A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.
Proverbs 22:3
In a recent article titled “The monetary policy endgame,” Rick Rieder argued that central banks have two ways of creating inflation – inflation in this case being defined as rising consumer prices. The first is to create increased consumer demand through demand stimulus (lower interest rates). Secondly, Rieder argues, central banks can engage in monetary debasement. Continuing with his argument, Rieder contends that he believes central banks will turn to monetary debasement to achieve their stated inflation goals.
So what is monetary debasement? As the Investopedia link puts it, “Debasement refers to lowering the value of a currency, particularly one based on a precious metal, by adding metal of inferior value.”
But even though we don’t have a precious metals based monetary system doesn’t mean that governments can’t debase their currencies. As the Investopedia article on debasement goes on to say, “[D]ebasement [in fiat monetary systems] only requires that the government print more money, or since muc hmoney exists only in digital accounts, create more electronically.”
In light of the coming central bank driven currency debasement, Rieder asks the important question, “How should one position for such an endgame?” Rieder’s answer? “[A]ll of this leads one today to consider assets that can participate in an inherent devaluation of the local currency, which is to say, real estate, and even hard assets that have historic value-relevance, such as gold.”
Rieder’s post is remarkable, not just for what he said, but also for who it is that said it. Rieder is not some tin foil hat wearing gold bug, but is a Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at BlackRock, a New York City based investment management firm that is the world’s largest asset manager with $6.84 trillion in assets under management as of June 2019. Put another way, BlackRock is Wall Street royalty. Further, Rieder’s post appeared on BlackRock’s blog, giving his statements the implicit approval of the firm itself.
Given the decades long propaganda campaign of hatred that has been directed at gold and at those who advocate for the return of gold to the financial system, Rieder’s comments are significant indeed.
There’s a lot to unpack in Rieder’s article, more than what can be discussed in this post. Lord willing, I shall return to his post at some point in the future. But I mention in today mainly to let readers know that mainstream financial analysts are quietly warning that the US dollar – and all other fiat currencies – are in trouble and likely to suffer significant devaluation in the not too distant future.
In light of warnings from Rieder and others, the application of Proverbs 22:3 to our current financial circumstances cannot be overstressed. Here we have a highly placed man at a highly respected financial firm going on record to warn us in advance that the Fed is going to debase the dollar. What is more, he provides for us sound advice on strategies savers can use to protect themselves.
In Scripture, we find several examples of men who were given advanced warning by God of coming disasters, and who, in faith, took action to save themselves and others. In last week’s installment, we looked at the case of Noah. This week, we shall continue our look at Biblical case studies in prepping with a review of Lot’s narrow escape from Sodom.
Fire, Brimstone and Lot’s Narrow Escape from Sodom
Certainly God’s overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of the best known, and most dramatic demonstrations of his wrath and righteous judgment in all of Scripture. In Genesis chapter 13, Moses provides his readers with a foreshadowing of the judgment to come on these cities when he writes, “But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.”
My aim today is to look at Lot’s narrow escape from God’s destruction of these cities to see what lessons Christian preppers can take from it.
Gross Sin Invites the Judgment of God
Question 83 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks “Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous?,” to which it answers, “Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others.”
The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, homosexuality in particular, was of such a gross nature that it invited, that it demanded, God’s judgment, and judgment in the form of their destruction. Worth noting is that Abraham picked up on the implied destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah immediately, when the LORD said that he would go down and see if they had done according to the outcry that had come to him.
If God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in Abraham’s day, what can today’s nations of the West expect when they embrace the very same sin that brought judgment in the ancient world? Has God changed? Has his arm been shortened? Certainly not! The United States, along with many other Western nations, has embraced homosexuality in much the same way as did Sodom and Gomorrah, and in like fashion it can expect to be treated as these cities were. In fact, it could be argued that America’s guilt before God is greater, because we have more revelation than the men of Sodom did.
The main point that I wish to drive home here is that, in light of the gross immorality of America in the early 21st century, it is reasonable to expect that God will judge this nation. In the opinion of this author, one of the likely methods he will use is the destruction of the dollar and of the financial system. Our forefathers were faithful to seek for the kingdom and righteousness of God, and God blessed them greatly as a result. Does it not follow that when their heirs reject the Lord and refuse to hear him and to walk in his ways, that their blessing will turn into a curse?
It is not my point here to say that America’s embrace of homosexuality is the sole cause of the financial and social crisis, a crisis that is properly understood as the judgment of God, facing our nation. But in light of what the Bible teaches about this sin, it is not unreasonable to see the rising tide of open homosexuality as a significant contributing factor.
Lot’s Poor Decisions
Although the Bible doesn’t say so explicitly, Lot’s poor decision making was a contributing factor to his narrow escape from destruction. Genesis 13 tells us that Abram gave Lot the opportunity to decide where he would make his dwelling, and Lot chose the plain of Jordan, which was well watered and like the “garden of the LORD.” But while the region had abundant natural resources and was pleasing to the eyes, the character of the men who dwelled there was poor. That same passage tells us that the man of Sodom were “exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.”
As James tells us, bad company corrupts good morals. In light of this, it seems fair to hold Lot responsible for making a poor selection for his future home. Apparently, Lot knew the men of this region were wicked, yet he elected to move there and bring his family along with him because the area appeared to be an attractive place to live.
Not only did Lot move his family to a region of great wickedness, but he selected perhaps the worst city of them all in which to make his home.
One key to successful prepping, it would appear, is to limit our risk of coming face to face with disaster simply by not putting ourselves and our families in dangerous circumstances to begin with. In this sinful world, it is impossible to completely eliminate risk, but we can limit it by making wise choices about where and how to live in light of what the Bible teaches.
Prepare for Ridicule
When Lot had been warned by the angels that they were going to destroy Sodom because of its great sin, at their behest he went to his sons-in law to warn them of the coming destruction of the city, but, as Scripture records for us, they thought Lot was joking.
There are few things that can invite the ridicule of friends and family faster than warnings of impending doom. No one likes to be mocked. For my part, I don’t discuss prepping with just anyone, in large part for this very reason.
This is not an unreasonable position to take. Jesus tells us not to cast our pearls before swine and warns not to give what is holy to dogs. There are those who cannot wait to make of mockery of Gospel or the Word of God generally. Jesus warns us about the danger of exposing ourselves to such men.
Nevertheless, even if we use good judgment when it comes to deciding with whom we should share our concerns about the coming political, social and economic upheaval, doubtless we will encounter some push back and ridicule. We must be prepared to take it.
As we discussed in last week’s post, most people struggle with normalcy bias, the tendency to think that everything will continue as it has, even when there is massive evidence that disaster is pending or already upon them.
Prepping requires discernment, and God has not given the gift of discernment to all. Make the best case for the need to prep you can, but don’t expect everyone will listen.
But normalcy bias does not fully explain the tendency of people to discount warnings. There is the matter of sin as well. Wrote Calvin of Lot’s sons-in-law, “Lot, therefore, did not seem to them to mock purposely or to have come for the sake of trifling with them; but they deemed his language fabulous; because, where there is no religion, and no fear of God, whatever is said concerning the punishment of the wicked, vanishes as a vain and illusory thing.”
Lot’s Lingering
One of the odder aspects of Lot’s escape from Sodom was his lingering in the doomed city. Scripture records for us that, in the morning before the destruction of the city, the two angels urged Lot to take his wife and two daughters and get out of town. But what did Lot do? He lingered.
Why did Lot linger? Scripture does not tell us. Lot was a wealthy and prominent man and likely had a nice house. Perhaps he was hesitant to leave everything behind. Calvin suggests that Lot may have been anxious about what the future held, having left his home and fled to some desert place. This would certainly be understandable.
At any rate, Lot, although persuaded that the destruction was nigh, nevertheless hesitated to obey the angels and had to be removed from the city by some force.
And just as Lot hesitated to obey the divine warning to leave immediately, so too do you and I have to deal with our own tendency to do what we know we ought. It’s worth asking ourselves whether we too are guilty of lingering despite the clear political, social and economic danger we are facing in our day. Let us pray that God would grant us not only eyes to see the danger, but the faith to act and to act with purpose.
Writes Calvin, “The angels, in order the more effectually to urge Lot forward, infuse the fear, lest he should be destroyed in the iniquity, or the punishment of the city…Not that the Lord rashly casts the innocent on the same heap with the wicked, but because the man, who will not consult for his own safety, and who, even being warned to beware, yet exposes himself, by his sloth, to ruin, deserves to perish.”
Disaster Comes Suddenly
As in the case of Noah’s flood, disaster came out of the blue on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus told his hearers that men were marrying and giving in marriage until the flood came and took them all away. In like fashion, it appears that all was normal in Sodom and Gomorrah, until suddenly it wasn’t.
Genesis puts it this way, “The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”
To many in our day, it seems absurd to worry about financial collapse. “The government will never allow that to happen,” they will say. Yet even the testimony of secular history is replete with financial disasters that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Everyone knows about the October 1929 Wall Street crash. But did you know that just before that disaster, the ninetieth anniversary of which is coming up this fall, one of the most famous economists of the day declared, “Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau. I do not feel there will be soon if ever a 50 or 60 point break from present levels. I expect to see the stock market a good deal higher within a few months”? So said Dr. Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics at Yale University on October 17, 1929, one week before the big crash began.
Irving Fisher was no dummy, but he was wildly wrong in his stock market prediction. Apparently, he had no idea that the greatest crash in US stock market history was just days away.
Beware the Aftermath
I don’t know how common this line of thinking is, but I know in my case sometimes I’ve caught myself thinking that, once the cleansing flood of the financial collapse has run its course, it will be all rainbows and righteousness henceforth and forever, world without end. Amen. Would that that were so. But that’s not the lesson we learn from Lot’s or from Noah’s experience.
In Noah’s case, he got drunk and naked, and his son Ham sinned by looking upon his nakedness and brought a curse from Noah upon his son Canaan. Further, Genesis 9:28 tells us that Noah lived 350 years after the flood If we assume Bishop James Ussher’s timeline of world history is accurate, this means that Noah lived to see the Tower of Babel and God’s scattering of the people and confusion of their language. The point I’m making here is that there was still sin in the world, even after the near total extinction of the human race.
Likewise with Lot. Lot, his wife and his two daughters were rescued from Sodom, but his wife died when she disobeyed the command not to look back. Later, Lot’s daughters made their father drunk, committed incest with him, and bore children by him. Their sons, Ammon and Moab, became the fathers of the two nations that bore those names, nations that very often were thorns in the side of Israel.
My point here is that even if by God’s grace we make it through the coming financial, political and social cataclysm, we will find ourselves, not in some utopia, but rather as sinful men in a sinful world.
Closing Thoughts
I’d like to pause at this point and revisit my reason for writing this series on prepping. When I write as I do about coming political, social and financial upheavals, I’m not motivated by some desire to scare people or to drive them to despair. Quite the contrary. Jesus said you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. It is my conviction that of all people, God’s people deserve to know the truth about the financial condition of the United States of America and of the West generally, but they’re not getting it from the mainstream financial press.
If we know the truth, and the truth is that America is staring a major financial collapse square in the face, that’s half the battle. The other half is knowing the truth about how to react. As Christians, we believe that all Scripture is breathed out by God and equips the man of God for every good work, including the good work of taking effective action to protect ourselves against the coming financial and political shocks.
With that in mind, Lord willing, next week I’d like to continue this look at Biblical case studies in prepping by looking at Joseph, Prime Minister of Egypt. Until then, may the Lord bless you and your family as you read and study God’s Word.
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