I may as well get this confession out of the way; I like shiny things. Not literally shiny perhaps, but pretty things. As well as our general inclination to sin, I think that many of us have particular weaknesses, and appreciating nice things is definitely one of mine. In fact, part of my motivation to start writing about personal finance is that I have a tremendous talent for justifying purchases of things, and forcing myself to write about the issue will at least ensure that I stay aware of what is happening. One of my biggest fears, particularly living in London and working with very well paid colleagues, is that I will lock myself onto the treadmill, commit to a large mortgage, lull myself into a ‘large’ lifestyle which requires a correspondingly large income, and end up completely unable to leave my job because no other career would pay enough to keep the wheel turning. I have no desire to leave my job by the way, in fact most days I love it, but I have a feeling that God may call me at some point to do something else, and I want to be ready. Called to do what? Well....
God's plan for finance
The financial crisis and subsequent recession have laid some heavy abuse at the door of bankers. Sometimes in social situations I gloss over what I do merely because I don’t have the energy to defend myself against the public bruising sure to follow. I’m sure that there is some truth in much of the abuse heaped upon bankers. I have met people who are greedy and smug, and I understand enough about the crisis to know that greed of bankers themselves was certainly a contributing factor. However, most of the people I work with are quite good, bright people, who want to do their job well and then go home. They want to earn enough to look after their families, and to treat themselves if the opportunity arises. They do not want to read in every newspaper about how hated they are, about how the suffering of others is caused by them, to worry about their job security all the time only to be ridiculed by peers who think they are getting what they deserve. There are some good people in banking.
Don’t get me wrong, there is no doubt in my mind that the banking system does not operate for the good of society as a whole. And God cares about the world; that is why Christian charities provide humanitarian care as well as just missionaries. If the financial system is ever to run in a godly way, we need more Christians in banking. So where are they?
Where are the Christians?
Well, I certainly know of a few Christians in banking. But not many. As I was leaving university, I knew of just one other Christian entering something perceived to be as evil as banking; my old church friends are mostly teachers, doctors, church apprentices, PhD students, work in museums, or generally do other socially ‘positive’ things. The advantage for Christians with careers like medicine is that they have no doubt that they are being "Good People". In finance, it is murky, easy to doubt your heart, twisted and sometimes lonely. It can also silence fellow Christians, who can’t reconcile the young woman stood before them with the evil, cigar-smoking man depicted in the newspapers.
One of the directions I think God might call me is to work on a better financial system, perhaps working for a regulator, or maybe in a front office management role steering the incentive structures and business decisions being made. He has been dropping me hints you see; I ended up doing an economics degree instead of maths, I was unceremoniously dumped in the deep end in a role in liquidity reporting, and I’ve recently been looking at capital and market risk. Everything I’ve ended up doing seems to sit on that tricky margin between business (read ‘the desire to make money’) and regulation (read ‘fear that it will all go wrong again’).
Whilst I cannot pretend that I am changing anything currently, I am certainly learning. I have got the feeling that God is getting me to build up skills for something else. I just don’t know quite what it is yet...
The Money Sparrow
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