Government bailouts are a terrible idea. Or so I thought. The idea of “We The People” as co-owners in everything from banking to private residences to the auto industry has never appealed to me. “Is this how capitalism is supposed to work?” was the pervading thought in my head.
With the heads of the “Big Three” (GM, Ford, Chrysler) pandering Capitol Hill for some much needed dough, I thought I had reached a place where I could say, “if they fail, they need to fail.” After all, businesses close all the time (Kate’s in West Glen and Billy Joe’s most recently here in the DSM metro) with little to no help from the government. “What makes the ‘Big Three’ so special?”
The answer to that is a complicated one and outside of my understanding. There are a lot of jobs at stake (some estimates say 2 million); there’s a lot of money at stake (execs are asking for $25 billion); there’s a lot of emotions involved on either side of the struggle.
Bailouts seem to be an easy way to “fix” (and by “fix” I mean temporarily stop the bleeding) a gaping economic head wound. You may not agree with that opinion, and that is perfectly okay. However, I saw something on the news this morning that made me step back and think, “This isn’t as easy as a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer” when questioning whether or not to bail out a a struggling industry.
I watched a story on how Detroit churches were “praying for a bailout.” They showed footage from services held in Detroit churches this weekend past where the pastors were fervently leading their congregation in prayers to God asking for Congress to pass the proposed “bridge loan bailout.” Here are fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, faithful followers of Jesus, asking God for something that I fundamentally do not agree with. Wow. How’s that for a test of your theological beliefs?
To a single mother of three who lives in Detroit and works at a GM plant putting fenders on cars for a living, this bailout is a very good thing for her family. It will allow her to continue in her job, which provides a salary, which provides her the ability to buy food, shelter, clothing, etc. for her family. Contrast that with someone like me who thinks bailouts are a bad idea. Someone as far removed from this situation as possible, other than the fact that I drive a car and will probably buy one another one in the future. Simply put, I would prefer this bailout to not pass.
It got me thinking about perspective. God’s perspective, more precisely. This whole issue boils down to perspective. If I see God as one who “picks and chooses” what prayers he answers, I will have a strange picture of God. If, for whatever reason, this bailout doesn’t pass, does that mean that God did not answer the prayers of our single mom in Detroit? Does it mean he did answer the prayers of those faithful Christians who are praying against a bailout? Either situation puts one party in an uncomfortable position.
As Americans, we can argue all day long regarding whether or not the bailout is a good idea. But what we cannot do is teetotal a situation as complex as this one is with a blanket of “wholly good” or “wholly bad.” As a Christian, I cannot assume that I possess the knowledge of what God’s sovereign will is with this situation. There’s nothing in the Bible about governments bailouts of giant conglomerate auto manufacturers.
I have to be willing to believe that I could, in fact, be wrong about my beliefs in this situation.
So, to my brothers and sisters in Detroit and to those around the world who will be affected by this decision (either way), I pray that your trust and faith in God will increase, no matter what. That, I believe, is the faithful position to hold.
Technorati Tags: Bailouts, Big 3, Detroit, Government, Politics, Prayer
By far, my favorite Sonseed band member is this guy, Beardy. Apparently he doesn’t get a name, so I’ll just name him after his sweet man-beard. Watch Beardy awkwardly swing his arms throughout the video. He looks like he’s a puppet or something.
