Start with ethanol. Developed to make our cars more fuel-efficient, our foreign oil dependence more remote and our farmers more money, this theoretical savior as of just two years ago, is now being blamed for putting a greater pinch on the consumer wallet by thinning corn reserves.

In a time when even a technological advancement like E85 can go from beneficial to questionable to ironic, it seems like every move we make is a no-win situation. The solution, says Steve Shenk, director of eFoods Direct, is to take matters into our own hands.

“While some might make cynical jokes about a horse-and-buggy society in response to our negative economic trend,” says Shenk, “there is some merit in examining that lifestyle, just from the standpoint that we can all benefit by relying less on the government and doing more to prepare ourselves for tougher times ahead.”

Here’s my take: the government is not our source. God is our Source. Ethanol is not really the answer, nor is drilling off Alaska. God is the answer. I’m not saying we shouldn’t work for ethanol, electric cars, or new sources of oil. What I am saying is we should work for God’s purposes and trust Him. We can do more to prepare ourselves by making sure we continue to tithe, continue to give, continue to speak forth words of faith over our lives and continue to seek the Kingdom first. It sounds simple, but since when is the Bible complicated?