In our church today we were reminded that the USA is similar in its cultural prowess to Sodom.  I guess when you look at the Freudian solution to sexual repression – sex without meaning or attachment;  when you look at the violence that involves guns and mutilation;  when you look on what passes for communication in the media; and when you look at infanticide as a looming solution to unwanted pregnancy – the parallels are intriguing.  These things go in cycles.  Jack Black’s movie Year One showed how attractive Sodom is to the current mindset – in the movie Isaac sneaks off there to party to escape his oppressive father Abraham.  The decadence of Rome is glorified in HBO and Starz series.  We are entertained by watching the same savage encounters.  Both Rome and Sodom have been destroyedin ways related to their indulgence.

We can’t hide our heads in the sand.  We reap what we sow.  We are part of the consumerism that drives the production of greenhouse gases which arguably leads to drought and excessive snow fall.  God has designed the world so that sin is not sustainable.  Only obedience leads to bountiful harvests and fattened flocks that can be sustained.  By God’s grace our love affair with consumption has not consumed us.  Let us thank God that we have survived and pray to God that we would be wiser stewards of culture and commerce.

Psalm 65

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

 ¹ Praise awaits^[b] you, our God, in Zion;
   to you our vows will be fulfilled.
² You who answer prayer,
   to you all people will come.
³ When we were overwhelmed by sins,
   you forgave^[c] our transgressions.
⁴ Blessed are those you choose
   and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
   of your holy temple.

 ⁵ You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
   God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
   and of the farthest seas,
⁶ who formed the mountains by your power,
   having armed yourself with strength,
⁷ who stilled the roaring of the seas,
   the roaring of their waves,
   and the turmoil of the nations.
⁸ The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
   where morning dawns, where evening fades,
   you call forth songs of joy.

 ⁹ You care for the land and water it;
   you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
   to provide the people with grain,
   for so you have ordained it.^[d]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
   you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty,
   and your carts overflow with abundance.
¹² The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
   the hills are clothed with gladness.
¹³ The meadows are covered with flocks
   and the valleys are mantled with grain;
   they shout for joy and sing.

Questions

1. What happened when the nation was overwhelmed by sin?
2. Where does God call forth songs of joy?
3. How does this psalm relate to GDP in an agrarian society?
4. How are religious devotion and economic production related in your mind?
5. How can a biblically sound populace teach fiscal responsibility and sustainable production to the population as awhole by the way they manage their household?

Going Deeper

The two main idealists whose thoughts we see in our economy are von Hayek and Keynes.  To summarize, von Hayek says that the economy must be driven by real production.  Responsible saving should have its reward in responsible investment.  This leads to moderate sustainable growth.  Keynes’ ideas are driving the economy now.  The idea is that to avoid a recession people must spend.  The more spending that they do the more money is at large in the economy.  The more the economy grows.  If there is not enough spending the government must lead the way by releasing funds as they did to end the Great Depression.  Watch this 8 minute video which sumarzes the views in a rap.  then ask yourself which view God ismore likely to blessand why. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk

If you like it you can watch the follow up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc&feature=relmfu