The trillions of dollars in bank-bailouts, shovel-ready-stimulus-projects and cash-for-clunkers hasn’t been affecting a lot of our bank accounts. It eventually will, of course. Many of us won’t receive it, but we’ll definitely help pay for it.

When I traveled a few weeks ago on my motorcycle I saw consctuction workers laying asphalt in each state. It made me wonder what the impact would be in each community by a handful of hard-working men and women.

I hope, of course, that we will see a significant return on our investment. Like everyone, I want the economy to turn around. I want the federal government’s massive ”borrow-and-spend, tax-later” policy to have a positive, long-term effect. But I have a nagging feeling. The decisions and actions by our leaders seem a lot like what’s been done before — what got us into this economic trouble – except now we’re doing it on a much larger scale than ever before, so we could easily see much worse consequences than ever before.

Then what?
When the results of all this economic irresponsibility come home to roost, how will we fix it? If our economy is much more broken than the mess we’re currently trying to repair, what will we do as a nation? If other countries stop lending us money and won’t buy our most stable securities, and our government has taxed us beyond our tolerance level, where will leaders get the money they need to cover their spending addiction?

You’re right. They’ll print it. Lots of it. A repeat of the economic problems in Germany before World War II.

What will that look like?
Suppose for a minute that Christians intentionally practice Matthew 6:33 and “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” and they are blessed with contentment and financial resources — and become envied by others. Could Christians be hated by the masses like Jews were in Germany during the late 1930s and early 1940s?

Think for a moment how the media — and many political leaders — treated one woman of faith: Sarah Palin. What bothered them so much that they would direct such ignorant, biased, verbal attacks on her and her family?

Prejudice.
While our nation has been working hard to eliminate racial bias, we are replacing it with religious prejudice. We are tolerating all sorts of activities, behaviors, and beliefs – except for those of Christians.

As this New Year and New Decade approach, we face many uncertainties. I hope Christian leaders in govenment, education, business, and at home will make a resolution to follow Jesus like never before. Believe Him. Trust His words and act on them. Know in their hearts that He will reward those who diligently seek Him.

Here’s my New Year’s resolution for 2010: Stop worrying, and believe Him.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”     – Matthew 6:25-33

What’s your resolution?