Christian Economics?

SUN., NOV. 8, 1992, 6:27 AM
FARM, STUDY

You heard a few minutes of a talk show with a “fundamentalist” Christian host, who obviously was matching his relationship with Christ with a conservative economic posture. This caused you to muse about this relationship… even to consider that this might be the theme for your next Ruminations. Naturally you assumed I would be more than willing to offer you thoughts on this theme. And I did waken you in time for this Teaching before morning worship.

Conservative economics supports the free enterprise system, in which to those who have shall more be given, with its corollary about those who have little. It favors minimal taxes, for it also favors minimal government. Thus the assumption of Christians who hold to this view must be that those who have much do earn it in honest ways, and that, in response to this obvious blessing from Me, they willingly help those who have not been successful… the modern equivalents of widows and orphans.

As I have told you, I want you to give generously to the church and then when you receive more compensation use it to help others, directly, as with your sons, and through organizations and causes that seem important to you… and to Me, as you hear My views of the present earth scene. You can have some concern for your retirement years, but too much concern becomes selfishness that is not consistent with a Christian view of life.

The alternative justification of a free enterprise system is that those who are the have nots are undeserving, even unblessed, and it is only actual “want” that will empower them to work hard and become a productive “have.” Those who don’t respond to this challenge just deserve their poverty, as if it were My will. This may be true for a few, but it does not hold for all of the have-nots, by any means.

The liberal view, based partly in reality, is that too many of those who have, either from hard work or from good lucky, are unwilling to share as they should, and therefore government must tax them and use the revenue for the relative have-nots. Government, through its capacity to tax, takes away some freedom to use your income as you wish, but uses these taxes to create jobs and to assure everyone in the society with basic needs for life.

Neither extreme works perfectly, which is why I do not favor any specific economic system. I see the advantages of both the capitalist and the socialist systems, but I also see the ways in which each violates Christian principles. Even some compromise combination system, such as that your culture has developed still has faults that I must acknowledge and not support. So what does the Scriptural story suggest?

In the story of Me as Jesus it was not clear how I and the disciples had our basic needs met. We certainly were not supported by government, so you can assume that we did some work for pay or that some or someone in our group was wealthy, providing the means for My ministry. You assume that we lived frugally, but there is the legitimate question of where do 13 men sleep each night and who provides food daily and clothing, as needed? The economics of My ministry were not deemed important enough to be included in Scripture. It can be assumed that I, as Almighty God and Father, did provide for them, but how, specifically?