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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Don Mackintosh

The Upside of the Downside

Let's just have an added word of prayer this morning.

Father in heaven, we're thankful that we can be reminded to live our lives for you because you are the author of life.

So today speak life through the word, through your spirit-inspired word to our hearts and then through us to the hearts of others.

I remember back when this group started and I was, I think, having the dubious distinction of being the first person ever taped on AudioVerse.

But it's good to be back with you this morning.

And good to see Chris all the way from Austria.

Just met this man last week and he's here today.

Well, which do you want first this morning, the good news or the bad news?

That's good because you're going to have the bad news first, because no preacher likes to end with bad news.

The stock market looks more like V-Fib, maybe a conjunctional escape rhythm.

Government Bailout is not bailing too many people out.

They say it's worse than it was in the 1930s, financially speaking.

Many are overextended, their houses are worth less now than they paid for them and so they're imprisoned.

And they don't know how to get out, and so Addie Polk, she decided at 90 years old that she would shoot herself.

And she shot herself, but she wasn't a good aim.

And now Dennis Kucinich, her representative, is speaking on her behalf.

And she told someone, you have to shoot yourself to get help these days.

And as the Bible says in Proverbs, the debtor is a servant to the lender.

Especially as is true when there's no more to lend.

The American Psychological Association says that 80% of Americans are stressed, specifically about their personal finances and the economy.

But I doubt anyone here today is stressed.

Major depression and anxiety go way up, they say, during these times.

Especially when your retirement account or the retirement savings account over the past 15 months has lost 2000000000000 dollars.

From its height set last year, the stock market has plunged nearly 40 percent, and the loss is over $8 trillion to investors.

General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists has a retirement fund for those that are my parents' age.

They moved and allowed people my age to be invested in mutual funds.

But the general conference fund is $70 million down.

And at annual council, I hear the treasurer said, well, 1 of 2 things will happen.

Either this is the end and we don't need any more money, or the market will come back up.

Mutual fund-based retirements have taken a hit.

60% of those funds are based on stocks and stocks are not looking so good these days.

200 colleges are scrambling because their investment funds were frozen several weeks ago.

They'd invested in an account that was held by Wachovia Bank, and they couldn't get their money out.

So student loans and subsidizing some education is in jeopardy.

People are losing their healthcare benefits.

Marriages are crumbling as people play the blame game.

Why didn't You bury the money in the backyard.

It is written canceled its contract with bibleinfo.com and is cutting its budget back 15 to 20 percent.

Amazing facts cut a number of employees yesterday as did Weimar.

Church Solution Magazine said in a survey done in June that 40% of the thousand Christian adult respondents to their survey reported that they're giving less to charities because they simply don't have as much discretionary income as they used to.

How many of you are ready to move to the good news?

How many of you get this pretty steady dose of this in the news.

I could probably add about 15 more, but let's go to the good news.

His name is Christopher Roome, actually is now from the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

And he discovered something fascinating, that really there's an upside to the downside in terms of health.

Research indicates that during recessions, most people eat more meals with their family.

While mental health issues increase, physical health seems to improve.

In fact, for every 1% drop in unemployment, in other words, when people are employed, heart disease goes up by 0.75%.

How many of you are glad people are losing their jobs?

Deaths increase when the labor market is strengthened, and so if it turns around, deaths will go up.

Is a healthier diet during recessionary times, say economists?

Fewer eating disorders, heavy drinking and smoking diminished because it's simply too expensive.

Factory production goes down and so there's less pollution.

People can't afford the gas and so there's fewer accidents.

Liver problems dropped drastically with the less consumption of alcohol.

People walk a lot more, probably not as much in the time of Christ.

They did a study of Christ and found that he walked about 25 miles a day.

1911 in this country, the average American walked 11 miles a day.

I drove from Richmont Avenue this morning, but I won't be doing that too much longer, perhaps.

There's less eating out and so obesity lessons.

So the economist said at the end of his report, people may be miserable but at least they're skinny and at least they're sober.

And people are more open on how to save money and how to be healthy.

So, there's the bad news, but there's the good news in terms of health.

And what better time to be living to share a message of health?

We've talked about the bad news, but there's some good news.

A recent study suggests that there'll be 19% less offers in the mail.

Less back problems carrying the offers in the house as well.

Remember that magazine Christian Solutions?

It's notable that Although most survey respondents said they would give less, regular church attenders, like the Advent Hope crowd, are less likely to let the economy affect their giving than infrequent attendees.

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The Upside of the Downside

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