Sep 21 2007
The Importance of Community
Date-Dabitur » Amazing Changes
My friend Chad has a substantial post here about the economy and how it’s changed in the last 7 years–especially regarding inflation. Gold has increased threefold, oil almost 400%, the dollar to euro ratio has doubled and the federal reserve keeps printing money and now is considering lowering interest rates again, which will further artificially prop up the housing market and cause more and more inflation, the most evil of hidden taxes.
Gold and Oil and Housing, Oh My!
These are more pressing issues to our daily lives than lions and tigers and bears, for sure.
So am I rushing out to buy gold or other hard goods that won’t crash in value? Buying gold in the year 2000 when it was cheap would have been a great investment. If I had, though (which I didin’t because of disposable income lacking at the time) today I’d be turning it into already depressed real estate. I’d buy houses in my neighborhood where the prices are less inflated than most of the rest of the area.
What can we do? I believe that unless a major change is made the economy as it currently exists will almost certainly collapse or continue inflating beyond what you can currently believe possible.
But I’m not going to buy gold.
The most important investment you can make going into an inflationary economy or a collapsing economy is not in hard goods or even real estate. It’s in the lives of those around you, particularly those in the covenant community of the local Church. If the economy collapses people who live on the outskirts will simply be too far away from one another to help one another and those lives will be the ones most affected by a collapse. Investing in relationship and proximity to other believers is crucial to surviving anything that might come our way, and will bring you into natural surroundings for mercy ministry and evangelism like we can only imagine.
So consider where you live and where those most important to you live. How involved would you be with one another if your house was suddenly worth 1/3 of its current value and gas was $15 per gallon? But if they lived across the street or around the corner? What then?
If the economy collapses or persecution breaks out or even if we want to be a driving force in the form of salt, light, and leaven in our surroundings — having a community of close proximity is a benefit beyond measure.
And if the economy doesn’t collapse? What did you lose but all the time you’re now spending trying to drive to and fro to see people you love during the week? This is why I continue to try to get my parents and my wife’s parents to move closer to us. Because close proximity makes relationships easier to develop. And that blessing goes beyond any fears or suspicions I have about the dollar, the housing market or the price of gold. And that blessing comes from God through community, and makes life better regardless of the circumstance. I am thankful that I live near others who love me and whom I love–and I pray that others will catch this vision whether it be in my ‘hood’ or another, but to sacrifice for community somewhere.
I remember reading about when everything fell apart in Beirut during the civil war of 1975-1990. Essentially, various militia (i.e. political gangs) took over various areas of the city. The entire city went feral.
This community sense is exactly how people survived. Neighborhoods would “circle the wagons” and watch out for each other.
God be praised, I don’t think that the situation in our country is quite as bad as Beirut, although I don’t think that it would take much to make it so. Witness Hurricane Katrina. But, what you’re describing here is exactly the best way to prepare for such a day.
Hi James,
I agree! There is a house just down for us that is still for sale!
I know we are in agreement here, but I would also like to mention another option that we must not forget. In addition to moving in, there is always the option of building out. Right now, as a result of the way God has built Providence Church, we have communities sprouting up to the east and to the south. Lord willing we will see more families from the north soon! As God builds Providence, we will start to see new works in the “hinterland.”
Also, we should not forget our responsibility to be lights in the communities God has called us to. We should be praying for our neighborhoods – looking for opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel with those around.
In times like this, I also believe it is important to reflect on the promises God gives in Jeremiah 29 – let us pray for the peace of the city wherein we find ourselves captive, building our houses, planting our gardens, seeing our children married into Covenant Christian marriages. And we also know that God is the real protection when (or if) society craters.
Grace and peace,