The Upside of A Down Economy

Charles Dickens started his novel "A Tale of Two Cities" with the words: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us...."

Even though we feel like we're in the middle of plummeting markets and a dreary declining economy, there is good. We are in the middle of good and bad.

A Top Ten List (if you will) of why a down economy can be good for us.

10. It forces us to prioritize.

9. It causes us to WANT less.

8. It helps us to focus on what we do have.

7. I have read that more families sit down and eat dinner together during times of a "bad" economy. It's cheaper to eat-in rather than eat-out or eat on the run.

6. It's better for the environment...the less people who drive big vehicles that guzzle gas and the more people who buy and drive economical cars, the better it is for our earth.

5. People actually give more to charities during hard times because they are more keenly aware of what others don't have, when they don't have.

4. America is still a great place to live, even in a "bad" economy.

3. We are reminded that we are spiritual humans, much more than consumers.

2. It purifies us. We can confront our exaggerated need for superficial and material things for our happiness.

1. The number one reason that a bad economy is good for us, it causes us to rely on God more, if we already know God. It causes us to seek God, if we do not already know Him. We come to the conclusion that our job, our money, our possessions, and the government are not answers. He is.

He is the answer. He doesn't change. He doesn't falter. He continues to BE. He continues to reign and we need Him, more than anything else. And having our worldly foundation shaken, isn't necessarily a bad thing. Finding hope anew in our Creator is a good thing.