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In this episode of Wake Up Look Up, Pastor Zach explores America’s growing national debt and the dangerous tendency to believe that if we avoid a problem long enough, it will somehow disappear. But Proverbs 27:12 reminds us that wisdom doesn’t ignore danger — it confronts it. From government spending to personal struggles, this conversation challenges us to stop hiding from hard realities and start taking honest steps toward healing, growth, and change.
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What is Wake Up, Look Up?
Check out new episodes of our daily podcast, Wake Up, Look Up, with Zach Weihrauch as he interprets what's happening in our world through the lens of the gospel.
Foreign. Hello everyone, and thanks for listening to Wake Up Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weirock, and in today's episode, we're asking the question, if we close our eyes, does it go away? This is prompted by an article I read in the New York Times recently about the growing US Debt and maybe more importantly, uh, the ignoring of it that Congress and other political leaders are doing. Let me set the stage for you. The US Federal debt, now for the first time in history, has surpassed 100% of GDP. To put it in, like, the simplest terms ever, we owe more than we make. Uh, economists are warning this puts us on unstable ground. In fact, they project that by the year 2056, uh, we will be at 175% of the gross domestic domestic product, meaning, uh, we will owe 175% more than we make. Just think about what that would look like for your family. And here's the thing. It isn't just that we are in tough economic state. It is that our leaders don't seem to care. You're not hearing any political leaders in office talk about this. In fact, they're not even slowing down on massive government spending. The United States owes so much money that our interest payments right now cost us more than our spending on national defense. Just think about that. We spend more money on interest, not on principal, than we do on defending our country. And yet our political leaders continue to advance bills that, that promote widespread spending. There are no cutbacks, no talk of being on a balanced budget, any of that. We are spending ourselves into oblivion and we simply don't care. And I think the reason why we don't care is pretty easy. We don't have any answers. Uh, this makes me think of a toddler who's playing a game with you and realizes if they close their eyes, they can't see you and think that must mean, therefore, that they are invisible to you. If they close their eyes, you just go away. That seems to be the current American strategy towards our rising debt. If we don't look at it, think about it, talk about it, it doesn't exist. And I know this tendency and so do you, because it's one all of us employ. I mean, how many of us currently have a situation or situations that we're just not looking at, talking about or thinking about in the hopes that it will go away? Well, the book of Proverbs tells us, uh, that's not smart for governments. It's not Smart for individuals. In Proverbs 27:12, the writer says the prudent sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. In other words, it may feel often to us like failure is saying out loud, I have a problem. Like, it may feel like losing to say, uh, I've got to make some changes or I've got to get some help, or I am in big trouble. But the writer of Proverbs says, actually that's the first sign of wisdom. Wisdom isn't sticking your head in the sand, closing your eyes, thinking, if you don't look at a problem, it goes away. Wisdom says, not only do I have a problem, but if I don't address it, I'm going to have a bigger one. Because problems don't go away just when you don't look at them. And I know it's easy to shake our fist, uh, at the American government and say, how can you guys keep spending like this and not realize eventually the bill comes due? But how can you and I think like that? The truth is, we're the same way. How many of us have marriages in crisis that we're not talking about, develop sinful patterns or rhythms that, that we're not dealing with? So today, let the bad example of American government cause you to be one of the prudent to take refuge from the problems in your life, to actually acknowledge the issues, take ownership of them, and seek help and remedies. Ignoring a problem won't make it go away, but looking in its face just might lead to to a solution. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up. Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.