the payment to an agreement with Sprint Nextel Corp., we should not miss the fact that management made it happen and fulfilled the terms of the agreement with the creditor.  Credit belongs to management here, not to the deal.

For those of us of the Christian persuasion, we would say that this entire story points to God’s providence.

What are your thoughts on this outcome?

To view the entire WSJ article click HERE.