I'll admit up front that I'm not qualified to explain the complexities of world economics. Nor are our Good News writers economic experts. Oh, we regularly explore diverse issues such as money matters, world politics, education or the environment, but we don't stake claim as experts in those fields. No, our niche, honed over decades, is in taking world events and trends and examining them in the light of the principles and prophecies of God's Word.

So when General Motors became the latest American business giant to declare bankruptcy, we did not regard it as merely an isolated economic earthquake. Rather, we placed it within the larger milieu of many other disturbing events that are stirring a growing unease in people, perhaps like you, who ask, "Can someone tell me what in the world is going on?!"

Bankruptcy serves as a potent metaphor for this issue's focus on the world's "disorder"—the inability of leaders and common folks alike to get a grip on the chaotic spread of problems, conflicts and stresses.

Whether it strikes a small family or a corporate monolith, bankruptcy is a traumatic last resort for coping with a long series of events that, spinning out of control, finally result in economic disorder. This doesn't happen in a vacuum. Through the ripple effect, many other people and businesses suffer damage.

Nor do such collapses happen overnight. Industry analysts, for example, looking down GM's road a long time ago, foresaw the dead end and leaned on the warning horn. Consequently, few people were surprised when the predicted crash occurred.

Likewise, anyone familiar with God's Word understands that humanity is heading down its own perilous road toward a far more serious type of bankruptcy. For those who fail to see, stop and turn around, the impact is unavoidable, and it will be severe!

I'm talking about moral and spiritual bankruptcy—the impoverishment of the human spirit! Just as undeniable economic laws guarantee certain results from certain financial actions, undeniable and inescapable moral and spiritual laws are equally at work in our lives.

One of the most fundamental is this ancient biblical maxim: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34). No, we're not out-of-touch religious fanatics brandishing this scripture to self-righteously "tut-tut" those whose actions we disapprove. Rather, it distresses us that people do not grasp the absolute truth of this law of life!

It burdens us that our morally relativistic culture has led so many to doubt whether "righteousness" and "sin" actually exist, or to be clueless as to how to define them. We are pounding on the horn, warning that any individual or nation failing to recognize and reverse its moral wrong turn will pay the high price of spinning out of spiritual control!

On the other hand, we're also loudly proclaiming good news. That is (to further the economic metaphor), just as some people are money-wise and surviving tough financial times, you can be spiritually wise and secure your future. God stands ready to teach you how to be spiritually rich, how to use an accurate moral compass, how to strengthen your character in a spiritually weak and disordered world.

In the midst of this worldwide "spiritual recession," the timeless ethics and standards of God are the only reliable source of true world order. The world around you may not be able to see that. We're glad you can! GN