Saturday, August 2, 2014

How Creation relates to Economics

     We can find wisdom in  the Bible for every scenario. The principles taught can be applied to every aspect of our lives and taught in all areas and subjects of education including economics. Economics comes from two greek words oikos and nomas. Oikos meaning house and nomas meaning rules (or stewardship as translated in the bible). These laws will operate regardless of the size or persons involved.  One simple example of this is if you consume less than you produce you can become rich. In Genesis we find the account of creation as recorded by Moses at the inspiration of God. We can learn many economic basics from these amazing passages where God speaks everything into existance.
       The creation account in Genesis helps to form our beginning principles of understanding economics. It shows us that God has sovereign  authority over all things. He has sovereign power over all things and He owns all things. Since we know that God created the world out of nothing we can then assume that there is no scarcity with God. We know that God designed the natural laws and that he decides how things and matter get distributed. We are best able to discern the principles by which God designed the world by studying His Word. We can learn about Gods sovereignty, His love and compassion and His power by just looking at the order of the universe. Psalm 19 declares that the glory of God is in His handiwork.
     Now humor this thought for a moment. If everything that exists today by chance exploded out of nothing and slowly over billions of years evolved into what we know today as reality how would that impact how we look at economic issues. How would our understanding of the beginning of the world impact our ethics? If we simply evolved from animals and we don't have a soul than there can't be a right and wrong and we therefore can only rely on what feels good to discern our actions. Thus in economics one would adopt a finders -keepers mantality. If we live in a world where only the fittest survive men must get to the top by any means necessary. This includes cheating, stealing or ripping off, lying or deceiving all to get what you want. Also those who are in positions of ruling or law making are more apt to make decisions that benefit only them and their friends. They are more willing to eliminate free trade by tampering with the economic system. Taking away men's God given freedoms, which by taking away their ability to trade freely we are never ends well. Oh, it may prosper you and your nation for a time, but you will reap the consequences of this train of mind.
      Now say that we believe that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and he created all the living things in them. In fact he created everything there is and ever will be, but he made something special. He formed mankind with His own hands in His own image with a soul and gave him a consience. He tells us in the bible the difference from right and wrong and come Adams sin our eyes were opened to the grotesqueness of wrongdoing and the joy of the right. God gave us the holy spirit to guide us and he gives un an unction as our comforter so that we would know all things in Christ Jesus. So how does this understanding affect how we look at economics? Well first of all we would realize that as Psalm 24:1 says "The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." No matter what men say, the earth is God's. Next we would realize that we must follow the same ethical values we do in all other aspects of our life in the area involving trade and money. How we see our beginnings totally changes our view of everything.
     God creating man in it of itself is an act of grace. God has authority and power over man as with the rest of creation. Even in the fall of mankind the serpent does NOT have this power. Only God can make more, and give and take abundantly. The devil can only change and minipulate. God established Adam and Eve in a place of glory and comfort that did not create. That was an act of grace. And after their sin he knew He must kick them out, which was another act of grace, lest they eat of the tree of life and live forever in sin. But God has now promised all people a restoration of this paradise, to a place where we will be able to worship in blissful joy forever if we believe in His son's atonement for our sins and repent of their wretchedness. Thus we can see that God's everlasting love and grace is evident even in the miraculous act of creation.
     We can see how an atheistic worldview dramatically affects how one would view the economic world.  It would obviously abolish free trade and would allow for much more economic minipulation and deceitfullness. Truly everything boils down to ethics. We must remember that we are not to tamper with Gods economic laws just as it would be brainless to try and change the law of gravity. When we do not leave our brains or Christian values at the door when we address economic issues and we look to the Bible for guidance we can see how radically different our world would be. We musn't forget how the doctrines shown in the wonderful creation account relate to economics.

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