ADVANCING LIGHT: THE ECONOMICS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Old Testament DEMANDS right economics, which is ever antagonized by national sin, termed "the iniquity of covetousness," and against which God's wrath so frequently and fearfully flared.

In the New Testament, equitable economics is first an empowering endowment, a gift which accompanies grace received, and guarantees the practice of justice in all of life's relationships, and that, usually, with enthusiasm. (GAL. 2:10.)

Spiritual life, not legislation, is the only motive power of this brotherly love, consideration, and service. Unless right economic practice voluntarily flows from the individual heart, class antagonisms and jealousies are inevitable.

Here all dictatorships fall down, as do communistic appropriations of wealth and socialistic legislation which conscripts others' property. Conscriptions, under whatever pretext, can never confer spiritual life. That only comes from God and is often so deep and joyous that its possessors place no value on anything except their potential and actual service worth.

 A REAL COMMUNITY OF GOODS

The historic book, The Acts, pictures a Christian Communism. Each, voluntarily, placed his total resources into a common fund which was held sacredly subservient to the current needs of every one. Need, without embarrassing questionnaire, depreciation of personality, delay, or the hint of bribery to political allegiance, therefore, was the only requisite to participation in this fund:

"And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all MEN, as every man had need" (Acts 2:44, 45).

All was spontaneously voluntary. The only force was brotherly love, consideration, eagerness to serve. It was a community of goods because of a prior community of good, because each had drawn from a common Fountain living water which expanded into rivers of human helpfulness. The NEW MAN was the only motive of this NEW DEAL. Egregious error, arrogant human presumption would rush into this realm where angels fear to tread and promise to men its effects, a NEW DEAL, without its tremendous spiritual motive power, without its all-essential preface -- "And great grace was upon them all." (Acts 4:32-37.)

This Christian community of goods is the very antipodes of the covetousness and lust for others' possessions Which actuates wild, destructive, anti-Christian communism, and Bolshevism which arbitrarily appropriates the fruit of others' toil. Socialized legislation with the same objective has no justification here. Neither has the dictator's arbitrary conscription of wealth, nor monarchical exactions. In fact: dictator, demagogue, bureaucrat, tyranny of monarchy, minority or majority, all miss the sole motive of ideal Bible Economics -- "By love serve one another," which, in turn, is constrained by love from, of, and for, Christ. (II Cor. 5:14.)

This ideal Christian communism had safeguards against abuse: the discipline of nations, churches, individuals, is safe with Deity and His unerring law of compensation.

Income misrepresented, part of the price of harmony with this glad evangel of brotherly love withheld, brought summary judgment upon the first man who thus despised its Author. Detected, Ananias perjured himself and fell dead, a warning to insincerity which cloaks itself by zeal for God and identification with the Church. Soon his wife, in complicity with Ananias' attempted deception, meets a like fate. Ananias, for his duplicity, earned the unenviable distinction of fathering liars. (Acts 5:1-11.)

These two are typical of many who "keep back part of the price" of that whole-souled devotion and capacity service needed. Hence the popularity of fractional slogans: "We do our part."

The thief was commanded to play fair; to work and contribute to the common fund whence the needs of all, pro rata, were supplied:

"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth" (Eph. 4:28).

While this happy company "had all things common," and "neither was there any among them that lacked," partisan narrowness did not limit their largesses to their own number. They were unwearied in well-doing to all men without expectation of reward in return:

"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto ALL MEN, especially unto them who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:9, 10).

Christ gave a searching word on the motive, method, and objective of doing good:

"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

"Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues [Radio and Press] and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

"But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: "That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly" (Matt. 6:1-4).

OTHER NEW TESTAMENT ECONOMIC ENUMERATIONS

Strength of brawn or brain, versatile resourcefulness, ability, talents, authority, surplus money, all increase the privilege of service and obligation to serve.

"We then that are strong ought [to owe] to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves" (Rom. 15:1).

Not from a sense of duty, or from fear of riot or revolution -- sometimes revenging national selfishness-but voluntarily welcome the privilege, for:

"Ye have the poor ^[7] with you always, and whensoever YE WILL ye MAY do them good" (Mark 14:7).

This does not mean the disbursing of all principal to the poor, exceptionally demanded of some who were deeply complacent in self-righteousness, but its retention in order to a continuous and more extensive service and better account of the stewardship of wealth, for:

"Strong men retain riches" (Prov. 11:16).

What of the attitude to government and to the payment of taxes, tribute, custom?

We have abundantly shown God's repudiation of unjust rulers. For rightly constituted government and duly appointed rulers there is a stimulating word of command as to how their work should be done:

"He that ruleth, with diligence" (Rom. 12:8). "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. "Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

"For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

"For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to EXECUTE wrath upon him that doeth evil. "Wherefore YE must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. "For, for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

"Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute IS DUE; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor" (Rom. 13:1-7).

Charity is to be administered without ostentation, in simplicity; mercy, to be shown with cheerfulness. (Rom. 12:8.) Personality is not to be depreciated because the privilege of this administration confers greater benefit upon the servers than upon the recipients: oppression of the poor reproaches his maker. By "pleading" for the widow and the orphan is not meant drives for charity, but justice in all relationships with them, often obviating the necessity of relief.

Bible Economics indicates the type of labor:

"Maintain good works for necessary uses" (Titus 3:14);

Also the justice and equality which govern the worker's wage scale:

"The laborer is worthy of his hire" (Luke 10:7);

And:

"Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal" (Col. 4:1).

This principle, rather than a universally applicable wage scale governing all wage contracts, prevails.

There are no mediators to adjust differences between capital and labor, just the master and the servant and the Great impartial Master of each in heaven, whom they are to remember and please in all of their agreements. (Eph. 6:9.)

In return for a just wage the servant is commanded to work heartily. (Evil. 6:1.)

The legitimate profit motive is recognized and approved for capital:

"In all labor [brain and brawn] there is profit" (Prov. 14:23).

Yet the monetary reward for both labor and capital is secondary; the service and joy to others through the utilitarian articles manufactured is their chief reward.

Surpluses earned beyond capital and labor's need assisted the legitimate indigent, to whom all the fortunate (employed and independent), scattered their largess after the example of their common Master, the world's greatest character, who thus found His supreme joy:

"I am among you as he that serveth." "Greater is he that serves than he that sitteth at meat" (See Luke 22:27).

The spirit which should actuate the man distributing the products manufactured is delineated:

"Not slothful in business; fervent [eager] in spirit; serving the Lord" (Rom. 12:11).

So will he find happiness and profit and make joyful his colaborers without whom his business is impossible.

A New Deal, without first the supernatural creation of the New Man, is impossible. It is the cart before the horse.

The New Man in capital, pays labor adequately; in labor, gives an honest work return; in selling, fair prices; in buying, handles his limit to keep the wheels of production constantly whirling; in government, legislates with impartial justice to the rich and the poor.

Also, the servant, the worker, works honestly, even where the employer, the capitalist, is not illuminated to justice and equality, for the illumination of both labor and capital is the objective of Bible Economics.

Likewise, the subjects of rulers who lack understanding (a type who are always great oppressors), patiently endure, work, agitate, educate, vote for reform, or the elimination of such rulers, whom, as one aptly said, the law of Bible Economics must be done "through or to."

The corrosion of selfish hoarding is indicated. For as human blood, stagnated, hence uncirculated, kills the individual, so money, the life blood of commerce, when stagnated -uncirculated -- kills the body politic.

When Zacchaeus, the avaricious tax-gouger, saw Him who is the embodiment of right economics, he at once became conscious of his legalized larceny of taxes and offered to make four-fold restitution to all he had robbed, to refund to those he had oppressed.

John, the Baptist, startled the politically entrenched and velvet-collecting priests by his conception of sharing the wealth: "He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." John also had a word for the greedy tax collectors, the publicans: "Exact no more than that which is appointed you."

He called this laying the ax at the root of the tree of selfishness and fruitlessness: Luke 3:9, 13.

James warns those who amass riches fraudulently that their rusted and cankered gold shall be the chief witness against them in the final assize "and shall eat your flesh as it were fire." (James 5:3-5.) Because they defrauded, lived in pleasure and wantonness, forgetting the love of God and the service of men.

Utility, active service, is the acid test, in Bible economic parlance, of justly gained money's right use, of real statesmanship, of sincere patriotism, and is a cardinal sign of the true Church.

Miserly penuriousness is condemned; it tends to poverty of spirit. Economy is commended -- salvaging the fragments that nothing be lost. Liberality tends to health. "He that deviseth liberal things by liberal things shall he stand."

"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself" (Prov. 11:25).

Bible Economics seeks to detach men from looking, unduly, for real life enjoyment to the mere possession of material things:

"A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15).

Later, this incomparable Example and Authority on the life that wins revealed the source of real life:

"This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3)

Thrown in with that, so to speak, is the promise of sufficiency in all legitimate things and the essential surplus to abound in every good work. (II Cor. 9:8.)

Wealth circulated yields joy here and draws compound interest in heaven's unbreakable bank forever. It thus escapes war-conscription, depression-depreciation, dictatorship-deflation, socialistic appropriation, and wild communistic pillage.

Bible Economics champions never enjoined a standard on others which they did not first practice themselves.

Paul said "In me first... for a pattern."

"Only they WOULD that we SHOULD remember the poor; the same which I also was FORWARD to do" (Gal. 2:10).

Some one aptly observed that Christ lived the Gospel for thirty years in order to teach it three years.

One of His historians, Luke, is careful to observe this order in his introduction to The Acts of the Apostles:

"Of all things that Jesus began BOTH TO DO and teach" (Acts 1:1).

Hear, practice, teach, was the order for His disciples. Of Him, John said:

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4).

These, from their Fountain Source, are some of the high spots of that stronger faith in God and greater national righteousness which the leader of the New Deal rightly says are America's greatest present need!

7 -- Not the indolent strong, coddled in idleness, but the legitimate weak and poor.