PARKS BROWN

If I were to postulate that we live in a world at war, would anyone disagree with me? Before agreeing or disagreeing, most folks would ask the question “What do you believe we are at war against?” My first answer…pretty much everything it seems.

Central banks around the world are at war against deflation. Their battles are fought with academic policies and monetary experimentation such as negative interest rates. The political headlines question who we are at war against but the injured and dead body count continues to rise. Nations devalue their currencies for competitive purposes and are known as currency wars. There are trade wars, gasoline wars, wars on cash and coal. It’s easy to call this political season a war for your vote as evidenced by the candidates and their supporters. Whether you like it or not, war is raging all around.

Ok, let’s make it personal. Our national debt has the budget war for entitlement services front and center. There is a war for your social security and your retirement funds. Today it’s public pensions, tomorrow it will be your 401k and IRA. There is a war on democracy itself. Say what?

A lot of people are tired of the way the government has been run as evidenced by Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. It was reported in the “July 2011 edition of the Journal of Democracy, 25% of American citizens said that democracy is a “bad way” to run the country and an even larger number would prefer an authoritarian leader who didn’t have to deal with the nuisance of election (WSJ 9-14-16).” A 2015 Rasmussen survey found that 48% of likely voters “think America’s best days are in the past.” The spirit and hope of democracy is under attack.

Still not convinced we live in a world at war? The war for privacy is in your home and on your phone everyday. E-mail phishing, bogus calls from the “IRS”, hacked credit and debit cards. Mark Zuckerberg himself created a stir on Instagram this summer. If you looked at the picture you’ll see tape covering the CEO of Facebook’s laptop camera and microphone jack. The war for privacy does not discriminate and everyone is a target. You may not hear or see the enemy, but let’s PLEASE agree he is out there and battling on many fronts.

War has existed since the beginning of time. Some people don’t relate to being at war because they haven’t served in combat or they haven’t lost someone they know to a direct confrontation and loss of life. But c’mon people, everyone has felt the battle we’re talking about. War is a conflict to control, destroy and change. Everyone has either been personally attacked or knows someone who has been attacked. Regardless of the battlefront, there is a war and you are in it.

OK, now you might start to agree that we live in a world at war and wars, but who and what are we at war against? CAN we, SHOULD we name the enemy? Wake up people!! Absolutely we should name the enemy. But let’s get it right. Let’s dig deeper than the headlines and soundbites.

What are the wars all about and who is the real enemy? Christians will be quick to reference Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” OK. That may explain some things. We don’t always see the enemy, and we know there is a bigger picture. We know there is more than meets the eye and makes the CNN headlines.

You may not agree with all the wars I’ve mentioned, but they DO represent battlefields and attacks on virtually everyone. The wars I’ve mentioned represent a war for control and a struggle for something that you hold dear. There are numerous battlefronts because people have become more divided in their beliefs by false leaders and lies. At first glance the war is for your money, your future security, your identity. But the real battle is much more concentrated than at first glance. The battle is for your life, your spirit, your very soul. That my friends is the origin of the battle and it starts in your mind.

So, whats a person to do? “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:”. The Word is full of good directives, but if we could camp out in one location for just a little while, I would recommend Romans 14:1, “Therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” Dang. Ceasefire right there.

Individually, let’s recognize the wars we know are battlegrounds for heart and mind. Let’s also respect that there are physical and cultural wars we might not see or agree with…they are wars none-the-less. And, all the wars are similar in nature. Financial and economic wars seek to control the heart, mind and body of ALL people on this planet just like conventional wars.

Let’s also recognize the real enemy is not one we can see. The real enemy is evil and he takes many forms, names, colors and creeds. He fights on many fronts because people are divided in what they believe and care about. Don’t let him take YOUR mind off the truth that Christ won the battle more than 2000 years ago. Be of sober mind, be alert. Stand firm in and for your victory, brothers and sisters.

There is an old Proverb in the Bible that states, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” The definition of humble is pretty simple. Humble is not thinking so highly of yourself, not being proud or arrogant but having a modest opinion of yourself. The definition of pride says it can be a vice or a virtue, but it is a feeling. A feeling that you respect yourself or you are more important or better than other people.

If you look at the headlines or listen to the news channels, do you see a lot of humility with corporations, central bankers, Olympic athletes, politicians, everyday citizens…anyone? Do you see more humility or more pride? What about in the mirror?

Where DO you see pride as you go through each day? When some of us see a lack of humility we just turn our back and ignore it. Sometimes we disconnect with people who are prideful and sometimes we are drawn in closer. Pride can be seen as strength. Pride is a banner people are waving these days and it is being encouraged. Gay pride, racial or ethnic pride, pride in your sports team or your country. But where does legitimate pride start to run outside the lines and divide people and serve as a conduit to think of yourself as better than others and not equal to them? Remember, those are the proud God opposes.

The current parade of pride can also make some people become ambivalent towards others. When pride is displayed in the wrong fashion it can make you disassociate, turn you off and care less. Someone’s pride CAN make you oppose them. Opposition is active, it is resistant. Opposing something gets in its way, hinders and obstructs. How we respond to others pride can reveal our true heart. God opposes the proud, so why shouldn’t we?

Most people don’t care to oppose something unless it affects them. It’s tougher to oppose a thing for very long if you don’t think you can affect it. The election comes first to mind, but what else? Not many Americans give two cents about the Bank of Japan owning 50% of the ETF’s (exchange trade fund) in their country even if it means they may indirectly own 20% of Japanese companies. And why SHOULD anyone oppose this?

Here we go with monetary policies again…but, don’t tune out before the big picture. There is an overdose of pride among corporations, sovereign nations, politicians and everyday people. When a bank opens thousands of fraudulent accounts it is pride and greed that is the impetus. Printing more money and buying financial assets with the proceeds can result in state ownership of production and consumption, and is a way to introduce socialism or communism. Many government policies assuming they can boost growth have proven to be prideful attempts that have failed around the world.

Current fiscal actions are nothing more than pride run amuck. Pride has found a way to go unnoticed because people don’t care about things until it directly hits them. Low and negative interest rates serve to increase unfunded pension liabilities that will need a savior. The removal of cash from the public WILL make you more dependent, all under the guise of rooting out criminal activity? A QE (quantitative easing) induced manipulated stock market that does anything but go down is a prideful attempt to keep the masses complacent and buy time.

The real question is..if pride is at or near the root of what we see from 50,000 feet and God opposes the proud, what’s up?? What are YOU doing about it as well? Keeping your head down? Are you trying to save enough money and get to retirement? Are you hoping it will all just solve itself? Are you waiting until it DOES affect you or your children?

Now, about that mirror. Pride is sooo much easier to see in others than in ourselves. Are you glad or proud you don’t have to understand monetary policy implications? Are you happy or proud so much of the world doesn’t really affect you? Are you content or proud that you are able to live above the noise of these concerns? Are you thankful or proud that you aren’t fighting any real opposition? Personal lives assuming they are beyond the impact of macro induced policies can be havens of veiled pride.

Until some of these issues come home to roost in your house there is only one way to find out where you have a pride issue. The Psalmist wrote in 139:23-24… “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Believers need to know and live out what God taught and revealed through His son, Jesus Christ. If there was ever ONE word to describe Jesus, humble comes close. The other word is love. Jesus didn’t teach us to oppose pride, in fact often to the contrary. He and His disciples remind us to have nothing to do with prideful people. He didn’t say to oppose them, but He did say to be “devoted to one another in love”, “in humility consider others better than yourself” and to “pray for each other so you may be healed.”

Don’t know what’s going on anymore…don’t care? Prideful that you aren’t affected and don’t have to care? Turned off by all the pride you see? Get on your knees and humble yourself by asking the Holy Spirit to show you where HE sees pride. God gives grace to the humble…and opposition to the proud. Make sure your heart and actions are rightly aligned.

Grace or opposition? Which do you want? Which do you need? Which are you receiving?

Have you noticed any recent changes in your thoughts, attitudes and actions? More importantly, what type of change have you noticed in your thought life and is it concentrated in any particular area or is it widespread? Are you starting to think differently or less about politics, money, religion, family, friends, current events? Give that enough thought to come up with an answer. Take a minute to quantify and qualify these changes in your thoughts.

It’s a given that we constantly change. In fact, its a good thing…right? We SHOULD keep striving to be better, care more, think more clearly, understand more completely and love more deeply. But is that the type of change you’re experiencing? Are you more passionate about our country and it’s future? Are you more or LESS concerned with people other than yourself? Do you believe the future is brighter than the past? Or, are you becoming more apathetic with each passing day? Is your thought life producing greater and more positive results every day..or not?

I had a friend once tell me he didn’t care about apathy. So, what IS apathy. According to Wikipedia. which is in the business of change and will constantly change a definition if need be, apathy is…”a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, and concern.” HHMMM. Have you felt any of that lately? In fact, is apathy a result of the intensity and rapidity of change we are living through? Is our world changing so radically and so rapidly that we are beginning to become insensitive and indifferent? And, how is that affecting a change in YOU??

Apathy can be a disease. If you don’t know and watch for the symptoms, you can become insensitive, indifferent, passive, and disinterested in one news cycle. Elie Wisel, an American novelist and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 once said, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” Apathy is the result of futile thinking.

In the New Testament, Paul put it a little more bluntly. Paul wrote a letter to a group of his buddies in Ephesus. Paul made the point that when your thinking became futile, it darkened your understanding, your heart hardened, you lost sensitivity and this could lead to separation from God. By the way, don’t look to Wikipedia for a definition of futile, they don’t have one. Webster defines it as… “having no result or effect : pointless or useless”.

In 1950, US novelist John Dos Passos wrote: “Apathy is one of the characteristic responses of any living organism when it is subjected to stimuli too intense or too complicated to cope with. The cure for apathy is comprehension.” So, let me ask. Do you comprehend whats going on in Washington these days? Does the stock market seem too complicated and provide stimuli that is too intense? Can you comprehend why you have to elect a candidate to know where they stand on an issue? Let me pose, the cure for apathy is not just comprehension, it is wisdom and revelation. Look up the definition of those words and tell me we can’t use more of them.

So where and how do you get wisdom? The book of James 1:5-8 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord: he is a double-minded man unstable in all he does.” To fight apathy, we need to start with prayer and end with faith.

How do you start to care about that family member that hasn’t spoken to you in two years? When do you start to care about a candidates health? Do you care if we discriminate against an immigrants religious faith? Where do you go to start understanding the difference between the truth and the lies you are being told every minute of every day? Maybe you HAVE noticed the changes in your heart and mind lately. Are you becoming MORE apathetic about MORE issues than ever before. I’m not asking why, I’m just asking if you are changing that way?

The book of Revelation (13:16-17) tells of a world ruler who forces “everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.” Most people have heard this story or heard about the story. The mark refers to as much a heart condition as a physical mark or economic issue. The mark of the beast refers to a willingness to operate within the economic system the ruler promotes. Can apathy lead to the taking of this mark? In what direction is your current state of apathy leading you in your relational, economic and spiritual life?

Can apathy make a believer passive at an inopportune time? Is apathy so dangerous it could make you unconcerned about a silly mark and indifferent to what the scripture teaches? Is your apathy lying dormant for just the wrong time or is it building to a crescendo? Is your apathy revealing the spiritual condition of your heart?

Let apathy be the new red flag. Whenever you see it, call it out. Whenever you ARE apathetic, get on your knees. You play the way you practice. Don’t be apathetic about being apathetic.

I had two friends tell me the other day they didn’t care about money issues or money conversations. One guy said there was nothing he could do about things beyond his control and the other expressed a general lack of interest or concern. This sat in my craw. So, bear with me a minute please.

In an investment plan you make assumptions. If you assume X number of dollars and X % rate of return you can figure how much money you will have accumulated on any given date in the future. If your actual rates of return don’t meet your assumed rates then your final dollar figures will be less. It’s that simple.

Using the previous example, pension funds make assumptions to meet their future liabilities. If they make the wrong assumptions and don’t have enough money, it is referred to as “unfunded liabilities”. For those who don’t care about pensions, have a pension or give two cents about those people who do care, please stay with me for a minute more. Odds favor you do or should care about assumptions. Your assumptions as well as the assumptions of others affect you more than you want to know. In fact, pension assumptions WILL more than likely affect you in the near future.

In an article in the Wall Street Journal on August 25, 2016, Steve Malanga wrote, “According to a July 2015 report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, since 2005 the unfunded liabilities reported by state pension systems have risen by nearly threefold from $339 billion to nearly $1 trillion thanks in part to investment shortfalls.” In simple terms, they made the wrong assumptions for rates of return. There are differences in private and public pensions. For sake of our discussion, lets narrow down the major difference.

The article went on to note “one crucial difference is that private pension systems must project the future growth of their assets using a conservative “risk-free” rate of return based on U.S. Treasurys, but public pension funds can adopt a higher rate. The difference, compounded over time, can account for enormous variations in pension asset calculations. Government pension funds on average estimate they will earn 7.6% a year on their portfolios, according to a survey by the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. Using that number, the funds say they are currently about $1 trillion short of the money they will need to fund pension credits that workers have already earned. But if pension systems were required to use a riskless rate, currently below 3%, the shortfall would soar to more than $3 trillion.”

So why should YOU care? A government pension crisis of $1-$3 trillion, a currency war, a mortgage debt crisis, the IMF printing SDR’s and issuing new bonds in a currency that can affect the value of the dollar…what isn’t your problem today can become your problem tomorrow. When the mortgage crisis hit Wall Street and stocks went down 40%, the landscaping business took it on the chin. When property and personal taxes rise to make up for the shortfall in pension assumptions for retired government teachers and firemen, you won’t be able to hide.

Assumptions make the world go around. One of the oldest adages about assumptions has to do with making an ass of you and me but nobody really believes that one anymore: do they? When central banks assume growth rates the numbers go in one ear and out the other. They ALWAYS revise them. What we once considered factual data like last quarters unemployment rate, GDP or inflation rate doesn’t seem to hold up for more than a few weeks before it is revised. I used to think hind sight was 20-20, but I’m pretty sure you can’t even look back and see clearly anymore.

James, the half brother that grew up with Jesus made a great point about assumptions. “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow, we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know about what will happen today or tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If its the Lords will, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.”

So, why should you care about monetary stuff, currencies and whatnot? Maybe you need to ask the Holy Spirit if you should care. Are you leaving God out of your goals and assumptions? Are you making the assumptions that James is talking about? Are you bragging and boasting about tomorrow and that these things don’t matter to you or affect you? Do you assume there is nothing the Holy Spirit can do with and through you?

Are you assuming the creator of the universe doesn’t care? Shouldn’t we care about what He cares about? Are you making certain life assumptions that might not hold true? If your assumptions are wrong, whats the cost of that shortfall for YOU? It’s not always a matter of adjusting your portfolio mix or going to cash. It’s not always just a vote for the person you dislike the least. You can make a difference. Ask the Holy Spirit what He can and wants to DO in and through you.

I encourage you to change some assumptions and care. Look around and remember the assumptions of others have, can and will impact you and your family. James last word on that subject was pointed. He said, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”

In 2014 a large global asset management company did an on-line survey among their US investors. The survey included 458 affluent investors with a minimum of $200,000 in investable assets not including their homes. The results were quite intriguing. The survey found these investors spent an average of one hour and twenty minutes each day thinking or worrying about money. That’s more than 9 hours each week.

The investors surveyed spent more than 20 full days a year worrying about money. Ten percent of those surveyed spent 2-3 hours each day thinking or worrying about money. That’s 30-45 days a year totally focused on money…all day. Are you kidding me? Some of us may relate to this and others may say “I’m glad I don’t have 200k to worry about.” Some of you don’t worry or think about money because you have a comfortable amount. A lot of folks don’t concern themselves with money because their money makes them feel safe and insulated. Which camp do you fall into?

Do YOU think more or less about a thing when you have more of it or less of it? How does the quantity of a thing correlate to the amount of mental time or worry YOU give it, and does this affect your ability to deal with it better or worse? Too many questions? Confused yet?

Barry Schwartz wrote a book in 2004, The Paradox of Choice. Mr. Schwartz argued that everyday decisions have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. Excessive choice can lead to confusion, depression and down right apathy. Mr. Schwartz notes our culture believes that when our options are many, there is less excuse for falling short of perfection. And, lets face it, from our churches to academia to athletics the world is preaching and rewarding excellence. The more choices and decisions you have to make with your money the more responsibility you have for dealing with it…and the potential consequences correspondingly increase.

A recent study in the Wall Street Journal showed where ten to twelve years ago you only had to make one investment decision to achieve a 6.5% rate of return. The article showed where that same rate of return in 2016 could only be achieved through a basket of investments. In simple terms, today you have to make 8-10 investment choices to achieve the same rate of return. This requires more proficiency, more experience, more counsel. More choices, more risk, more of a paradox.

The key question is not how much or how little money, or how many choices you have to make…the question is does money control your heart? Or better yet, does how you think about money reveal what’s in your heart? Bob Dylan said “ya gotta serve somebody.” Jesus put it best in Matthew 6:24. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” So….What/who are you serving? And, how does this effect not only your world, but THE world.

In the land of quantifying our government’s responsibilities with money, the US has $19T(trillion) in debt. In the world there is $8T of negative yielding sovereign debt(54% of total). Central banks own more than $25T of financial assets(a sum larger than the GDP of the U.S. and Japan combined, up $12T since the Lehman debacle in 2008 that preceded the financial collapse). Considering these numbers are growing each day, do you believe the people behind governments and these numbers think and worry about these monies more or less than they did 8 years ago? Do they think about these things more today than 6 months ago? Considering the world has never seen negative interest rates and governments have never been owners of so many financial assets, what do they rely on to make their decisions?

The writer in Proverbs 3:5-7 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” There is probably NOWHERE we exercise more of our own wisdom and understanding than with money. We have a tendency to use our own wisdom, the wisdom of financial advisors, consultants, friends, radio talk show hosts and whoever else BEFORE we pray and submit our minds and pocketbooks to the Holy Spirit. Worldly wisdom is not heavenly wisdom. If the Spirit leads you to godly counsel that’s great. But don’t trust your own understanding of how to go about the process without praying about it first. One more question, does that same advice apply to those making decisions with government debts and monies?

There’s a short story in the book of Luke where a landowner has to deal with more than he has had in the past. The guy relied on his past experience and wisdom before seeking heavenly guidance. It didn’t end so well for him. Check it out sometime (Luke 12:16-21). God wants to be first. God wants us to trust Him and not ourselves. He wants to be acknowledged first and foremost. We have a proclivity to seek His counsel after OUR protocol doesn’t work. The story in Luke reminds us time is not always on our side. Is time on your side today? How can you even know the answer to that question?

Our decisions have consequences and our choices help make those decisions. Today, make a choice on what will master your heart. Maybe you already have and don’t know it. Maybe you need to make a new choice. Today, make a choice to listen to Him and not yourself. Wake up and determine the condition of your heart. Draw a line in the sand TODAY. There are only two choices. Make sure it’s the best one for you and those you care about.