The Upside of Recession by David Cowan
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 21st Century.
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It was pointed out to me that the reason the government has taken over so many social programs is because our churches allowed it, sort of dropped the ball. Same thing happens to friendships and societies, we allow rather than dis-allow big government to manipulate our lives. In essence, collectively, we need to step up to the plate as a Christian nation and help those struggling. We are you say? Then we aren’t doing enough are we. There is so much money wasted in government and charity programs we need to be better informed and more conservative in our budgets so we are available in hard times both for monetary and spiritual giving.
Merry Christmas to all.