Introduction⤒🔗

The unemployment rate is, at the mo­ment, higher than it has been at any time since the "Great Depression" of the 1930s. The inflation rate is double-digit and barely declining. The Bank of Canada interest rate has just moved up again to protect a falling dollar.

All of you will recognize these de­pressing statements as being concerned with economics. But, do you realize that when you walk into Dominion to do your weekly shopping, that also is an economic matter? Or that when we pay our fees to our Christian schools and our donations to the church, that also relates to econom­ics? Or that when I decide to work on this article rather than to relax in my easy chair, that also is an economic decision?

All these matters have one thing in common. They are concerned with choos­ing among scarce resources — whether money, time, or something else. Scarcity and choice are the basics of economics. Scarcity is a fact of life — a fact Chris­tians recognize as resulting from the fall of man and God's curse on the earth (Genesis 3:17-19). More formally, economics is, as Rose¹, for instance, notes, "the science of choice" or "the study of how man acts (that is, chooses) in order to maximize his feeling of wellbeing."

This article attempts to move on from this general definition of economics to sketch out, very tentatively, a number of thoughts related to a Christian perspec­tive on economics. While I have come across a number of books²   concerning Christian views of economics, my study of these is far from complete. What I have read so far has presented me with many more questions than answers. My hope, in writing this article at this time, is that others may join in the search for solutions to these questions.

A Christian perspective←⤒🔗

A Christian who studies economics, while accepting the basic nature of eco­nomics as the study of alternative choices relating to scarce resources, will also rec­ognize a specific objective in making these choices. This objective we find, for in­stance, in a definition put forward already in 1921 by Nederbragt:

Economics is the study of the manner in which man must husband his resources,

• to fulfil the task God has assigned him in regards to his own maintenance,
• as God's fellow-worker in the complete unfolding and development of the material world, and
• to hasten the final end and return of Christ.³

Thus, a Christian does not seek to study economics in some neutral way but recognizes that resources must be used in such a way that they fulfil God's purpose for this world. We must appreciate that the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof. As Nijkamp has noted (p. 30):

Christian economic thought must real­ize foremost that, in the way income is earned, income is spent, time is used or power is exercised, no one is allowed to be guided by egoism or interests of par­ticular groups. All activities must be directed towards shaping, in obedience to God's word, a just and harmonious development of society.

From this perspective, we must seek to de­fine our views concerning the economic is­sues of the day.

Biblical principles←⤒🔗

To begin this reflection, I would like to share with you a few Biblical principles that various authors have stressed as being particularly relevant to the study of eco­nomics. I do not suggest that this is a com­prehensive list or that all these principles are equally relevant. I pass them on mere­ly as a starting point for discussion.

Stewardship — The most frequently noted of these principles is certainly that of Christian stewardship. For instance, in the March issue of Reformed Perspective, Dr. Oosterhoff refers to the cultural man­date, noting that man was appointed as steward of creation, with the mandate to use it in the service of its Owner, our Master.⁴  This we find in Genesis 1:28: "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

As Rose (p. 51) explains, man, the Lord's steward, "is to subdue (control) the earth in order that he may multiply, yet he is to replenish (pre­serve) its natural resources.

The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) also reinforces this Biblical no­tion of stewardship. All of us must be faithful in using the talents, the gifts, that have been entrusted to us, according to our ability. If we are not, we will share the lot of the worthless servant who buried his talents in the ground and was cast "into outer darkness."

Material wealth not wrong — The parable of the talents with its, "For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance," also implies that material wealth is not of itself wrong. In fact, the Bible teaches that wealth is a blessing from God. For example, Job 41:12 reads: "And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his begin­ning," after which we read of his material possessions. Abraham, also, was "very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold" (Genesis 13:2). Psalm 144 also shows the accept­ability of material blessings. Therefore, a Christian may enjoy all things God pro­vides as long as we give thanks to God the Creator, remembering 1 Corinthians 10:31, "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Materialism objectionable — It is, of course, clear from our definition of eco­nomics, that materialism — devotion to material things — must never be an objec­tive in itself. The Bible is full of warnings against a worldly, materialistic inclina­tion. For instance, in Luke 12:15, we find the Lord's warning, "Take heed and be­ware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." This warning is followed by the parable of the rich man who decided to build larger barns to store his crops in order to take it easy, to eat, drink and be merry. God's response to him, v. 20: "Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"

No need to worry — In fact, the Lord teaches, e.g. Matthew 6:22, "Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink." Rather, we are taught to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." Thus, as Christians, we are relieved from the worry about material needs.

Neighborly love — God teaches us also that we must at all times be ready to assist our neighbor. The second summary commandment of the law, "To love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39) is clear about this. Further evidence can be found in Deuteronomy 15:7; Luke 10:29-37; Acts 4:34; 20:34.

This concern, particularly as it relates to the poor, is, I think, of great importance in looking at today's economic issues. As Vickers (p.9) has written,

The status of the poor, the healthy functioning or otherwise of the economic system, the problems of de­pression and hunger and unemploy­ment that torture and humiliate a man, along with the agony of inflation that robs all men of their rightful property and wealth — surely these questions must exercise the minds of Christian men acutely.

This necessary concern for our fellow men is, for instance, likely to limit our enthu­siasm for supporting uncritically those who advocate a return to unrestricted free enterprise. This concern will no doubt be reflected in our view on aid to the so-called "Third World," whether through government (foreign aid, soft loan, etc.) or more privately through Mission, Mis­sion Aid, and various relief and develop­ment organizations.

Harmonization rather than conflict — Christian love for our neighbor and brother (see also 2 John: 5) suggests also a model of harmony rather than conflict. As such, the Marxian class struggle is ob­viously repugnant to the Christian, as is the continuation of this conflict as we see it so often in today's labor relations.

Issues to be studied←⤒🔗

This list of Biblical principles, while no doubt incomplete, gives us a starting point for the study of economics from a Christian perspective. However, the most difficult part is still to come. We must ap­ply these and/or other Biblical teachings to the economic problems that face us. Since the economic situation is continual­ly changing, such application will be an ongoing process requiring a lot of thought and discussion. To encourage this pro­cess, let me mention just some of the is­sues before us.

The limits of government — Even in most countries of the "free" world, the influence of government on the economic scene is all pervasive. In Canada, the pub­lic school system, the postal system, gar­bage collection, electricity distribution, Air Canada planes, Petro-Canada gas sta­tions, and the provincial and national parks are just some of the ways in which governments directly participate. Zoning bylaws, sales permits, The Foreign Invest­ment Review Agency, and the National Energy Board are a few of the tools that governments use to regulate. Income taxes, sales taxes, petroleum and gas taxes, and many more taxes reduce indi­vidual and business purchasing power, while the spending of the revenues so col­lected allow governments to further direct our economy.

Is all this influence necessary or desir­able? What, if anything, does the Bible teach us about the limits of government? Rose (p.73) suggests that "the problem of properly limiting the effective power of civil magistrates penetrates to the very moral foundation of Western Christian-based society." He himself concludes (p.95) that, "the most basic function — indeed, the only necessary function of civil government is to safeguard property so that individuals can go about exchang­ing goods and services with each other peacefully and for mutual benefit." (He refers to 1 Timothy 2:1,2). He argues that a Christian must favor the least possible amount of government power because, due to the depravity of man, "heads of civil government can not be safely trusted to wield arbitrary economic power over other men."

Article 36 of the Belgic Confession, however, teaches us that the depravity of man is the very reason why God has ap­pointed "kings, princes and magistrates." Thus, the same Scriptural principle is used to support opposing arguments.

A more balanced view of the role of government is presented by Nijkamp (p. 99):

Government must create such condi­tions that everyone can, in personal responsibility, fulfil his calling and task as well as he can (e.g. the advance­ment of education, providing informa­tion and acting against excesses in power structures and social in­equality). Against government pater­nalism, an appeal must constantly be made to everyone's own responsibility and involvement ...

However, even this statement is quite gen­eral and still requires further development in specific situations. Moreover, the Scriptural proofs for the statement could usefully be made more explicit. The last word on this issue has certainly not been heard — particularly, since, with Reagan and Thatcher, the advocates of reduced government are highly visible.

Free enterprise or government con­trol — The limits of government of course, is the central question in the argu­ment between those who favor free enter­prise — a free market or capitalistic sys­tem — and those who advocate a govern­ment-directed economy — socialism. In many countries, of course, the economic system is a mixture of these two, and a continual tug-of-war occurs as to which direction to go.

It is not my intent, at this time, to suggest which of these systems, if any, the Christian should support. A lot of study is still necessary, I think, to answer this question. I believe, though, that we should be very careful to unreservedly cloak free enterprise with the mantle of Christianity and should be most careful in using Scriptural references.

For instance, Taylor (p.9) argues,

Man ... was created for freedom in fellowship and fellowship in freedom with his Creator and with his neigh­bors. Hence the Christian is obliged to struggle for a condition of affairs in which man's freedom is maximized. Experience has shown that such free­dom is only possible under a responsi­ble type of capitalism or free market economy.

However, while this view may appear at­tractive, I have not seen the Scriptural evidence that freedom must be maximized to this extent.

Consider also Rose (p.55) who, refer­ring to Deuteronomy 19:14, "Thou shalt not re­move thy neighbor's landmark," argues that "the Lord recognizes man's econom­ic necessity and moral right to have ex­clusive access to and control over a par­ticular piece of land." However, it seems to me that God here merely forbids theft of another's land. I doubt whether the reference supports the idea that everyone must have his own piece of land. That is, to argue, as Rose does, that "national land policies which deprive large masses of humanity from ready access to land ... clearly violates the Word of God," I think, is not justified by the evidence pro­duced.

Please do not misunderstand me. I, personally also favor free enterprise, but do so, at the moment, based on pragmatic reasons. It is, I think, the system that works best, although its excesses can and must be tempered by government. But, I am not prepared to claim at this time that free enterprise is the Christian alternative. That, I believe, has not been proven.

Other issues — The problems of the limits of government and the choice of economic system — free enterprise or gov­ernment control — are only two of the is­sues requiring further study. Other ques­tions we should address are:

• Should inflation continue to be bat­tled at the cost of more unemploy­ment?
• Christian authors reject the tendency to strive for continued growth at all costs. However, given our mandated love for our neighbor, to what extent can the hardships of the unemployed be alleviated without economic growth? How can a shrinking pie be redivided?
• Should we be concerned with an "equitable" distribution of income? Is it right that E.M. Bronfman, Chairman of Seagram Co., should make $1,064,288 a year and A.J. de Grandpre, Chairman of Bell Canada, should earn $626,000?
• What is our stand on debt? Taylor (p.54) states that "according to God's law, debt is only to be con­tacted in emergencies," i.e. "indebt­edness is a basic category of sinful ac­tion" (p.68). Must we strictly apply the Old Testament teachings in this regard?
• What is our stand on interest? Taylor argues that we may lend to strangers at interest for all purposes but to believers only for productive purposes.
• What about economic nationalism? What about "Buy Canadian"? Is this not, at least to some extent, a matter of selfishness, showing little love for others, e.g., the Third World?
• What should a Christian think about advertising? Nijkamp (p.12) argues that advertising is one of the driving forces to greater materialism making consumers aware of "needs" that they do not know they have. How­ever, is some advertising not a neces­sary providing of information? Where, then, do you draw the line?
• Finally, do we in our church and school related activities operate as "economically" as possible? Nij­kamp (p.99) notes that "within the church community we need to strive towards an expenditure of time and money as effectively and efficiently as possible. Not only must waste be prevented (e.g. through duplication of activities) but we must try to spread the many activities within the communion of saints as evenly as possible among all, taking into ac­count everyone's specific capacities ... Also in the church communion the Biblical command of stewardship applies: everyone (and not just a few) must apply their talents here."

You can no doubt add many more similar questions. Many of them we dis­cuss regularly without attempting to bring to bear our Christian background. Hope­fully, this introductory discussion will encourage us to recognize that these are all issues in which we also are, as Nederbragt noted, God's fellow-workers in the devel­opment of the world. To be His fellow-workers, we must strive to understand His commandments, also as they apply to eco­nomics.