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iQuestions Faculty, Ron Blue 
 
 
Question: 
 
What if we have a financial depression? 
 
Answer: 
 
A lot of people are concerned about what’s going to happen in the 
future, and the biggest concern that they have is a depression—what 
happens if everything falls apart? Now, I’m not an economist, and I’m 
not projecting that we’ll have a depression, but I do know this—that no 
society has ever survived prosperity. And frankly, it’s harder to survive 
prosperity than it is poverty. People learn how to live in poverty, but 
when you have prosperity, you tend to make decisions that have long-
term negative consequences.  
 
Adlai Stevenson received a letter from a very famous person, and it 
was published in the Washington Post, January 28, 1960—so that’s 
forty-some years ago—and the letter said this: “If I wanted to destroy 
a nation, I would give it too much. And I would have it on its knees, 
miserable, greedy, rich, and sick.”  
 
And if you think back, since 1960, what has happened in America, we 
have a seen a phenomenal run up in personal wealth. We’ve seen a 
phenomenal run-up in just the wealth that this country has. As a 
matter of fact, it’s estimated that the United States has 40% of the 
world’s wealth, and only 2-1/2% of the world’s population. 
 
So, you’d say, why are people even concerned about a depression? 
The reason they’re concerned about a depression is that, as we’ve had 
this run-up in wealth, people have also realized that “I can never, 
ever, accumulate enough to really feel financially secure, successful, or 
 
 
even significant.” There is no amount of wealth that’s ever going to 
lead to the feeling of security. 
 
I’ve known billionaires in my life who do not feel secure, just because 
of the uncertainty. The only way you’re going to have certainty in your 
economic situation is to understand that “naked you came into the 
world, and naked you’re going to leave.” There’s never been an 
exception, and if I’ve got a personal relationship with my God, then 
eternity is taken care of also. 
 
So, are we going to have a depression? I don’t know. I don’t project it. 
But, even if we do, I know where my financial future is, and I know 
where my eternal future is. 
 
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