Work and Wealth: A Biblical Paradigm

Hard at Work
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I was at a home Bible study a few days ago and the topic of socialism, capitalism, and consumption came up. The person who mentioned the subject was sincerely expressing his viewpoint which was the idea that socialism is more in line with Christian living. Being my usual self, I responded like a bull in a china closet and was completely dismissive in my attitude and with my words. Thankfully the leader wisely moved us back to the topic at hand. After I repented, I decided that it would be appropriate to find resources that I could share with my brother which would effectively communicate a biblical perspective of work and wealth. one of the better resources that I found was an article written by Darrow Miller of World Evangelical Alliance. The article is titled Great Commission Utilitarianism. The article is intended to provide a biblical critique  of Christian utilitarianism and in so doing, also does an excellent job of comparing and contrasting four economic philosophies from a biblical perspective:

1. Okonomia: Stewardship of Creation

2. Idealistic Socialism

3. Chrematistics or Predatory Capitalism

4. Classic Communism

In the article, Miller concludes “…[this] dualistic paradigm has caused the Church to separate work from worship and wealth from the building of communities and nations. We need to return to the richness of the biblical paradigm and leave behind the anemic vision of Great Commission Utilitarianism…”

I believe that this article is a must read for Christians who wish to develop a Biblical worldview of economics, wealth, and work. Read the entire article here.