There is a great passage in Nehemiah 5, where the prophet Nehemiah is angry with the Jewish people because they are engaged in charging interest against loans given to their own people. He asked them to stop immediately, and these words totally jumped out at me today: "Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? The Jews who charged interest were essentially putting their brothers and sisters back into slavery. There were doing this so that they could pay their own taxes and possibly their debt to the king. It was a time of harsh economic downturn; a famine of unprecedented proportions. And these Jews were resorting to unusual and unsavory practices to cover their own butts. They violated their own personal values and dishonored God in the process.
But the issue isn't money, or the lack thereof. The issue is character; faithfulness to God in desperate times. We don't have a clue about a famine, but these, by modern standards, are severe economic times. I know that I've done things in my past that have not honored God during times of stress and crisis. So how do we act and respond today? Do we crack and make our problems others or do we stand resolute, steadfast, honorable to God and his Word? In 2009, which by many experts predictions will be tougher than 2008, I'm asking God to give me the courage and character to stand strong!
