Tag: jesus

My Favorite Economic System

I’m sure some of you thought I was crazy when I posted last week that I think capitalism, socialism and communism are all fine economic systems, depending upon the moral fabric of the people engaged in them.

Some of you think capitalism is the only way. Others think it is the ruin of the world. Most of us consider communism to be untenable, while a few believe that it is the only way to fairness for everyone. Socialism, somewhere in the middle of the two, also has proponents and adversaries.

My favorite economic system is what I would call, compassionate capitalism. Here’s where I get it from. The Bible says that people need to work to eat and that workers should be paid fair wages. The Bible says that each family must work to provide for itself, but that farmers should not harvest all of their fields, but leave some food behind for those less fortunate.

The Bible asks people to give a tenth of what they make to the church, who then is to distribute some of that to those who are truly in need. The Bible says to set up a roll for those who are in need, but only those who are truly unable to work are allowed on the list.

The New Testament Christians lived somewhat communistically, having everything in common. But it was done as one wished, not required.

The Bible repeatedly decries laziness, but also continually admonishes those who have to share with those who are poor.

A recent example in my life is this. I work about 24 hours a week, and decided to use some of that money to go to a conference several weeks ago. Unfortunately, that conference ended up being canceled due to severe weather. I did cancel my airline tickets in hopes of using them another day. However, I told the hotel, the person I was renting my car from, and the conference host organization that they could keep the money that I had already paid them, as I knew that they were suffering greatly because of the destruction the weather wrought.

That is compassionate capitalism. I work hard and get paid fair wages (sometimes a little on the low side, but that is because my husband makes plenty of money to keep our family afloat, so I can afford to get paid a little less as a way to bless those I am working for). I then spend my money to support others who are working hard. And when tragedy strikes, I am able to bless them with money that I had already planned to spend, even though I will no longer reap the benefit, sort of like the farmer who leaves behind some of the harvest for those less fortunate. I also do donate to organizations who help people during natural and human-made catastrophes.

Let us truly love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We love ourselves plenty most of the time.

If we work and spend as a way of loving others, the perfect economic system will naturally form.

Now I get it!

When I would read the Bible passage about leaving the weeds in the field with the good grain, I have to admit that I kind of wondered about it. The explanation given is that if the weeds are pulled up, the wheat amongst which the weeds are growing may also be uprooted.

(See the Bible passage, Matthew 13:24-30, here)

But if the gardeners went really slowly and were really careful, shouldn’t it be possible to uproot the weeds without pulling up the wanted plants. I’m not saying that it would be easy, but shouldn’t it be doable?

Fast forward not quite 2000 years to today.

I have been working in my garden this spring to uproot a particularly aggressive ground cover that not only likes to cover the ground, but grow over and choke out everything else in its path.

For those who know me well, I can be considered rather slow at whatever I accomplish. I like to be careful and thorough. Things often turn out well, but I have been known to be told that I am as slow as molasses in January. My response to that – I was born in January, so I guess there isn’t much I can do about it! I have learned to pick up the pace when necessary, but it is not me preferred way of operation.

So, in my usual slow, methodical way I have been carefully eradicating the beautiful but destructive ground cover from my front flower bed. And even as slow and careful as I am trying to be, I cannot even begin to tell you how many plants that were supposed to stay planted have also come out of the ground with the unwanted pest.

Now I get it!

Thank you, God, for your gentleness and patience, even when it means that you must endure weeds in your garden.

Oh, and the good news of the Gospel is that if we happen to be a weed, we can easily ask Jesus to make us into the wanted wheat simply by admitting we are a weed and accepting that he makes us wheat through his death and resurrection.

Only by the Grace of God

The older I get the more amazed I am at all of the good things that happen around me.

I know how lazy and evil I can be. And I know how just plain inept I am, even when I am trying my best. And I was voted, “Most Likely to Succeed,” by my high school classmates. If I, who am considered successful by others, am this incompetent, how does anything good get accomplished?

I was talking to my daughter about this last Saturday evening, realizing how much God must fill in for our lack.

Then, Sunday morning, our first hymn was this:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
  the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy
  health and salvation!
    All ye who hear,
Now to His temple draw near;
Sing now in glad adoration!

Praise to the Lord, who o’er all
  things so wondrously reigneth,
Who, as on wings of an eagle,
  uplifteth, sustaineth.
    Hast thou not seen
How thy desires all have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully,
  wondrously, made thee!
Health hath vouchsafed and, when
  heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
    What need or grief
Ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper
  thy work and defend thee,
Who from the heavens the streams of
  His mercy doth send thee.
    Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
Who with His love doth befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that
  is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come
  now with praises before Him!
    Let the Amen
Sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

Meek?

I just recently heard meekness defined as:

strength under control

In spite of years of Bible studies on the Sermon on the Mount I never understood what it meant to be meek. Did it mean to be a doormat? a person without an opinion? How could such people “inherit the earth?”

I mean, I know that with God all things are possible, and if He says it, then it’s true. And He likes to do things in counter-intuitive ways, often ways that are the exact opposite of our natural, human inclinations. But meek, mousy people inheriting the earth?

Now meekness being strength under great restraint, that is something I can understand. It corroborates with the following Old Testament teachings:

 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

Proverbs 15:1

Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

Proverbs 25:15

Anyone that knows me well knows that I can be quite the talker. And meekness is, unfortunately, not my signature style.

With the new year just beginning, and my birthday yesterday, I am regularly being asked what resolutions I have for this year.

I haven’t made resolutions the past few years but this year I would like to grow in meekness.

I’ve already had many opportunities to practice it, and I have to say, it is much more effective than I would have ever dreamed possible (this is where Jesus is shaking his head incredulously saying, “Oh ye of little faith”)!

I highly recommend meekness!

The next time we find ourselves in difficult situations where we really should speak up, let’s remember to be meek – strong but gentle.