Faith during uncertain economic times

I've quit watching the stock market. At least for now. I don't know about you, but it seems to me like lately the bad news has outweighed the good by a considerable margin.
I was encouraged, though, by Luther Seminary's "Stewardship for the 21st Century" weekly email last week. It included several excerpts from the ELCA's 1999 Social Statement "Economic Life: Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All." The ELCA doesn't have a whole bunch of positions on issues which members and pastors must agree with in order to belong to the church, but our church body does work on social issues, and adopt social statements outlining how our Lutheran tradition speaks to life today.

Here are the excerpts. I encourage you to think and talk about them.

"Human beings are responsible and accountable for economic life, but people often feel powerless in the face of what occurs. Market-based thought and practices dominate our world today in ways that seem to eclipse other economic, social, political, and religious perspectives. To many people, the global market economy feels like a free-running system that is reordering the world with few external checks or little accountability to values other than profit. Economic mandates often demand sacrifices from those least able to afford them. When any economic system and its effects are accepted without question, when it becomes a "god-like" power reigning over people, communities, and creation, then we face a central issue of faith ..."

"Through human decisions and actions, God is at work in economic life. Economic life is intended to be a means through which God''s purposes for humankind and creation are to be served. When this does not occur, as a church we cannot remain silent because of who and whose we are ..."

"Economic assumptions can conflict with what we as a church confess. Who we are in Christ places us in tension with priorities given to money, consumption, competition, and profit in our economic system.

* While autonomy and self-sufficiency are highly valued in our society, as people of faith we confess that we depend on God and are interdependent with one another. Through these relationships we are nurtured, sustained, and held accountable.
* While succeeding or making something of themselves is what matters to many in economic life, we confess that in Christ we are freely justified by grace through faith rather than by what we do.

* While a market economy emphasizes what individuals want and are willing and able to buy, as people of faith we realize that what human beings want is not necessarily what they need for the sake of life.

* While a market economy assumes people will act to maximize their own interests, we acknowledge that what is in our interest must be placed in the context of what is good for the neighbor.

* While competitiveness is key to economic success, we recognize that intense competitiveness can destroy relationships and work against the reconciliation and cooperation God desires among people.

* While economic reasoning assumes that resources are scarce relative to people''s wants, we affirm that God promises a world where there is enough for everyone, if only we would learn how to use and share what God has given for the sake of all.

* While economic growth often is considered an unconditional good, we insist that such growth must be evaluated by its direct, indirect, short-term, and long-term effects on the well-being of all creation and people, especially those who are poor.
Government is intended to serve God''s purposes by limiting or countering narrow economic interests and promoting the common good. Paying taxes to enable government to carry out these and other purposes is an appropriate expression of our stewardship in society, rather than something to be avoided. Government often falls short of these responsibilities. Its policies can harm the common good and especially the most vulnerable in society. Governing leaders are to be held accountable to God''s purposes: "May [they] judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. . . . May [they] defend the cause of the poor of the people" (Psalm 72:2).

We commit ourselves as a church and urge members to:
--examine how we are in bondage to our possessions and can be freed as faithful stewards of them
--serious and ongoing consideration in our families and congregations of how to resist the allure of consumerism and live lives less oriented toward the accumulation of goods and financial assets
--educate one another, beginning with the young, on how to deal responsibly with money, credit, and spending within one''s means
--give generously of our wealth (for example, through tithing and planned giving), especially for purposes that serve the needs of others

We call for:
--corporate policies that lessen the disparities between compensations of top corporate executives and that of the workers throughout an organization
--corporate governance that is accountable for the effects of a company''s practices on workers, communities and the environment here and throughout the world
--scrutiny of the tax breaks, subsidies and incentives many companies receive, to assure that they serve the common good
--enforcement of laws to prevent the exercise of inordinate market power by large corporations
--appropriate government regulatory reform so that governments can monitor private sector practices more effectively and efficiently in an ever-changing global economy