Good Bet

I am not a betting man but I know a bad bet when I see one. I was intrigued by President Obama’s statement last evening:

“For the first time in history, our country’s AAA credit rating would be
downgraded, leaving investors around the world to wonder whether the United
States is still a good bet.” (Stone, The Daily Beast)

The question I asked myself is whether or not I would loan money to a man who is so far in debt that he can’t see light, and wants to borrow more to increase his indebtedness which he couldn’t pay off in several lifetimes. Isn’t the answer obvious? Then, I asked myself if I would be more likely to loan money to a guy who is deeply in debt, but rather than borrow more, is going to cut back on  his spending to the point that he can begin to pay down his debt and get back on track to live within his income. I might see my way clear to give him a little help along the way.

Our (read: United States of America) situation is just that multiplied by trillions. I would think that a “downgrade” in our “credit rating” might indicated to lenders (isn’t that the Chinese economy?) that we are trying to solve our problems rather than just pushing forward with more debt, more spending, more certainty that we are never, never going to be able to get this juggernaut stopped short of total collapse.

I know Churches that are like that. They keep borrowing and borrowing knowing that the only hope for them is that Christ will return and they will be relieved (hopefully) of the debt. Maybe that is one of the reason for His delay. More than one of His rules oppose incurring debts we cannot pay. Wouldn’t that be a “kick in the head;” Him waiting on us — just like we are waiting for Him?