Martha LaBarge and Todd Steen

NOVEMBER 2012: ESSAY by Martha LaBarge and Todd Steen In the wake of the recent economic crisis, many Americans have found themselves in dire financial straits. Our financial decisions have resulted in crippling credit card debt, huge stockpiles of consumer purchases, and an epidemic of underwater mortgages. As the baby-boom generation ages, few have saved enough to finance their retirement. Christians are relatively indistinguishable from non-Christians in terms of personal finance decisions. We struggle to make ends meet. We worry…

The Bible tells us that we are to anticipate a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13). In this new heaven and new earth we read that we will plant vineyards and eat their fruit, build houses and dwell in them, and that we will long enjoy the works of our hands (Isaiah 65:22-23). Before we call to God, he will answer us, and while we are still speaking he will hear us (Isaiah…