God's Assets:
Occasionally, I ponder the very stuff of God's divine nature and wonder about his existence. Now in this time of global financial crisis, I wondered how such a crisis would affect God. The universe is God's greatest asset, so how rich is God? Since he created the universe, does he have sole ownership, or is his universal property divided among lesser Gods, angels, mystical forces and probably the Devil and demons (someone has to own hell). Is heaven the penthouse of the universe and hell the basement? Let us consider God's assets.
How much does the universe cost? Has anyone ever costed the universe; all the galaxies, stars, clusters and planets? We humans put values on the universal elements (like carbon, iron, gold, etc), but does God put such values on the cosmic stuff he has made? Where is the costliest place in the universe? Is it in a dense stellar cluster, the centre of the universe, or is there a universal equivalent to the French Riviera? Are black holes universal stock collapses and the rest of the galaxy whips around to create stars to pay off the cosmic debt? Are dark matter and dark energy shadowy investors in the material world, supplying cosmic funds in terms of gravity? The universe must have some kind of value even to a God, whether financial or spiritual, and the interest from its expansion must be astronomical.
Is God an entrepreneur? Is the universe a business venture? Did God have to buy up the matter and energy to create the universe or was he a speculator just gathering what was freely floating around and creating a patented network called the universe? Does he own the cosmic software, keeping a tight grip on the laws of the universe or is he a philanthropist ceding certain laws and property to other masters of the universe, like a wiki? The universal company is definitely in the black, but as it operates in a vacuum, God will have to watch out that the bubble doesn't burst one day.
Along with the matter of the universe, which can be totalled up into material assets, what about the intangibles, the priceless life-giving energy of the cosmic green machine, like the solar winds, nuclear fusion, lunar tidal power, comet water, and star light; what price they in the larger scheme? If humans are not the only life form to inhabit this cosmic real estate, then how much value do we add to the system? Are we living rent-free? Is the universe a des res because of our presence or a squatter's den for humanity? Are humans a tax on the system? The universe is worth more than the sum of its parts, just as a human soul is more than flesh and blood. The energy quotient and the efficiency rating of the universe could go a long way in raising the value of the universe. The verdict is still out on human worth.
Will God ever go bankrupt as the universe nears the end of its life as a hypersphere of hot gas? Or will he repackage it and sell it as a newly refurbished, unfurnished accommodation to another God or alien willing to take on any further remodelling and redesign work? The universe could loose its value and be repossessed by whatever force of nature God may have been in debt to. The boom and bust of the universal industry could then begin again with a big bang heralding a new universal era.
Of course, God might not need money or finance, but would count his assets in spiritual ways, amassing a fortune from the laws of nature and the growth value of the Gross Universal Product. The universe produces unlimited energy, perpetual and profitable power; the universe manufactures goods in the form of galaxies, stars, planets and life forms; and the universe in all likelihood trades with other universes, through other quantum dimensional banking systems via gravity leaks, neutrinos, or other exotic means. A spiritual banking system may be better than a material one, but would depend on the strength of faith and belief which could also suffer in confidence. If God places no value on anything, if there is no universal value system, then is the universe (including humanity) a worthless waste of time, energy and space? No, for just by the act of creating the universe God must have placed some value in that one deed. But are we the beneficiaries of that act, the future evaluators or mere inconsequential observers?
So is the universe in good financial shape? Is God looking after the pennies? What could happen to cause a universal financial collapse, leaving God needing financial assistance? Well, first of all, God's assets are unlimited, whether material, energy or spiritual. The universe is of such vastness and of a divested nature that no financial calamity should be able to bring the whole system down like a supernova. Black holes, pulsars, gravity quakes, solar storms, time and space instabilities would just be local blips and if worse came to worse, any collapsed solar system or galaxy would get an injection of fresh capital and be rebuilt over a few billion years, a wink of an eye in the larger scheme of things.
But ultimately, if things went wrong, who is there to bail out God? Is this where religious minded people come in? Is belief in God and faith, his fall-back and emergency refinance package? Is religion propping up the financial base of the universe? God has many strings to his bow, a trans-universal company pumping out cosmic products and abundant energy, but his greatest asset could be an insignificant expenditure on a tiny blue world who are present to witness his wealth and enjoy in the proceeds. So while we suffer through the global financial crisis, just remember that no matter the value of the universe, God or no God, treasure the assets that you already possess.