This is the U. S. debt clock. If you look in the upper left hand corner, you'll see the total U. S. debt right here at about 34, 683, 000, 000 and change. If you'll look at the very next box, you'll see the debt per citizen, and that debt per citizen right now is about 103, 047. And then if you'll look down here, they've actually got a net interest on the debt of a little over 800 billion dollars right now. What I'd like to talk about today is why these numbers are important to you right now and while they'll even become even more important to your family as the years go by, but let's just quick as a quick reminder. The nation owes over 34 trillion in debt. Now, that doesn't mean anything to most of us. It's just too big of a number to really wrap our heads around. But when you get the number of each individual owes 103, 000 of that national debt, that's something that's a little more manageable. Is that something that you signed up for, this 103, 000 of debt that was taken out in your name? Well, if you're my generation, you probably demanded it from your congressmen and your senators as they passed out goodies that we thought we'd never have to pay for. But now it's starting to come due. And it's not just coming due for us, but it's also coming due for our children. and for our grandchildren and for the generations after that. So it's time that we start giving very serious consideration to these numbers. If you want to look at them for yourself, you can go to the usdebtclock. org or you can go to the U. S. Department of Treasury and look for the Daily National Debt and it will, it will give you the total figure at the Treasury site. But at the, at the usdebtclock. org, it will give you all these other numbers and quite a few more. It's an interesting website to look at. It's a little depressing if you're not careful, but I do think that one of the important things for us to do as prudent people is to look at our problems rationally and try and figure out what we can do about those problems. In Proverbs chapter 22. 3 and also in Proverbs chapter 27. 12, it says this. Well, we have to admit that the vast majority of the people in this nation would fall in the simple category, they simply don't care about what's going on. As a matter of fact, we have far too great of a percentage of our population for whom if they have their beer and their video games, they They don't care much about anything else, but it's time we started caring, because for that particular population the beer is about to run out, and the video games aren't going to help many after that, the money is about to run out. Thirty four trillion dollars and counting. means over 100, 000 per person for a family of two, like my wife and I, who are retired, that's over 200, 000 for a family of five, like my daughter and son in law's family. That's 500, 000, a half a million dollars just that they owe their part of the U. S. government debt. And so, you can start to see how these things add up, but it becomes even more important for us to understand when we look at just the interest on it. Right now, the U. S. debt clock estimates the net interest per year at about 800 billion dollars, but that's about to go up multiples from that because the average interest rate right now that they're having to roll over our t bonds, t bills and so on is about five percent, and five percent of your hundred thousand dollars is five thousand dollars a year for every man, woman, and child in America. every year, and that number's growing. So for my wife and I, that's 10, 000 is our share of just the debt, not paying back or of the interest, not paying back the debt at all, just paying the interest on that debt. I have a single daughter. Her share is 5, 000 per year. My other daughter and her husband and, and their three kids. are going to owe 25, 000 a year, or their part of the interest is 25, 000 a year. And for my son and daughter in law and their four children, their total is 30, 000 a year. just for the interest and counting. Now, clearly, we're not paying that right now. We're not being taxed at that high of a rate yet, but the bill is going to come due. One of the reasons that our debts climbed so high in recent years is they've just kept plowing that interest back into the debt and borrowing more and more, but the world's starting to get tired of it. China and Russia certainly are no longer allies. and taking care of, and, and buying our bonds anymore. As a matter of fact, Russia owes none, to my understanding, and China about half of what they did, and they're selling it at a rapid pace. The Middle Eastern countries that were so willing to take our dollars in exchange for oil are now signing all sorts of contracts to sell their oil and anything other And that's gonna raise our debt significantly. And so, as all these things start to happen, we have a more and more dangerous situation to the point where just the other day, the International Monetary Fund Not exactly a bastion of fiscal responsibility in and of themselves, but they're essentially the world's central bank, warned that if America doesn't stop its profligate spending, it's going to bring the whole world down with its crushing debt. As a matter of fact, if you look at it honestly, there does not appear to be a way that this can be paid off. That should concern us, because that's happened several times throughout history, and each time the debt has gotten to such a significant portion each time inflation, like we have right now, has gotten to a significant portion, the politicians have to figure out something that will distract us from the problems that they've caused. That usually means depression and or war, and We can certainly look right now and see that the world is getting to be a more and more dangerous place and our own leaders for some inexplicable reason seem to be very interested in sticking the United States nose in other people's business to the point where we're on the brink of war with several powerful nations. And while that will distract us for a while from our national debt, it certainly is going to compound our problems to, to a great degree. So here's the question, what, what can we do about it? When you look at the big problems, you have to admit that they're just too big for us. But the reason that I, I have this channel, and one of the reasons that I do the financial Fridays such as I'm doing today, is because I believe that Christians need to be more prudent when it comes to their financial lives. We have become almost almost as irresponsible as the rest of the world, in the way that we rai run up debt in our own personal households and certainly in the way that we just ignore the rest of the world as if it will not affect us. But I want to remind you again, twice within the Proverbs, we are warned that the prudent see danger and they take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. I believe right now is the time to see the danger, to start assessing what it means, and then trying to take the proper steps so that we can be taking refuge. I've recommended on a number of the Financial Friday videos that, that you start putting together, building a strategic pantry. For, for your household. If you're, if you're like my wife and I, it doesn't have to be just really large. Although if you're like my wife and I, and you consider the large family that we have and the fact that many of them cannot build a strategic pantry at this point, then it means that we have to put a little bit more. Laid by in store to try and, and be looking ahead at some of the potential problems that we might have. Just in the last five years, groceries have gone up to the point where they've doubled or more in many categories. Gasoline has gone up tremendously. Our utilities have over doubled. Real estate taxes, And so as you start looking at what inflation is doing, you can see very quickly that it's not a bad idea at all to start buying a few things in advance that you know that you'll use. And we've talked about this in other videos. If you want to go back and look at those, they're certainly a lot more detailed. But the idea on a strategic pantry is just this, you get enough basic food items to last you for a while, at least a month. And I'd recommend right now the way things are going much more than a month. And if, if you're trying to put aside some food for other family Then you want to take that into account as well, but you can do that with simple items like beans and rice like like cornmeal and flour and things like that that you can that you can store certainly cornmeal and flour is a little bit harder to to keep fresh than the beans and the rice, but you can still do it if you have a freezer or if you Put it in plastic bags and things like that but this is the time to be thinking about things like that. And then there are so many items that you use that you will continue to use and will need to use that are not going to be cheaper this time next year. They're going to be more expensive. As a matter of fact, they may be more expensive this time next week. And you know the items. Things like Like paper goods toilet paper bathroom items such as your razors and deodorant and soap and just on and on and on. And you build a strategic pantry to the point where you have on hand at least a few months supply of things that you know that you'll be using. And again, the caution is always this, you don't want to be tearing down your barns and building bigger ones so that you can be taking it easy. The purpose of having a strategic pantry is so that you're not part of the problem, if the problem continues to get out of hand, as it certainly appears to be doing right now. If you're actually in a position to where you can not only take care of yourself, but you might be able to help one or two other people, or even one or two other families, then you'll be a benefit to society and you'll be fulfilling your Christian duty as well. You can't take care of everybody, but you can do your best to try and help out those whom you can help. And it's time to start thinking about these things. There are other things. If you're in, in credit card debt and you can get out of that get out of it. If, if you can't, start paying it down as quickly as you can. As you possibly can start putting a little bit of an emergency cash fund on hand. You're going to have emergencies in your life and this is not a bad idea to do. Again, you don't want to become a hoarder and there may be people who accuse you of doing just that. That's all right. You figure out between you and God. What is prudent for you to be doing. And if you see the danger, then understand that if you're prudent, you will take refuge. If you're simple, you're not going to give it another thought. You're just going to kind of diddy bop along through life. And at some point you'll pay a penalty. One of the things I've become convinced about through the years is that Christians need to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. I'm absolutely convinced that the church needs to be there to help people as best as they can and not be scrambling just to keep their doors open and their utilities paid. I really believe that churches, your Local church needs to start becoming more prudent if they're not already some churches already are very prudent with what they do But that means don't be going into extra debt to have great building projects right now Don't be Committing yourself to things that may be very Good projects but are not necessary projects. For sure, continue to do your part in spreading the good news of Christ. That means mission work whether it's by the church or, or private help. You're going to do your part to help those who are hungry. Again, whether it's through the church or whether it's something you do privately. But, but again, you need to start taking some consideration for the future. 34 trillion is a lot of money, such a large figure that we can't even begin to comprehend it, I don't believe, on an individual basis. But when you divide that 34 trillion by the 330 plus million people in America, You come up to a figure of a little over 100, 000 per person, and that's something we can understand. And 5 percent interest on that 100, 000 every year is 5, 000. That's something we can understand. Where's the government going to get that money when they can no longer borrow? Do you think it's going to come out of their pockets? You see, the only place they can go to is the people who have the money, and, and that means you and me. And, and you have to admit, as you look at your circumstance, we, we really can't afford that. If that's the case, then at some point that's going to mean a national default. And a national default will bring upon a Great Depression like the world has never seen. And again, I want to, I want to emphasize the fact that we don't need to be worried about these things, but we do need to be prudent. We do need to be concerned and do what we can to the best of our ability, as far as we can see our personal responsibility to God and then trust God to do the rest. But you do have your part to do. Now, if you look at all this and you're, and you conclude, it's not a problem. You'll just go on the way that you've always gone on more power to you. You don't have to agree with me. And we can certainly still be friends on that. But what if you're wrong on this? And if you think you're right, that nothing's going to happen, can you possibly explain why? It's not going to happen. The national debt that we have is so great that it would, it would be something similar to a household making 100, 000 who owes maybe 800, 000 in bills. How, how, how do you reconcile that and then continue to, to pay for your everyday needs? The fact is that a prudent person, a reasonable person, is going to look at this and say, We can't keep going this way since that's the case. And if you do, if you believe that, and if you're convinced of that, then start taking some reasonable steps right now. I'm not talking about going around like a chicken with its head cut off, and I'm certainly not talking about calling attention to yourself amongst those who, who just don't believe anything needs to be done, because you're just gonna make yourself a target, both now, as far as ridicule, and later on when they want to get what you got. But, but be prudent. and, and try to help those and visit with those who you think might be interested in this. And one last thought as we close this today, if this has helped and you think this might help other people, just share it. You can even share it with the disclaimer along the lines of, I don't know if this is true or not, but it might be of something of interest to you. And, and then you're not going to look like a fool in the eyes of people who think everything's going to be okay forever, that, that everything will work out okay. But, but if you see that there might be a problem, then Start making some changes in your own life, if, if you need to make some changes. And encourage those you love to do the same. You don't have to become a bore about it. And you don't have to become a fanatic about it. You can just give some friendly advice and a friendly warning. And for those who want to take it, they can look into it and make their own decisions. That your responsibility is done at that point. But do, by all means, be looking at this for yourself. And then you can draw your own conclusion if something needs to be done. My master's degree is in finance and economics. I've been in business before I was, became a preacher for, for well over a decade. And, and I continued in different side businesses as I've preached for the last three decades. I'm not saying this just as, as a novice who, who is just now discovering. that things might be a little shaky in our economy. It is something that I've looked at for a long time, and I believe by looking at it honestly, that you'll come to the conclusion that we do have some significant problems and we need to do what we can do. Well, that's it for today. Don't worry about these types of things. Just take the proper concern. Don't go overboard. with preparations. Just make the prudent preparations that you believe God expects a good steward of his to make. And never forget that our primary focus is on being in heaven someday. This world isn't our home. We're planning on going to heaven anyway. We certainly don't deserve it, but if we're prudent, we're going to be planning on going to the one place that we don't deserve to go. So get your spiritual house in order first. And then you can look rationally and see if there's some physical adjustments that your life may need to go through as the nation seems to get a little bit more and more out of control. That's it for today. Thank you for tuning in. I truly appreciate it. And as always, I pray that God will richly bless you as you seek to serve him to the best of your ability.