Economics 101—What is God’s Plan? By Dr. Art Mathias Introduction In this presidential election we are involved in one of the most important debates in the history of America. I believe that America and the world are at a crucial crossroad. Economies and governments are failing all over the world. The stock markets are very volatile. Gold and silver prices are at an all‐time high, but they are also very unstable. Real estate values are at historical lows. Unemployment in America is reported at about 8% but is really 12% if we did the numbers that same way we did just four years ago. If we calculated unemployment today the same way we did in the 1930’s, we are much worse off than in the Great Depression. I believe that all of us must be very involved in this debate. Therefore we must be informed. We must know how our economy and government must function. We have all been conditioned to moral skepticism regarding business. Hollywood, government officials, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, etc. and many of our elected representatives belittle and blame business for all of our problems. Is this the real truth? Is business only greed and corruption as the above would have us to believe? David Waldstreicher, a professor at Yale University considers profit to be altogether wrong. “Capitalism is about extracting profit from others…” How do you extract profit without being arrested for theft? How many times will you get cheated before you buy from someone else? Some even teach that capitalism is the root of all poverty. When I make a dollar do I take it from another or do I really help others? Many believe that business is only good to the extent that it is regulated by government. Does government have all the answers or does it at times do more harm than good? Michael Medved wrote in his book Hollywood vs. America that prior to 1965 American television portrayed business as good guys twice as often as bad guys. This ratio was reversed in 1970. Today business is always blamed, usually for what the government really did. Movie after movie, TV program after TV program now portray business and business people as evil. Hollywood has decided that business and business people are evil. Why? With this constant barrage from Hollywood, government, elected officials we can’t help but believe some of it. You may think that you can remain uninfluenced by the things you hear, but it just isn’t so. What is your opinion of Wall Street? Business Week magazine featured a cover story entitled “Too Much Corporate Power.” In this September 11, 2000 article the magazine revealed American attitudes toward business with the following poll numbers: 1 72% of Americans agree that business has gained too much power. Only 47% agree that “in general, what is good for business is good for most Americans (down from 71% in 1966). 66% agree that “large profits are more important to business than developing safe, reliable, quality products. Only 27% thought that business had “fair and reasonable prices, relative to their profits.” Between 1990 and 1995 the German economy lost nearly 500,000 jobs. Why? The German magazine Wirtchaftswoche claimed it was because the German education establishment spent the previous three decades teaching kids that money is a bad thing. The magazine surveyed the country and revealed that 40% of Germans say that they regard entrepreneurs as exploiters, up from 17% in 1965. The American economy has lost over a million jobs in the last 3 years. Why? Could it be same reason? When a person makes a dollar does he really take it from another or does making the dollar help others? In 1998 the most significant political story was not that the president had oral sex with a 22 year old intern. The most significant political story of the year was that most citizens don’t seem to think it was significant that the president had oral sex with a 22 year old intern. During the same period journalists everywhere deemed Microsoft’s monumental profits to be proof of wrong doing. How many people did Microsoft help with their incredible computer products? Did these products make your life better? When a business creates jobs is that “doing good”? Why then do some say that a well‐to‐do person or business is “giving back” to society when they make a charitable donation? Didn’t Microsoft “do good” for society when it created incredible software that helped millions and created millions of jobs? How can they “give back” if they didn’t take something in the first place? Even Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland in 2009 warned America: “Excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state’s omnipotence is another possible mistake. True, the state’s increased role in times of crisis is a natural reaction to market setbacks. Instead of streamlining market mechanisms, some are tempted to expand state economic intervention to the greatest possible extent.” Why do so many believe that business is bad and that all business people are greedy? Again, what do you think of Wall Street? The truth is that Wall Street did not cause the economic collapse. Government intervention did with the Community Re‐development Act that forced Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac to create sub‐prime mortgages. Wall Street bundled these mortgages and sold them, but the government created the problem. If people are nothing more than the rational animals that Aristotle considered them to be, then business may be exploitative. But this is certainly unnatural because no other creature on earth engages in behavior even remotely similar to business. Since we know that we are not animals and that we are created in God’s imag, could it be that God has something to say about economics? Does God have an economic plan for you, your family and our country? Does God have a financial or economic strategy? If so what is it? Will the devil oppose it? 2 Could this explain why there is so much strife and competition between opposing parties on this issue? Could this really be, at its core, a spiritual issue? Is there a “God’s Plan vs. a Devil’s Plan?” Why does the Bible stress the point that there is only one God? The 1st and 2nd commandments and many other passages make a point of this. If there are many, then there is no stability or certainty. If there is only one and He makes the rules, then there is certainty. God makes all the rules for His creation to function—the “natural laws” of gravity, tides, astronomy, science etc. Why not economics? Why would we think that He does not care about material things—He created the material and then told us to take care of it and be fruitful and multiply? What is God’s economic plan? Is the attack on capitalism really a spiritual war? Rabbi Daniel Lapin, in his book Thou Shalt Prosper, teaches 10 Biblical commandments for making money. His first commandment is to Believe In The Dignity And Morality Of Business. If you believe that business is evil, you are going to have a very difficult time believing that you are doing something right and then excelling. This is true even if you work for a business. Either way you are in business. Rabbi Lapin teaches that if there is one Jewish attribute more directly responsible for Jewish success in business than any other, it is that Jewish tradition views a person’s quest for profit and wealth to be inherently moral. Who I am and how I earn my living are inextricably bound together. If what you do to make a living is immoral then you must stop doing it because it will taint your entire existence. It follows that you would have vast additional power to inject into your enterprise if you could simply develop a deep conviction of its intrinsic morality. Unless you work for the government you are in business and the occupation of business is moral, noble and worthy. Rabbi Lapin continues that “without fail, when government policies fail to deliver on their promises, politicians denounce the greed of Wall Street and business people. Whenever the ghost of unintended consequences strikes again and well‐intentioned but badly conceived state programs erode the economy, political leaders trip over one another in the eagerness to blame business.” The housing collapse is a perfect example. Rabbi Lapin believes that it might make more sense to point to the greed of government employees as the cause of economic stress in that they make an average of 42% more than the private sector. Judaism literally bequeaths wealth to its followers by communicating moral enthusiasm for the profession of business. You can find the roots of the Jewish conviction in the morality of business in the beginning of the Torah. Genesis 2:12 says, “The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there.” In the creation process God decrees that gold, the symbol of money and the ultimate medium of exchange, is good. God declared that gold, a metaphor for money and wealth is good. 3 In Judaism it is perfectly kosher to pray for money. What you are asking for is the opportunity to serve your fellow human beings. The Talmud (oral Torah) advises worshippers in the Jerusalem temple who wish to increase their wealth to pray facing the south, toward the direction of the table that held the ceremonial bread, because the bread was mystically linked to money. Even in our slang we call money bread. Deep within the traditional Jewish culture lies the conviction that the only real way to achieve wealth is to attend diligently to the needs of others and to conduct oneself in an honorable and trustworthy fashion. Jews feel at ease blessing the children each Sabbath with the words: “May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.” The Oral Torah explains that Ephraim represents spiritual steadfastness and Menasseh represents economic creativity. The two belong together. The astounding news is that God wants humans to be wealthy because wealth follows large scale righteous conduct, which is His ultimate goal for His children. Wealth is a blessing from God. Proverbs 14:24 says, “The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools is just that — folly.” God is happy with wise behavior and rewards it with wealth. When the Israelites left Egypt in the exodus they took with them the wealth of Egypt. The theme linking redemption and wealth constantly reappears in Jewish culture. Money certainly is not everything, but it must not be underrated either. Remember the Bible teaches that it is the love of money—not money itself that is the root of all evil. (1 Tim. 6:10, Heb. 13:5) Many today believe that charity is good and business is selfish. While this might be true at times it is not the rule. Businesses do incredible good by just being in business. Look at the jobs and goods and services that businesses provide. Without business nothing would exist. There would be no jobs or food or homes, or cars or anything else. There wouldn’t even be government because government cannot survive without businesses to tax. Remember, you cannot earn an honest living without pleasing and serving others. If you do not provide what others need or want, they will not buy from you. If you are a crook and cheat others, they will not come back and you will go broke. If you have any reservations that business is both virtuous and moral, get rid of them now. You cannot excel if you have moral reservations about what you do. Only government and government officials can get away with dishonesty, poor products and poor service. The public has no recourse. We cannot go elsewhere because government has the control and power—
they are a monopoly. We must all understand that in a free, transparent marketplace, you cannot make money without benefiting other people. You must respect the dignity and the morality of business. The activity of making money is good. This is one of the most important reasons why Jews have enjoyed economic success over the generations—they have followed the Biblical teachings about money. Rabbi Lapin’s second commandment is “Extend the Network of Your Connectedness to Many People.” In other words “What goes around comes around.” Jewish tradition classifies the Ten Commandments of Scripture into two categories: First, the first 5 commandments (pronouncements) dictate or define the relationship between man and God. Second, the last five commandments dictate the conduct of humans toward one another. 4 The fifth commandment which teaches us to “honor our father and mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you so that your days will be lengthened, and it will be good for you” is a transition between the two categories. In other words, according to Jewish tradition, you honor your parents not to please them but to please God. This commandment provides the original design for all to learn the principles of relationships with all the people around us. It discourages us from viewing others as nothing more than instruments of our own desires. Trying to give others what they want for a selfish motive will not work well—others will see through this. In the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament or Tanakh) there are over 30 references to the “Two Tablets” but only two references to the “Ten Commandments”. It seems that it is really important that the Ten Commandments are divided into two sets of five. Jewish tradition demonstrates a one‐to‐
one relationship between the two tablets. In other words, commandment number one, I am the LORD Your God, corresponds to number six, Thou Shall Not Murder. Commandment number two, You Shall Have No Other Gods, corresponds to number seven, Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery. Three to eight, four to nine and five to ten. God is teaching us five fundamental principles of relationships and providing us with two examples of each. The first example on the first tablet pertains to God and the second example, on the second tablet pertains to others. The first principle teaches us that the other party has the right to exist. There is only one God—do not replace (murder) Him. Also other people have the right to exist—do not murder. The next principle of relationships teaches us that all relationships are unique—do not have other Gods before Me. We cannot relate to false gods as we do to The God. And respect others—do not adulterate relationships—do not commit adultery. Study the other 3 and you will find God’s lesson. All five pairs of commands are about building and keeping relationships. Everything God does focuses on relationships. This is what Jesus taught in Matthew 22 when He said the greatest commandment of all is to love God the Father with all you heart and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. By connecting with many other humans and maintaining these relationships, you will be able to increase your wealth and much more.  If we stay connected to others, we will be happier and live longer.  Friendships lead to wealth, not the reverse.  Find opportunities to make friends.  The more relationships—the more opportunity.  Helping others to improve their lives helps you to improve your own life.  Don’t be a wage slave—be in business for yourself.  Be proud of what you do and let others know what you do.  Love others, not just yourself. Rabbi Lapin is teaching from the Scriptures that business and profit (capitalism) are both righteous and honorable. God taught and trained His people to leave behind the bondage and slavery of Egypt and mentored them to become a free and prosperous people. For the rest of Rabbi Lapin’s 10 commandments, read his book Thou Shall Prosper. God Mentored the Hebrew people to be prosperous 5 Harold Eberle in his book Compassionate Capitalism explains how God mentored the Hebrew people to be prosperous and to appreciate His version of capitalism. God appeared to Abraham and made a covenant with him saying: “I will bless you…and in you all the families of earth will be blessed (Gen. 12:2‐3). Abraham became “very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold” (Gen. 13:2). But the blessings did not stop there because God made the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants. He said that He would be their God and that they would be His people. He was not going to abandon them. He promised to make Abraham and his descendants a blessing to the whole earth. God entered into a relationship with people in which he abided, protected and mentored. As followers of Christ, gentiles are grafted into this very same covenant (Rom. 11). Unfortunately most churches do not understand this and often condemn money and the wealthy. God promised that His blessing would be spiritual and tangible. In other words we would be able to personally experience all of His blessings in this life and His blessings include material wealth. Deuteronomy 28:1‐13 promises many material blessings to those who obey Him. He promises to bless our farms, an abundance of offspring, to cause us to be lenders and not borrowers and to make us the head and not the tail. He also promises to heal our diseases. In Deuteronomy 8:18 Moses explained to the Hebrew people and to us that “…it is He [God] who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers…” When His people do well it is a confirmation of His covenant. WOW!!! Therefore how can wealth be evil??? Then God mentored—led—taught His people how to accomplish and fulfill His covenant. In this mentoring process the first truth that God taught Abraham is that there is only one God. This was a revolutionary truth because people worshiped many gods then as they do today. If there are many gods controlling the universe, then this world is unpredictable and tossed to and fro by their whims. Everyone is nothing more than a victim of a god and people must do everything they can to appease them. On the other hand if there is only one creator God, who is responsible for all our natural laws and the world runs according His laws, then there is order. The world becomes a dependable place—one that is safe to build and civilization to advance. With this understanding it became possible to understand and manage this world as He told us to do in Genesis. As we mentioned before, this understanding relates to the first and sixth commandments. To declare that there is more than one God replaces or murders Him. God also instilled a sense of identity in His people. He taught Abraham that all people were created in His image. No one else understood the high regard that God has for all people and the nature of humanity. There is no greater basis for the understanding of human dignity and the value of human life than the Creator’s own words. God gave Abraham and all of us a sense of purpose. In Genesis 1:28 “God blessed them: God said to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.’" God expected people to work six days a week and then rest and worship Him on the seventh day. They were expected to provide for their own needs and take care of and steward the earth. God taught Abraham the value of land ownership. God promised to provide Abraham and his descendants a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex. 3:8). This was a great blessing in itself but God had 6 bigger plans. Abraham and his descendants are to be a blessing to all the families of the earth, both spiritually and materially. Obviously, a huge part of this is that He wants all of us to be land owners. God took His people out of the bondage of Egypt—out of slavery, and taught them to live as free individuals created in His image, a people of great value, no longer helpless, controlled by others—no longer victims—no longer fatalistic—no longer slaves. But it took time to get the slavery mindset out of them. Sometimes it is easier to be full of fear than it is to be full of faith. Slaves submit—they are passive—they obey and expect to be fed and taken care of—they demand to be given to, instead of having the self‐worth and pride to use their God given abilities to work and create wealth to provide for themselves and their families. All of these attitudes are contrary to the understanding that people are created in the image of God with the mandate to govern their own lives and steward the earth. Does this sound like 50% of Americans? It took God 40 years to raise up a free people to work for themselves and their families. So they could benefit from their own labors. Only free people are motivated to be creative, work longer and produce more. Only if they are free can they be capitalists. He warned them that a king (government) would take their money, restrict their enterprises, take their best land and take their children for his wars. God taught them what a proper government should be. The Hebrew government was built on laws with the foundation in the Ten Commandments, again the first five are about our relationship with Him and the second five are about our relationship with others. Only people who fear or respect God can govern themselves. Proverbs 9:10 teaches us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. No amount of government control or regulations or taxes can restrict sin, selfishness, murder, stealing etc., if the people do not first govern themselves with morals and ethics. No government or economy can prosper and succeed if God is not at the head. Capitalism offers the possibility of working to better ourselves and our society but the direction can easily change to evil if submission to God is not the first priority. This is one of the reasons that God emphasizes the fact that there is only one God. Moses cautioned the people to always remember that it is God who blessed and prospered them. He warned them that after they become successful they may say in their own hearts, “my power and the strength of my hand made this wealth” (Duet. 8:17). This attitude will cause us to fail. This is also why the fourth commandment tells us to rest on the Sabbath. We can become so involved in our work and business that we can forget about Him and our families. He tells us to take a day and rest and remember our families and Him. This is one of God’s checks and balances on capitalism as well as on our relationships. The fifth commandment is also a check and balance. It establishes the value of family relationships in which parents cared and provided for their children, and then later in life the children cared and provided for their parents. Then they pass their accumulated wealth on from one generation to another. Socialism/communism tax and confiscate our inheritances. We observe this commandment not to please others but to please God. God also told His people to take care of the widows and orphans. This is His compassionate capitalism. God also established personal property rights. The eight commandments says, “You shall not steal.” This was a revolutionary idea in Moses’s day. Most people groups then owned things in common or they were slaves with no rights. God is establishing the rights and importance of individuals. If the 7 government cannot protect personal property rights, capitalism will not work and the economy of that country will fail. There is a direct relationship to the extent that private property is protected and the health of the economy. The taxes and regulations all take away from private property rights and the more taxes and regulations increase, the worse the economy of any nation will become. Famine and poverty always follow taxes and regulation. Look at Europe. God taught His people that they should enjoy the fruit of their own labors—and that we should help others. The tenth commandment exhorts us not to covet our neighbor’s house, fields, ox, donkey, or boat, or anything else including their spouse. This is about property rights but there is more. Whenever people waste their energy longing for someone else’s possessions they have less energy to take care of themselves. As a consequence, they do not improve nor enjoy what they do have. Nor do they focus on the work and blessings right in front of them. They become obsessed with what they do not have. They conclude that life is not fair and that they are getting a raw deal. They become victims and demand that the government make it right by giving them what others have. They have come to believe the lie that they only way to make a dollar is to take it from another and since all wealth only comes by stealing—it was gotten illegally—it righteous for them to take it for themselves. This is socialism or communism. The only real difference between socialism and communism is the method they use to reach their goals. The lesson is clear, do not covet and go to work and earn it for yourself. In God’s economy there is plenty for everyone. There are no shortages. Only government and socialism/communism create shortages. Ecclesiastes 2:24 says that “…there is nothing better for a man to do than eat, drink and let himself enjoy the good that results from his work…” It is important to remember that God has promised to bless all—everyone that will obey Him. There are no shortages in His economy. God also taught His people to give sacrificially to Him. The church and the altar were the very center of Jewish life. The people brought the first of all their work to Him. This was an act of submission and honor to Him. It was recognition that God is their God and that He rules over their lives. This is part of the circumcision of the heart that He wants. People gave tithes—the giving of ten percent of one’s income to God, and in addition the people gave offerings to God which expressed their love and thanksgiving for even their ability to work and create wealth. Malachi explained that the government expects people to pay taxes and those taxes must not be the left over or damaged possessions. In like fashion, Malachi explained how God expects the first of one’s income (Malachi 1:6‐14). In God’s love and compassion He taught His people to take care of the widow, orphan, the poor, and our parents. The foundation of this goes back to the Hebrew understanding that all people are created in His image and therefore are worthy of care. God also taught that there would be a reward for helping the needy. Another teaching is that we reap the fruit of our own efforts. Helping others is a crucial part of capitalism. These values were and are in stark contrast to the values of pagan religions which offer no motive for charity. The ancient Stoic Greek philosophers taught that is was disrespectful to even associate with the weak or poor. Romans were callous and compassionless toward the needy. These values were reinforced by constant wars, slavery, infanticide and 600 years of watching hundreds of thousands of gladiators mauled and killed. The poor, sick, slave and working class were not citizens and, therefore, not worthy of help in the minds of the Greeks and Romans. 8 Hebrew society had many ways of making provisions for the needy. First, they were encouraged to give alms to the poor. Farmers were instructed to glean their crops only once so that the alien, widow, and orphan could freely gather that which was left behind (Duet. 24:19‐21). They had many ways of helping the destitute get a fresh start, such as loaning them money without interest (Lev. 25:35‐38). True capitalism, as taught by God, is very compassionate. God taught the Hebrew people to hold each other accountable. These laws were not enforced by the government but were cultural and were enforced by each other. If someone did not take care of their parents they were shunned by the community. This would make it almost impossible to do business and make a living. The Hebrew people believed that they could only be blessed if the entire community obeyed God’s laws. Therefore they kept each other accountable. God taught His people that they had to work for all they ate and possessed. They had to take the land that He gave them. They had to work for their food. They had to fight for everything. He was with them to give guidance, help, authority and victory. But He was making them into a people who worked hard and valued what they earned—a people that were secure in who they were—a people He could depend on to bless the entire world (Gen 1:28, Duet. 8:18). He wants to give us the desires of our heart and He wants to work with us to help us to be successful. God demonstrated the power of making, creating and keeping covenants in His relationship with His people. He told us not to lie or bear false witness. Thus God expected His people to honor their covenants, promises and contracts and relationships with each other above their own prosperity. This made His people dependable and trustworthy. The lesson is that the keeping of covenants is sacred and must be more important than the increase of personal wealth. Today a godly businessman will fulfill a promise he has made even if it ends up costing him more money that he will make. God also taught His people that government should be very limited. In everything that He taught His people, God wanted them to live and govern themselves as free individuals. When national problems were faced God raised up an individual (the book of Judges) to lead the people. Unfortunately the people wanted a king—a permanent form of government. God spoke a warning through the prophet Samuel. Samuel warned them that the king would take their sons and daughters to serve in his armies, fields and kitchens. A king would take the best of their fields and crops—that a king would take a tenth of their flock and would continue taking more and more, until “you yourselves will become his slaves” (1 Sam. 8:17). Among the many detrimental effects of an over controlling government is the fact that it robs people of the product of their own labors. It kills personal motivation and entrepreneurship. Whenever government reigns over people rather than serves them, it oppresses the human spirit which was created in the image of God. God taught His people that they should be the lenders, not the borrowers. God taught them that the ability to lend was a blessing and borrowing is a curse. Deuteronomy 28:12‐13 says, “…You will lend to many nations and not borrow; Adonai will make you the head and not the tail; and you will be only above, never below ‐ if you will listen to, observe and obey the mitzvoth [commands] of Adonai your God.” But if we disobey, Deuteronomy 28:43‐44 says, “The foreigner living with you will rise higher and higher while you sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he will be the head and you the tail.” In other words the borrower becomes subservient to the lender. This was a value 9 strongly instilled within the Hebrew culture. They were to be the lenders. This was a manifestation and evidence of God’s blessing on their lives. God also taught His people to look at time in a different way. He taught them that time moves in a linear, progressive fashion. People tend to believe that time and life becomes continuous cycles. In other words all things repeat over and over. The sun rises and sets. Days turn into years. People live and die. Everything happens over and over again. People are just trapped in the endless cycles of life—trapped in fatalism. God broke this cyclical way of thinking by having Moses develop a written linear record of their history. Very few other cultures had any written record. From this record the people could see the progression and growth of their society and themselves as individuals. Then God also gave them promises about their future. God promised that His kingdom would take over the entire earth and that it would last forever (Chron. 17:12‐14, Dan. 2:35, 44‐45). Jesus taught the same thing in the New Testament in His parables. Thus God’s people developed a consciousness of their past and future. They thought of time as linear with the world moving forward. Thus they were able to plan for the future. They were able to make long term decisions because they could depend on His promises. They learned the value of an inheritance to future generations in many different ways. They learned the value of being frugal and saving for the future. They learned the value of capital and that it was something separate from themselves that could be used to generate wealth. They learned that God wants His people to prosper. But they also learned that there are some wise and some foolish—some that will work and some that won’t. They learned the value of opportunity and the value of learning and bettering one’s self. Proverbs 3:35: “The wise win honor, but fools win shame.” Proverbs 10:4: “Idle hands bring poverty; diligent hands bring wealth.” This is one of the reasons that capitalism is a better economic system than socialism. Capitalism takes into account the differences in character of individuals. On the other hand, socialism assumes that all people will, given the opportunity, work equally with wisdom and diligence. In reality, many people will not work, even if they are given the opportunity. When they do not work, it is unjust to expect the diligent and wise to carry all the responsibility. Socialism is built on a lie concerning the nature of humanity. In contrast, capitalism is built on the truth of human nature. It recognizes people’s individuality and it justly rewards those who use wisdom and work diligently. Capitalism also demonstrates that it is possible for everyone to work and have a better life—it demonstrates and provides an incentive to others. This is the American dream. Jesus taught the same principles in the New Testament The first Christians were Jews and they held values founded in the Jewish culture and the Old Testament (Tanakh). The writings of the New Testament reflect the same values. There are some who disagree and use a passage in Acts 2 to teach that God could not be a capitalist in the New Testament but a socialist. Let’s take a look at these verses. 10 Acts 2:44‐45 says, “All those trusting in Yeshua [Jesus] stayed together and had everything in common; in fact, they sold their property and possessions and distributed the proceeds to all who were in need.” David Stern in his book, Jewish New Testament Commentary says, “Since many of the first believers were visitors from other countries who had not come to Yerushalayim prepared to take up life there, an immediate need arose for those with local property and resources to use them to care for their new brothers and sisters in the Messiah. These verses certainly teach unselfishness, unpossessiveness and hospitality as traits to be cultivated everywhere and always, but I don’t think they constitute God’s special seal of approval on communal living as lifestyle or socialism as politics.” Let’s read the next verses. They give us the rest of the story. Acts 2:46‐47 says, “Continuing faithfully and with singleness of purpose to meet in the Temple courts daily, and breaking bread in their several homes, they shared their food in joy and simplicity of heart, praising God and having the respect of all the people. And day after day the Lord kept adding to them those who were being saved.” These verses teach that they began to sell some of their possessions. They did not sell all of their possessions. They went from home to home to meet. They still had their homes and personal possessions. They sold some property to help the poor and needy—not all—or they too would have been poor and needy. Do not forget, these people were living as capitalists. They had accumulated wealth and sold some of it to help the poor and needy. Also remember they had the choice to freely sell their own property to help others. They were not socialist/communist where the government takes your property, they were capitalist motivated by love and God’s commands. When Jesus was asked what His kingdom was like, He responded in Matthew 25:14‐30 with the parable of a master or businessman who entrusted his three servants (employees or partners) with various amounts of wealth. The first servant was entrusted with five talents ($5000 in silver), the second with two talents, and the third with one. The master told them to do business with the money while he traveled. Jesus explained that “the one had received the five talents went and traded (invested) with them and gained five more (vs. 16). The servant who received the two talents also went and traded or invested and earned two more. The third servant, who only received one talent, dug a hole and hid it. Jesus continued to teach that one day the master returned home and asked for an accounting. The first two servants were praised and were trusted with more, while the third servant was rebuked. Verses 26 and 27, referring to the one that buried the money says, “You wicked, lazy servant [slave]… Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would at least have gotten back interest with my capital!” There are several capitalistic principles evident in this parable. First, the servants were put in charge of money or capital which is separate from self. Second, they were told to do business, trade and invest to achieve a profit. Third, putting money in the bank is okay, but not as good as investing it. Fourth, Jesus is teaching that there are wise and foolish people; that there are hard‐working and lazy people and that each should be rewarded accordingly. In other words, the faithful and hardworking will be given more and the lazy will lose what they had. This is the opposite of what socialism teaches. The socialist would think that the government should 11 take away from him who has more and give it to the one who has less. This rewards the lazy and disobedient. God is Jehovah Jireh, our provider and He will be a Provider to anyone, but He only blesses those who take responsibility for the possessions they already have. There are no shortages in God’s economy—only disobedience. Jesus also taught that we must take care of the needy, the widows and the orphans (Matt. 25:34‐36). He taught the futility of hoarding great wealth because we will all die and someone else will own it. It is better is to use the wealth to help others and to advance His kingdom. He warns us that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:20‐21) In Matthew 23:25 and Luke 16:14 Jesus warns us about greed and self‐indulgence and being lovers of money. Remember it is not money, but the love of money that is the root of all evil. God is telling us that money has many righteous uses. We cannot separate the Old and New Testaments because they explain and build on each other. The Jews were already founded in capitalistic principles. They were industrious. They believed that God wanted them to be blessed. However, a capitalistic lifestyle opens the door for certain dangers. Jesus was not trying to hinder them from being capitalistic. He was simply cautioning them just as the Old Testament did. Jesus taught the same message as the Old Testament in Thessalonians and Timothy. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: if someone won't work, he shouldn't eat!” 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “Moreover, anyone who does not provide for his own people, especially for his family, has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Jesus also viewed time in the same manner. He reaffirmed the Jewish concept of linear time and progress. He taught this about His kingdom in the parable of the mustard seed and the leaven or yeast. He told us that his kingdom was like the mustard seed that would grow anywhere—that it was like leaven or yeast that takes over the entire loaf of bread—that His kingdom would grow and grow and take over the entire world (Mat 13, Luke 13). He also taught us in the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6) that His kingdom would come and that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. Once again we are taught that the future is secure and that we can invest and build His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. We need to understand that this is a historical truth. Society has been continually advancing. Life has become better and better since the fall of Adam and Eve. Even with all our problems the world is a better place today than ever before. Every living condition is better, life expectancy is longer, His Kingdom has spread; there are more believers than ever before. Christianity is the fastest growing and largest belief system. There is less poverty, less abortions, less disease etc. etc. than any time in human history. Socialism/communism opens the door for far greater evil without God’s restraints. Hundreds of millions have died and suffered at the hands of Stalin, Lenin, Marx, Hitler and many other socialist/communist dictators. There is much more in Harold Eberle’s book, Compassionate Capitalism, A Judeo‐Christian Value. 12 A Comparison of Capitalism and Socialism This chart is summary of the previous pages. From this comparison it will be easy for you to discern what is God’s way and what is not. Capitalism: Socialism/Communism: Rewards compassion and giving Takes from workers and rewards the lazy Values the individual Values the state, creates class warfare‐covets Encourages investment Discourages investment‐no reward Rewards work, effort and diligence Rewards laziness—covets Competes in business Competes for basic necessities—thus cruel Take care of the poor Creates destitute and poor Values an inheritance Taxes inheritance and steals it Values private property Controls or state ownership (steals)
Responsible for your own success State provides (vs. God)—regardless of effort Encourages use of capital to create more Profit is evil Business is good and honorable Business exploits Encourages creativity Discourages creativity—no reward Values the human spirit Values the state Values and defends God Atheistic or Polytheistic (many gods) Uses God’s values in society Removes God and His commands Understanding of human nature False understanding of human nature Limited government Big government with unlimited control Created in His image Evolution Values human life Little value of life—abortion Values business Blames business Creates incentive to grow and progress Steals incentive Conclusion: There are many other comparisons but I hope you get the idea. We are at a crossroad in our country and world. The fruit of socialism/communism is very evident. I hope this brief paper will help you to cement your beliefs and then be able to speak out and defend them. Capitalistic America is the most giving, compassionate, and benevolent country that has ever existed in human history. Be proud of who we are, what we have done and what we stand for. We have rescued the world over and over again from the despots of socialism/communism. Do not apologize. We are not perfect but we are not the evil colonizers of the world forcing our values on others that some believe. Americans have given millions of lives defeating the socialistic/communistic dictators that have tried to imprison the world. We have given trillions of dollars to help others. When someone apologizes for who and what we are they curse every life and every dollar that we gave to rescue and help this world. If you are really an American you will understand who we are—you will be proud to be an American—
you will defend America—you will not apologize. Please forward this to others. God Bless you in this war for America—GET INVOLVED! You can contact the author at [email protected], [email protected], www.akwellspring.com or 907.563.9033 13