[I apologize for all the grammatical and spelling errors in the original version of this.  I think I have found and corrected most of them.  I really need an editor!]

We are facing difficult times in this country.  For decades increasingly easy access to debt has fueled economic growth.  Banks and credit cards companies enabled our insatiable appetite for self-indulgence with increasingly risky loans.  We lost every vestige of self-control as we put ourselves into debt to buy things that we really never needed.  Now, despite the efforts of our government, it seems as if our debt-induced “high” is coming to an end.  Hard times are ahead.  It is never easy to break addictions, no matter how unhealthy they are.  Just as junkies will beg, borrow, and steal, some of us will do whatever it takes to support our artificial lifestyles.  But a hard economy means that there will be no fix; no way to satisfy a habit that has been reinforced by years of addiction.

Yes, difficult times are ahead.  But there is a silver lining.  Everyone feels sympathy for the junkie as he suffers through rehabilitation, but every sane person also knows that his quality of life will eventually be much better without drugs than it ever was under their influence, and that the pain is both necessary and (assuming consistency) temporary.  So too, does our inability to satisfy our craving for new cars, bigger houses, better clothes, and so on mean that while we may suffer withdrawal in the short term, we have the potential to live much better lives than we ever did during our years of debt-induced consumer addiction.  Some of the things we have to look forward to are stronger and more enjoyable bonds with our families, our friends, and our parishes; more control over our emotions; and more money and time to spend on things that will bring genuine and lasting happiness.

But in the meantime, we have a difficult transition to make from being “insatiable and irresponsible consumer-addicts” to being “devoted and properly-centered human beings”.  Let me offer some suggestions that may help to make this transition shorter and less painful:

First, do not take on any more debt.  Debt really works against you during a depression (especially during times of deflation).  Even payments that seem obviously affordable may suddenly come less so as budgets shrink due to unemployment or reduced hours.  It is true that increased debt can help build a bridge across difficult times, but we don’t know how long these times will last, and if you take this route, then you run a very real risk of running out of bridge before you run out of water.

Second, start saving. On average, Americans actually spend more than they make.  We have a negative savings rate.  Many people now rely on credit cards or home equity lines of credit as their emergency funds.  This is dangerous.  A cash-based emergency fund may seem impossible to achieve, but even a $1,000  in savings can change your life.  We can’t rely on the availability of credit to help us through emergencies any more.

Third, downsize your spending and your expectations.  There are some things that you cannot downsize: for example, we have to buy groceries, pay our utilities, mortgages, rent, and taxes.  But we can cut a lot of fat our of our budget by reducing or completely curtailing our vacations, eating out, pizza deliveries, and impulse purchases.  You would be amazed how much money we waste without realizing it.  If you are not tracking every dollar of your income and expenses, it is time to start.  Buying things used has become much easier and safer thanks to the internet.  Buying new cars is a luxury that should be postponed if not completely abandoned.  Cars are designed to be safe and reliable for well over 200,000 miles, and it is irresponsible not to take advantage of this.

Christmas has become a consumer frenzy: don’t let it.  Let children know they will not receive as much and adults that cards and time together will suffice as gifts.  Many of you are the matriarchs and patriarchs of extended families: use your influence to bring Christmas spending down to responsible levels.  And no one should even THINK about borrowing money to pay for gifts.  Remember the story of the little drummer boy.  Avoiding television commercials will make this easier for everyone (watching commercials is the equivalent of bringing a recovering alcoholic into a bar at happy hour –don’t do it to yourself!).

Fourth, more for less.  There are many things that cost little to no money, but bring enormous satisfaction.  I suggest taking advantage of this Nativity Lent to get back to your prayer rule.  Reading your morning and evening prayers alone or as a family will center and ground you like nothing else can.  It will also help you rebuild your sense of self-control.  You may think of this as an added obligation; one more thing to add to an already overfull list of “things to do”.  If so, then your budget is not the only thing that needs to be downsized.  Not having time for prayer is as much an indicator of trouble as not having enough money for your dues or tithe.  Simplifying your life and centering it on Christ through prayer will move you quickly through your difficult transition.    In addition, your parish offers enrichment classes and services during the week that won’t cost you anything, but that can bring enormous satisfaction. 

Then there is fasting.  Observing the fasts of the Orthodox Church doesn’t just save money, it increases the self-discipline that will carry-over into every other aspect of our lives.  It also gives us a foretaste the joy that a life spent un-addicted to spending will bring as we take the money we save from fasting and give it to the poor.  Charity is the quickest way to regain your humanity and to remind us of just how selfish it is to be a consumer-addict. 

Lastly, loving and forgiving the people around you now without reservation costs us nothing but our pride and brings enormous returns in satisfaction and growth.

Two more free but enormously beneficial services that are seriously underused are the sacraments of Holy Confession and Holy Communion.  Changing your life is hard.  Doing it by yourself may be impossible.  God gave you these gifts for this very purpose.  He gave you your God-protected parish and all the wonderful people in your parish community to help bring you out of your various addictions toward a clean life of joy and eternal reward.  Your relationship with God should be more than just another line on your budget or item on your weekly calendar: it fills the void we have all but destroyed ourselves trying to fill with other things.

In Conclusion: Christ healed the woman in today’s Gospel at the temple on the Sabbath.  He will bring healing you here today. Center your life on Him and His saving grace.  Put it in the middle of your heart and mind.  The changes he works through you and your life will be greater than the relief brought from anything in this world.  Many are willing to risk a dollar to win the lottery for a chance at the American Dream.  Don’t waste your money.  Paradise is already here.  We are facing difficult times in this world, but the greatest difficulty isn’t with the world, it is with us and our addictions.  We have brought these hardships on ourselves.  I don’t know how long this recession/depression will last, and I am not saying that following my advice will move or keep your family budget out of the red.  What I am saying is that by refocusing ourselves and rededicating ourselves to the fundamentals, we can come out of these times better than ever.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.