Founder’s Journal

A dime has two sides: heads and tails. Regardless of which side faces up, you can tell you are holding a dime. The coin is inherently worth 10 cents even if you can’t see the side that is facing down. Simply by looking at one side you can describe the other.

Humility, the great quality of Jesus so richly described and often mentioned in Scripture, also has two sides. There is the outward side, which is behavioral and easily observed by others. Some people have a “low look”, they are obviously unaggressive and exhibit virtually no pride. Jesus said about Himself “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Mat 11:29)

In the early church, a great disagreement arose whether one could consume meat that had been offered to pagan idols. Believers of all faiths offered sacrifices through their priests. Often the best cuts of beef and lamb were brought to the temples for this purpose. Once the offering had been prayed over, the priests immediately took the fresh product to the market to be sold. The priests earned money through this practice. However, some early Christians severely objected to the purchase of meat that had been offered to pagan gods. This became a contentious debate among believers – is it permissible or not?

The Lord’s fundamental identity is to be a Father.  He wants us to draw close to Him as spiritual sons.  He also encourages our relationship with our natural fathers, when possible.  He pours grace into our relationship with a spiritual father, as well.

Here is a conversation-starter for you and your Dad, whether you choose to converse with your natural father or your spiritual father.

As you continue to explore your identity as a spiritual father, be willing to press deeper, to the true, biblical meaning of the term.  We can colloquially say you are “fathering” certain individuals, but be willing to challenge yourself:  is it really fathering, or perhaps discipling, or maybe just training?  There is a difference between those three roles.

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)