Is the recession over?

a guest post from Garry Mullen

If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ he would be just the prophet for this people! – Micah 2:11

Is the recession over? That seems to be the question that is being asked this Christmas. Maybe we feel we need to know so that we can know how much we should be spending on Christmas presents. So the argument is on. Some believe the recession is over – some argue that we are in the midst of the recession until we see some real job growth in North America. But whatever our belief might be about the recession, we seem to be more pessimistic about the economic future of our kids than our parents were.

As unpopular as this might be to say, whether the recession is over or not, the secret to our financial future is learning to live within our own means – not living a life that we might wish we had. In fact, living outside of our means is what has got us into this position in the first place.

We want to hear the prophet that says that the recession is over. We want to go back to the way we used to live. We want to live beyond what we have. We want to hear the words of the prophet say that there will be plenty of wine and beer – plenty of what we want to have. But the only way that will ever be true is if learn to live the way we are meant to live – the way God designed us to live.

Is the recession over? I think we still have some bumps in the road in front of us – but even if it is we need to learn financial responsibility. And Christmas really isn’t about the presents. It is about each other. Don’t listen to the prophets who prophecy in hope that they will be able to get you to give them your money. Just follow a simple plan of spending less than you make.