It seems like a minimum of once a day the current price of gas comes up in conversation. During the early part of the gas price hike a few years ago, people seemed annoyed to be paying more than $2 per gallon of unleaded. Now that the average gas price is close to double that number, people have actually begun to alter their behavior—in addition to complaining about high fuel costs.

Retailers say discretionary spending is decreasing due to high gas and other energy costs. As a result, many large companies have been forced to lay off thousands of employees, causing more concern about employment availability in the state, and across the country.

The median home price is steadily declining every month, causing many to worry about the value of their most significant investment at the end of what experts are calling the “housing correction.” It doesn’t feel like a “correction” to those who have lost thousands in the last few years.

The government is considering bailouts for major lenders to ease losses from bad mortgages. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan carry on. The value of the dollar decreases. Terrorist attacks continue across the globe. Taxes go up and up. And the list goes on.

All that bad news is enough to get just about anyone down. And it is certainly true that many on the margins of our society are feeling the pinch worse than the average American. But still, there is hope. And that hope will come from the Church—the Church of the Twin Cities, the Church in America, and the Church around the world.

That hope must come from the group of people—believers, followers of Christ—who hold the key to the reason for such hope in trying times, and the ability to share it with the world.

Christians have an opportunity to come together and be a light to all people during dark times. Rather than cutting back on charitable giving—like the rest of the world is doing—what if we trusted God to take care of our families, and proved ourselves to be more generous in times of great need?

In 1 Timothy 6, Paul is warning against the love of money and charging Timothy to flee from the trappings of this world. Paul tells Timothy to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. And he does so without condition.

As if that weren’t a big enough task, Paul then goes one step further. He tells Timothy to speak this truth to the world, so that the wealthy might become generous and all Christians might spread hope. In 1 Timothy 6:17-18, Paul writes, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”

This is the role that God tells Christians to play in our current culture of wealth. Because despite all the bad news out there, the truth remains that we still live in the richest, most exorbitant country on the planet.

But in difficult times such as these, where there is much to devote our attention to, Paul says to command the wealthy to do good with what they have. Even those who can’t be considered wealthy can call on the body of Christ to rise up and spread hope by meeting the physical needs of the community. You may not feel wealthy, but we can spread hope in this city, state, country and the entire world by coming together and using our collective wealth and ingenuity to do good for those in need.

We are the hope of the world, and trying times are just a stronger call to live and be that hope. I’d much rather devote energy to creating new ways to use wealth to bless and reach people for Christ, than to sit around worrying about tomorrow’s gas prices. Guess what? They’ll still be too high!