About 60 times, the Bible uses the term “inherit” and about 190 times it mentions “inheritance”. That’s pretty significant. The topic immediately reminds us of what an older, loving family member leaves to the children in a will. When God uses those words, He wants us to take them seriously. His fundamental identity is “Father”, so He is prone to plan for His family’s needs.
One of my Pastor buddies sang an acapella version of the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” at a luncheon we attended. It was a magnificent performance which stirred my soul. The Lord prompted me to concentrate on these lyrics: “All I have needed thy hand has provided.” Those words are so encouraging and comforting to me. But when we sing this triumphant piece, do we realize that we are expressing thanks to God for His commonwealth economy? If He provides His children everything they need “according to His riches in Christ Jesus”, then why strive?
In Part 2 of this Kingdom Economics series, I dug a theoretical foundation but didn’t supply the blueprint. I hope to clarify any remaining uncertainty with this piece.
1. NO OVERLAY — First, I am not suggesting or asserting that our earthly economic systems should be converted to a Christian Commonwealth. We should not make a pact with others to enter into a manmade and man-controlled system.
In considering the merits of various economic systems, we run the risk of arguing from man’s history back to God’s intent. We may even be caught examining our historical abuse and religious mismodeling of God’s intentions and then demanding legal protection from our own foolishness. This would be deductive reasoning running amok. Examining evidence and reasoning to its source serves us well in solving crimes such as “Who ate all the cookies?” or “Who murdered JFK?”
Friends of mine have proposed and defended the theory that capitalism is the economic system which best manifests God’s Kingdom on Earth. Although it’s certainly an excellent wealth-producing mechanism when the playing field remains level, I believe that capitalism is NOT the best we can do. It is certainly an excellent, but imperfect system when compared to the economic structure of the Kingdom. I intend on reasoning from scripture, sometimes quoting directly, sometimes paraphrasing, hopefully preventing my theory from dissolving into something pseudo-spiritual. Let’s begin with a grand strategy and add specifics later.
In this era man has rapidly transferred his allegiance and devotion away from God and toward himself. As in Babel, Sodom, ancient Israel, and ancient Greece, man has begun afresh to worship his own image. In a fit of narcissism, he has displaced the living God as the central focus of his devotion and replaced Him with a statue of a human. Like Lucifer, we now say, “I will make myself like the Most High.” (Isa 14:14)
Certain men are born with big, self-sufficient personalities. They are wired to win and to lead, not merely to participate. Some apply these qualities in competitive athletics, politics, business pursuits, scientific discovery, or the military. They are larger-than-life men like Joshua who was told by God:
