THE ECONOMICS OF CHRIST

One of the multitude said to him, "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me."  But he said to him, "Man, who made me judge or divider over you?"  And he said to them, "Take heed and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life doesnot consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:13-15).

I have been doing some reading about economics lately.  As a pastor/counselor it has motivated me to think about how Christ and Christianity fit into today's world.  It is important to think about because, though the American economy maybe nearly last in the race to the bottom, it is still headed for the bottom.  So what should be our concerns and our responsibility right now?

My "Silver Bullets" have never been thoroughly refined, but are, rather, thoughts that have come to me as a result of reading, study and conversation with others.  There might be some gapping holes in my reasoning, but putting my thoughts into writing helps me to think things through.

In the time of his flesh Jesus was among people who were taxed to death, paying taxes to the Romans, to the "Herods", client kings of the Romans and paying the temple tax for the building and maintaining the temple.  Though there were wealthy people, most were poor.  If a day's labor was missed, a day's eating, if not missed, was very slim.  In this kind of poverty, the teaching of Jesus did not champion a particular kind of economic system or political system, though I do believe Adam Smith's "invisible hand" connects with Christian teaching far more than socialism or marxism.

What we know about Christ and economics from this text is that Jesus was not a materialist.  If we reduce life to materialism then life becomes meaningless and without value.  It is important to note that the economic systems that do this are inherent killers.  In the 20th century, socialist/marxist/facist governments destroyed way over one hundred million of their own people.  Life consists in putting first things first and then an abundance of good second things will follow.

Until next time, read Luke 12:16-21.

Love & Prayers,
Tom