22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”—The words of Jesus recorded by the Apostle Luke from Luke 12:22-34
One of the marks of every civilization that has failed is the fact that the ordinary people never realized just how bad things really were. Of course, they should have known. But the circumstances of their every day lives kept them so busy that they hardly paid any attention to the bigger picture of what was going on in their land.
For example, I hear politicians and pundits throw around numbers like:
- The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) takes 716 billion dollars from Medicare and uses it to fund healthcare for individuals who do not presently have healthcare.
- The current National Debt of the United States stands at nearly 16 trillion dollars.
- The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the United States—the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within our country—was 15.094 trillion dollars in 2011
- Total Federal Income Tax revenue for 2011: 2.3035 trillion dollars
Few people can get their minds around numbers like 716 billion dollars or 2.3035 trillion dollars. I suspect that one of the reasons we don’t have a greater sense of fiscal concern stems from the fact that many people can barely balance their checkbooks, let alone understand big numbers.
So, let me see if I can help.
First of all, I suggest that all media outlets do away with the terms “billion” and “trillion.” Instead, I suggest they replace “billion” with “thousand-million” and “trillion” with “million-million.” So, our National Debt becomes 15.094 million-million dollars. The amount of money that Obamacare will take from Medicare becomes 716 thousand-million dollars. Get it?
Now I realize that even this way of expressing big numbers leaves some people in the weeds. So, let me offer some further help.
If a person earns $25,000 per year in gross salary—that is the salary before any deductions—in four years that person will earn a total of $100,000. In 40 years, that person will earn one million dollars—basically a lifetime of employment at the same salary.
To earn one thousand-million dollars (previously known as one billion dollars) that person would have to work 40,000 years. Obviously this is impossible, but it begins to help you get your mind around how big a number one thousand-million dollars really is. Another way of looking at the same number is to say that it would take 1,000 people who earn $25,000 each year for 40 years to reach a total of one thousand-million dollars (previously known as one billion dollars).
To earn one million-million dollars (previously known as one trillion dollars), it would take one million people earning $25,000 per year for 40 years. Or, it would take forty million people earning $25,000 in a single year year to equal one million-million dollars (previously known as one trillion dollars.)
To earn enough money in one year to pay off the 15.094 million-million dollar National Dept, 600 million people earning $25,000 per year would have to give their entire salary to the government. But, our total population in 2011 was only 311,591,917 people. So, we are a little less than half the number of people short.
Then, of course, there’s the problem that not all of those 311 million plus people are employed. In fact, only about 130 million people of the 311 million total population are employed. This makes the percentage of full employment all the more important for the financial security of our nation.
Yes, it’s true that wage earners making $25,000 per year or less represent only about 25% of the total wage earners. But, even so, you can begin to see the magnitude of our debt.
The Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post is absolutely true: God will always care for His own people. Nevertheless, God’s people have a responsibility to use the minds He has given them to understand the truth about the financial plight of our nation. Even as we rest secure in the arms of God, we still have to make very wise decisions regarding the finances of our nation.
This blog post is not intended to be political. In fact, I have written about this subject before. You will find that previous blog post by clicking here. Whatever political party you believe represents your interests the best, you need to do your part to understand what you read or hear or see. After all, that’s part of being a good citizen.
Voting is also a very, very important part of being a good citizen. If, for some reason, you are not a registered voter, please become registered immediately. Then, on November 6, 2012, make certain you vote! I’m not telling you how to vote. I’m just telling you to vote. I believe this will be the most important election so far in my lifetime.
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
Precious Father, we want You to help us be good citizens of this nation where you have placed us. We recognize that every good gift and every perfect gift comes from You. This includes the privilege that we have of living in the country where we live.
Help us make the effort to understand what the numbers really mean when we hear radio or television news people or politicians talk about those numbers. Give us discernment in making wise choices when we enter the voting booth.
Have mercy on our nation and bring a great sweeping revival to this land. Send Your Holy Spirit to bring a great spiritual change that will turn people’s hearts back to You. Please continue to keep us safe from harm and resting securely in Your love.
Thank You for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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