Grief and the National Economy

“I walked a mile with pleasure
She chattered all the way,
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with sorrow
And Ne’er a word said she,
But, oh, the things I learned from her
When sorrow walked with me.”
Robert B. Hamilton
　
It takes a griever to help a griever. The above was penned by someone who had been there. I can write this article on grief because I have been there. I highlight a few of my griefs:
Two forced terminations--God led me to bivocational ministry
Career change to insurance--Company bought out / lost the intimacy of small company teamwork.
Hurricane Floyd destroyed my territory of Eastern NC--no insurance money
Turned hobby of tree cutting into highly successful A / P Tree Surgeons
Failed national and local economy made my phone stop ringing.
Our beautiful $250,000 dream house got foreclosed. We moved to our “retirement” cottage classified as a “fisherman’s cottage,” which means no insulation, cold water, no A-C, plenty of windows. No insulation meant 50 degree mornings inside the house. Diesel fuel was almost $5 a gallon! They pulled the electric meter three times because I had no work. My wife drives 1.5 hours twice a day to keep her old job. A deer totals the car we should pay off in April ‘09. Nothing is trickling down to us but sorrow and grief. Being Job on the dung heap is no fun.
I suspect many of you can relate similar stories. Every one is suffering from high grocery / fuel / utility prices.

The difference between a Depression and a Recession is simple:
A Recession is when your neighbor lost his job--
A Depression is when you lost yours!

If you are not experiencing the Depression, it is coming your way as companies downsize, states and counties trim budgets, and church income falls. Some people must choose food and electricity over church giving.

In the last year I have not talked with any small businessman who is happy.
God created us to cope with grief, but it is a process. It is not done by a snap of the finger or with a “perfect” sermon. Job is the classic example. It was almost deleted from the Torah because it is so honest about the hurting, blaming, struggling process of grief.
Worse, in the eyes of Jewish religious leaders, it violates the simple formula of “Serving God = Success.” Just like today, the simple minded want to focus on the reverse: “Failure = God has left you.”

They believed, like my simple minded Baptist mother, that all you have to do is go to church and give your tithe. God is obligated to bless and save you. She has told me many times my troubles are because I stopped being a full-time Baptist minister. God is getting me.
She thinks I am a bad boy because my wife and I spend Sundays right now insulating the house and renovating it into something where we can walk five steps without stumbling over boxes.
My wife deserves a decent home.

Right now our worship is renovating our lives and residence so we can live like humans. The ox is in the ditch. We do not work on Sunday morning. I listen to the worship of New Bern First on TV. Sadly, a worshipful traditional service with robed clergy pales in showy comparison to a Charles Stanley / Joel Osteen / Rick Warren show. I prefer quality over glitter. Attend a local church filled with real people who are trying to help you in your daily struggle. Or, like me, trust God and get the ox out of the ditch.

We all know the story: Job was a booming success, God allowed Satan to test him through losing it all. Mind you: God “allowed” -- God didn’t do it to Job. As Job sits on a dung heap scraping sores and boils with a pot shard, the wife and friends come by to comfort and advise him. Like most of us “quick fix” artists they utter pious and empty phrases which never answer the deep questions of Job,

Put simply, it is “Why, God, WHY? I have served you faithfully. I have paid my tithe, I have been blessed by you with success which proves further you approve of me. Why the heck are you treating me like this? I don’t deserve it.”

Now, let me ask the practical question: How many adult SS classes considered how the national economy and foreclosures are a source of grief---and allowed their class members to discuss their hurts and griefs together? Shakespeare once said, “A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved.” Perhaps we should spend more time sharing together than discussing historical details of the Scripture passage. Despite my story appearing in the local paper, only one person from my “caring” church has called to express sympathy and understanding.

Are we scared to address the realities of GRIEF today???