A Righteous Economy

How does God’s economy work?

What will we be looking at?

• What is the economy?
• The biblical concepts
• Building blocks of God’s economy

What is the economy?

“The state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services and the supply of money.”

— Oxford English Dictionary

Concepts that are fundamental to the economy:

• Production – entrepreneurship; work; resources; creativity; craftsmanship
• Consumption – need; wealth; poverty; stewardship; greed; wellbeing; peace
• Money – value; buying and selling; investment; interest; Mammon

Biblical foundational concepts

Truth:

“For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.”

Psalm 100:5

• The concepts upon which God’s economy are built do not change with changes in economic theory or technology or the rise and fall of economic systems.
• Economies that do not recognize God’s principles will ultimately fail or be reformed.

Biblical foundational concepts

Time:

“… that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

Ephesians 5:27

• The end game for God’s people is not a corrupt economic wasteland.
• Apocalyptic thinking has led to perverted economic actions amongst God’s people which is the opposite of stewardship.
• The perspective of eternity always requires long-term thinking, very long-term thinking.

Biblical foundational concepts

Liberty:

“And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.” Leviticus 25:10

“And the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7

“Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’” John 8:36

Liberty:

• The freedom to eat the fruit of your own labor (strong theme in the prophets).
• The freedom to choose is fundamental to any strong economy.
• The freedom to allocate resources – which is the opposite of debt.
• A slave does not have the incentive to build because it is not his house – that is why private property is so fundamental to God’s economy.

Biblical foundational concepts

Fellowship/ Koinonia:

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:42

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8

Fellowship/ Koinonia:

• Everything in the Bible is about the quality and strength of our relationships with God or our neighbor.
• God’s economy is a relational economy. Our wealth and our security lie in our relationships, not in our bank accounts.
• Our provision is from God and through one another.
• The concept of pensions or welfare payments from the state is foreign to the Bible. The family must provide for its own. The community/church must provide for its weak.

Building blocks of God’s economy

Family:

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.” Proverbs 13:22

• In the Biblical economy the three-generational family is the fundamental unit of society.
• It was within the extended family that a person’s primary needs for provision and belonging were met. These units were economically self-supporting, and also acted as a safety net for those who did not have families of their own.
• Wealth is built and transferred through the family.

Family:

• Over the past century SA has seen two major economic empowerment initiatives aimed at distinct population groups: Afrikaner economic empowerment (1924 – 1960) and Black Economic Empowerment (1994-date). The former was largely successful, the latter not.
• The past 150 years in SA have seen the systematic undermining and destruction of the black family. By and large black communities will not be economically empowered until black families are restored. That goes for all population groups.

Building blocks of God’s economy

Private property:

“And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.” Leviticus 25:10

• The vision was that each extended family had its own plot of land, which had been allocated when the Israelites first entered the land of Canaan (Joshua 13–19).
• This enabled each family to remain economically self-sufficient, and provided a platform of equality across all the different families in Israel.
• Any economic system built on communal property or ownership by the state is doomed to fail. Communism failed. Communal ownership governed by traditional leaders in SA has ensured poverty and not led to wealth creation.

Building blocks of God’s economy

Entrepreneurship:

“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’” Matthew 25:20

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest… shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22

• Growth and fruit comes from sowing and reaping. We can only create new value by venturing. If we do not sow or venture, we will soon consume everything there is.
• He who ventures more receives greater reward.

Building blocks of God’s economy

Work:

“For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” 2 Thessalonians 3:12

“Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” Ephesians 4:28

“Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.” Luke 12:33

Work:

• By working we create value which allows us to live and to give.
• If we do not work, we limit our spiritual growth and we give room to the spirit of the orphan. This ultimately leads to a culture of entitlement which, in turn, leads to poverty.
• The power of craftsmanship:

“… but the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.” Zechariah 1:21

Building blocks of God’s economy

Money:

“So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.” Luke 16:8

“To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.” Deuteronomy 23:20

Money:

• In the biblical model, money was intended to build or serve relationships.
• The laws around debt and interest prevented financial capital from being multiplied by the rich at the expense of the poor, increasing long term inequality in society.
• Debt was viewed as a last resort – a solution to desperate need rather than a means of temporarily increasing consumer spending.
• Parable of the talents: investments should be relational.

Building blocks of God’s economy

Rest:

“And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.’” Mark 2:27

• Because our life is dependent on two relationships – God and people. It is easier to focus on people.
• Trust in God’s provision.
• Preserve our resources.
• The Sabbath is a source of creativity.

Building blocks of God’s economy

Stewardship:

“For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You.” 1 Chronicles 29:14

• We are strangers and pilgrims.
• We can ultimately own nothing physically, only spiritually.
• Thus, we should live with eternity in mind and preserve that which is given into our care.

Thank you!

Hennie Bester
hennie@dietuin.co.za