Refusing to Participate in an Economic Downturn

There’s a lot of flap these days about the dismal future of the American, in fact the world, economy. Everywhere you look and listen naysayers of the day are decrying the outgoing administration and the downsizing of the stock market. All of this takes a gigantic toll on the general positive attitude of a relatively prosperous nation.

Let’s be real for a moment. My family is not wealthy by American standards. We’re a dual income household with two children, a mortgage yada_yada_yada. We live in Iowa where, if one is to believe Ken Fisher and Laura Hoffman, authors of the book The Ten Roads to Riches, we are number 4 on the list of the 10 worst places to look for the richest Americans.

Understanding that I have done zero research on the subject, however I do believe that this is in the top 10 places where you will find a concentration of mainstream working-class blue and white-collar families. This, at least is how we see ourselves, and I hunch that many of you do as well.

We have “owned” our home for less than 5 years and have no intention of leaving it. Has it depreciated in value due to the current market? I have no idea, but it probably has. Even so, we have a solid home, steady jobs, and no intention of leaving them nor indication that they will be “downsized” or “eliminated” in the next few years. We drive cars that are quite old, but paid for. Our children attend public school where the teachers truly care about them. This year we’re even going to be able to manage trips to see cherished remembers of both sides of the family. By the standards of the planet WE ARE WEALTHY. By the standards of the world, we are rich and we celebrate that as a fact in our home.

In short, we are refusing to participate in what the political pundits and the mainstream media are labeling as an “economic downturn.” We are living our lives as we have for the past several years. We refuse to participate in the trash-talk and fault-finding that seems to have become so popular of late.

Be advised, we are under no delusions that there are many who are being adversely affected by the current circumstances. Indeed, we are as well. But, our family is refusing to let what we see as temporary conditions determine the attitude of our household. We refuse to participate in the media hype and the alleged prophecies of the doom sayers.

We will continue to purchase our groceries from our local store. We will continue to shop with our neighbors who own and operate businesses in our community. We will continue to support our faith community with offerings of our time, talent, and financial resources. In the end we know with complete certainty that our family, our community will survive and thrive.

Recently I had the opportunity to read a book called The Secret. I believe it speaks volumes about self-fulfilling prophecies. If you allow your thoughts and your life to be governed by doom and gloom, that is what you will find. If you allow yourself to focus upon love, joy, peace this is what you will find. I like to say it this way, “You usually find what you are looking for.”

If you are looking for trouble, doom, gloom, loss, debt and all of the negative things, you surely will find them, and there are plenty of pundits ready to uphold your world view. However, the opposite is also true: If you will look for the good, the light, the prosperity and the blessings that we have simply because we live in this free society called “America,” you will surely find that too.

At the risk of sounding like a preacher, though that is what I am in my professional life, seriously look around your life. Is it really as bad as the mainstream media would have us believe? Or are there even more blessings than curses?

Although I do not subscribe to many of the assumptions of the modern American “prosperity gospel” that is preached from the television pulpits by my colleagues in ministry, I do believe that this is a great nation. We have profound blessings that can be shared widely throughout the world, and we do not have any reason to be down, depressed, or negative about what the future holds for us as a nation.

We refuse to participate in the “economic downturn.” We refuse to participate in the tendency to look only at that which is negative. Instead we will join hearts and hands with our neighbors. We will celebrate the fact that we live in a nation founded on freedom and we will support our community with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service. In the end, we will be okay, and so will you! Join our little family, our little community in lifting up that which is good, that which is noble, that which is worthy of praise, and let the nay sayers go their own way. Go ahead, have your economic crisis. As for me and my house, we refuse to participate.