By Pastor Craig Pederson
The miracle of Easter was celebrated again this weekend: “Christ is Risen!” (You know the response, right?) And, for the first time in two years, there was the option – largely unfettered by COVID – to worship in person with others who were seeking the joy of the open tomb.
“Easter is a reset of our anchors.”
As I worshiped with my family and enjoyed the spiritual blessings of that service – the music, the flowers, the message, the beautiful (unmasked!) smiling faces of young and old – I also wondered about the challenges that our fellow worshipers were bringing with them to meet the Risen Christ on that Easter morning. For many during this Easter Season, one of the most impactful struggles is conceptual, yet very real: Inflation.
Is this an exciting Easter topic? Not so much.
WHAT IS INFLATION? It is an increase in the prices of goods and services over time that causes an economic imbalance, leading to a decrease in the value of money. Said more simply, during inflation, your money buys less stuff.
While I don’t know much about the technicalities of how inflation impacts larger economic trends, I do know that recently I’m paying more for the things I need and want: gas at the pump for our vehicles (three of them in our perhaps too-mobile household), natural gas for our house, electricity, food (at the grocery store and the cafe), the interest rate on a loan to make home repairs and improvements.
“For many during this Easter Season, one of the most impactful struggles is conceptual, yet very real: Inflation.”
Inflation in our U.S. economy is at a 40-year high. What does that mean? Basically, the gap between the wages and salaries of workers and the cost of buying goods and services has not been this large since the early 1980s. In this environment, choices on how to spend money become more real. And, of course, those who were already struggling financially have an even harder time trying to meet their basic needs.
THIS INFLATION CAN affect churches, too. When people have to make choices about how to spend money, church offerings can suffer. We certainly believe in a God of abundance. But as faithful as a person might be, when having to choose between purchasing food or gas or medicine and contributing to God’s work in the church, it is understandable that offerings may decrease – or sometimes not happen at all.
Earlier I wrote that inflation is both conceptual and real. One of the concepts economists use to examine inflation is the “anchoring effect.” The anchoring effect describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered (the “anchor”) when making decisions.
For example, if a person hears that inflation is historically bad and signs of improvement are scarce, they will likely make spending choices that reinforce the effects of inflation. There is a sense of pressure to only spend money on basic goods and services that are already expensive. Even when new information is presented, the anchoring effect tends to keep people in their original frames of mind. This plays out on an individual level for consumers, and on a macro level for policy makers.
“What have we first learned and heard that that we still cling to, even when new ideas and information may lead us in a new direction?”
This makes me think about the anchoring effects in our churches. What have we first learned and heard – sometimes recently, sometimes long ago – that that we still cling to, even when new ideas and information may lead us in a new direction?
Easter is a reset of our anchors. Disciples who first thought that the Resurrection was as idle tale were changed. New life coming out of death became real. As present-day followers of Jesus, we now have in the promise and hope that we, too, might live a new life. Our discipleship can change and grow to share the love of Christ with our neighbors in new ways.
Inflation is real, in our churches and homes, in our businesses and our schools. But the grace of Jesus Christ is also real – moving our anchors and making possible things we might never have imagined before.
Christ is risen! May this miracle be your anchor and your guide this Easter season.