Operating in a different space
Choosing trust over fear
By Ryan Miller
This past autumn, I struggled deeply with the presidential election. The months surrounding the election stoked the fires of fear on all sides — negative campaigning, paranoid rhetoric and, above all, a recession that threatened our entire financial system. We were warned of the dire consequences of voting for one candidate or the other, especially as our local and global economies worsened.
Fear surrounded us.
My strongest fear was that if I placed all of my trust in a candidate to solve all of my problems, I was diminishing my faith in God. Jesus, Isaiah prophesied, offers freedom, good news, release. If I can find a way to lodge my primary allegiance with Christ, rather than in NASDAQ, interest rates or a political party, then I operate — we operate — in a different space. We may be affected by disruptions in the world, but we are not controlled by them.
Instead of fearing, we can trust. And with our allegiance placed in God, and not in the structures of the world, we have the opportunity to offer perspective and comfort to others who may be devastated by their own economic downturn.
In this issue, we explore what it means to put faith in the mission of God rather than in the systems of the world. What does it mean to give up financial control? To equate self with community? To give sacrificially to God and to others? To proclaim good news to the oppressed and freedom to the captives — even if we are among those stressed within our struggling systems?
This is the year of our Lord’s favor, despite, or perhaps because of, the ongoing recession. Examine with us how we as a church might pass on that favor to others and unto ourselves.