I've been doing this reading with our church- the Bible in 90 days- and I continually have fruitful conversational starters with the text. I suppose this is different from an "application" of the Bible, where the Bible can authoritatively speak into our lives and culture. I really just think the text raises interesting discussions and fruitful thought on how to think about contemporary issues, because they are surprisingly close to the text's situations. So, I had two thoughts on the Joseph narrative in Genesis, particularly out of Genesis 41:41-57.
1) The idea of saving- Joseph ascends to political power in Egypt based on his ability to read Pharaoh's dreams. By doing this, he knows seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of famine. So Joseph has all the leftover and plenty in the land stored away to prepare for the times of famine. This seems to be the wise, shrewd, and prudent thing to do. And even while Egypt would experience horrible famine, they had plenty to eat.
I don't think I need to outline the importance of saving, especially given the economic climate of American (and really the global) economy. We need to save our incomes. And while as a Christian I believe we need to radically give away our money as well, we still need to save much more than we do. I hear some say that we ought to be able to rely on social security for our needs in retirement. I hear others say that true Christian community means not needing to save, and that we need to give our money away instead. If we really lived in community, we wouldn't need insurance or retirement plans, because the community could care for our needs even in old age. Well, that's foolish. I believe in strong community, but I don't believe it's opposed to wisdom, as Joseph deftly manages. We will have times of "famine," especially on a national level, and so it's not a sin to have a 401k or a RothIRA. It's actually wise to do so, because the Bible (much less people 100 years ago) never envisioned people living 20-30 years beyond their ability-to-work age. On the other hand, the Bible also doesn't envision quitting life and going to Florida and sitting on your carcass all day either.
2) Immigration- Look at Gen. 41:57. All the countries in the world came to Egypt for food. And the text never gives the impression that Egypt ran out of food. Joseph's wisdom also gave happenstance to the fact that his own family would come to Egypt (because of Joseph's wisdom!) to buy food and so they would be reunited. But all the countries came.
In our age of convoluted laws, contradictory laws, and topsy-turvy world markets, we shouldn't be surprised by the amount of immigration to our country from the south. People are coming for work, food, and the prospects of a better life. Besides the fact that the Bible has a lot to say about loving and respecting aliens and foreigners in one's own land (and besides the fact that I generally agree with free trade and open market principles), the whole clan of Jacob were immigrants. We must acknowledge this fact. And if you were put in the same situation, wouldn't you immigrate to feed your family?
1/13/09
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3 comments:
Great discussion on saving for the future, totally agreed. Here's the problem I have with the 401K, or 401a for non-profits as well as the Roth IRA.... both of which I have contributed to in the past.
There is a relatively low rate of return on them, especially the 401K. I had been contributing to a Roth IRA through Edward Jones Financial since I was 18. Give or take I had been putting 100 dollars in every month for mutual funds and of course recontributing the dividends that I acquired. Recently when I got laid off I made the decision to withdraw all my earnings from my Roth IRA and (without going into the exact dollar amount) I received less money than I had put in over the years. So in an abstract way I lost money on the whole thing, but of course in a pragmatic sense it was great to have the liquidity, no matter how much it was!
Now, I do think that the Roth IRA and to a far lesser extent the 401K is an alright way to invest for the future. But I wouldn't recommend it as the sole means of investing. I understand that not everybody is able to do this but I would recommend getting involved with the stock market and do option trading or even trading shares. I guess I am fortunate because my dad is starting to dabble in the market and I made the decision to let him be my "broker" with some of my money. So if a person knows and trusts someone who is involved in the market then I think that would be the best way to get serious returns. Edward Jones said that a thirteen percent return in an incredible year would be amazing in their system. Well I've heard that even in this awful economy and market people are still making significant money, upwards of even in the twenties percent range. That's an incredible return. But the key is knowing somebody you trust and who is good. I guess that's the kicker of it.
For everyone else, I would recommend the Roth IRA but don't be surprised if it doesn't give the kinds of returns that are promised. In my opinion the 401K would be better served if they would just give me that money and I could invest it myself, in the Roth or otherwise! And social security, oh my gosh don't get me started there!
Well this has been a huge reply so I'll stop now. Great thoughts though!
For the time being, the immigration tide is turning - Mexicans are no longer coming in droves, and many who are here are going home. Fewer available jobs. If there's no money to be had here and no money to be had there, you might as well go home to where the family is, particularly if you haven't really developed roots here (the case for so many). I'm hoping our Hispanic churches won't shrink - not because size is the goal, but because it would be wonderful if churchgoers felt a deeper connection to their new Christian family here & didn't want to leave.
I have no official source to quote here; just significant word of mouth from people in the area who work with immigrants.
Ben,
There's been some press coverage on the issue and it has been reported that due to the recession many immigrants are leaving the US. While the situation is complex, the one thing this situation should teach us is that a stronger border can't "fix" anything. People move and shift based on economic opportunity. Every person I know would do the same as immigrants considering the circumstances of poverty in central America. People went to Egypt because they were hungry. Let's never forget this lesson.
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