In my last post, I introduced the story of Joseph’s governorship of Egypt. I will now use this story to explore some important economic questions. These are:
Is it right to save for the future?
How should we form our expectations about the future?
Who is responsible for ensuring our future security – individuals or government?
When Joseph came before Pharaoh, he set out his manifesto for government. If we think about grain as being the “currency” of Egypt, his 14-year master plan was to run up a budget surplus for seven years and then use these savings to finance a budget deficit over the next seven years. This is essentially a reverse policy to what is happening in the UK today where any surpluses made in the government accounts over the next few years will go towards financing debts of the past rather than saving for the future.
So what does God think about saving for the future? I’m not going to delve into a full Bible study now, but it does appear that there are a number of mixed messages coming from the Bible. The concept of God as a father and provider gives rise to the notion that we should live a hand-to-mouth existence, consuming what we need for today and not storing anything up for tomorrow. This appears to be the lesson that God was teaching the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 16:16-20) and also chimes with a lot of what Jesus had to say (e.g. Matthew 6:25-26, Luke 9:3-5, Luke 12:16-21). However, there is also plenty of Scripture that points out our own responsibilities towards providing for the future, not least the story of Joseph and God’s commission to mankind to rule over creation (Gen 1:28-30 – see my earlier post on stewardship). Furthermore, borrowing and lending were very much part of Israel’s economy (Exodus 22:25-27) and Jesus also commended good investment decisions (Matthew 25:14-30).
I think that the economy of Eden, as described in Genesis 1-2, incorporates both of these perspectives. God in his grace provided for his creatures but Adam and Eve were still active in their own provision, taking care of the garden to ensure that it produced a harvest. To my mind, this picture of the garden shows how investment is woven into the fabric of nature itself. The whole process of sowing and reaping is analogous to putting your money in the bank and then withdrawing it at a later date.
If saving for the future is a good thing, how do we decide how much to save? This will be my subject next time.
Great post Andy, thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate the analogy of sowing and harvest with the act of saving or investing - one interesting observation is the return on investment of literal sowing; 30, 60 or 100 times - to me, speaks of the abundance of God's kingdom.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought, Gods provision for israel in the desert was a temporary thing - once into the promised land, the manna stops and they are expected to work the land, so perhaps not such a mixed message. I'd say it's consistent with a loving father who intervened to provide for them while they were in immediate need but saw to it that long term they were able to take responsibility for themselves and learn to steward their resources.
I like your observation about the return on sowing. But then how come farmers are among the poorest people in the world and financiers are among the richest?
ReplyDeleteAs for your point about the manna, I totally agree. Productivity and investment are the normal means by which wealth should be created and the needs of a nation met. However, this can easily lead to self-sufficiency which in turn leads to greed (Luke 12:16-21) or fear (Matthew 6:25-26). Sometimes we need to be reminded of who is actually in control and we learn this during times when we are more directly reliant on God's provision.
I take your point about the comparative wealth of farmers and financiers. I think though, that there is a lot we can learn about Gods intention for business and investment from the natural means of investment built into creation. For example, I think there is a stark contrast between the aims and outcomes of farming and banking. Farming is a form of investment in the land that is fundamentally bound up in the welfare of the people. That's not to say all farmers are altruistic, but what they do is geared to serve the whole community by providing sustainance, health, energy etc.
ReplyDeleteThis to me seems to be a model for how business (and banking) should also be geared to serve and sustain the community. I think in it's current form, the world of business is primarily geared to exploit the community. Again, clearly not all businessmen are evil exploiters and there are no doubt many in agriculture are just as exploitative. My point is not to compare our existing models of farming and business but to look at the principles god has built into the natural mechanisms of investment and learn from them