Now I Get It

We hear a lot about the national debt these days, but the numbers are so unimaginably huge that it's hard to make sense of them.  Well, I read an illustration of this today and thought I would pass it on.

All we have to do to get a better grasp of the mess we're in is take the national figures, remove 8 zeros, and pretend it is a household budget. 

So in other words, if your finances were like those of the federal government, they would look like this:

Annual income: $23,400
Money you spend each year: $35,900
New debt added to credit cards: $12,500
Outstanding balance on credit cards: $154,000
Total cuts you made to the family budget: $385.

What does this have to do with world missions?  A lot, actually.  What the federal government does affects each of us, because we all have to play by the rules that it sets, and live in the world that it creates.  When the economy is weak, as ours is, there's lots of fallout.....missionaries that don't get to the field, mission trips that aren't taken, supplies that aren't bought, financial support that isn't sent, and ministry that doesn't get done.  All because there just isn't any money with which to do it. 

If your income was really as shown above, there would be only one thing you could do to avoid financial collapse: cut spending......drastically.  So why doesn't Uncle Sam do that?  Because there are lots of people receiving those federal dollars, and few people will object to policies that they are benefiting from.  And so we continue our reckless ways, speeding toward the abyss, hoping that somehow everything will turn out alright. 

If you have a minute, you should visit the U.S. debt clock.  Prepare to have your mind blown.