No Free Lunch: Economics for a Fallen World: Third Edition, Revised

Chapter One: Introduction to Economics 13 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-20 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. God is the master artist, and to magnify His own glory he created each one of us uniquely. He knit us together and numbered our days as we were fearfully and wonderfully made in our mothers’ wombs ! As Corinthians shows (as well as similar passages in Romans, or in Ephesians ), God makes us uniquely different that we may serve one another. God values diversity far more than a world that cries out for it. He gives different gifts to each of us, enabling us to serve one another better. Do not think this is simply speaking of spiritual gifts, although these gifts manifest in enhancing the spiritual organization of the church. Differences in individual interests lead some to pursue farming while others pursue shepherding, some choose to be musically inclined while others choose to work metal. In a fallen world, it is precisely our differences which provide the potential of a mutually beneficial exchange. This possibility fosters our cooperation with people who do not look or act like we do. If we were all identical, we’d have little reason to cooperate with one another. Our inherent God-given differences in abilities, interests and aptitudes creates the incentive for us to socially cooperate with others voluntarily in markets. I may not like to bake, but I sure enjoy a good pie. I might not even like you, but if you can do something I can’t, and give me something I want, I’m likely to be nice to you. My actions are therefore a reflection of God’s common grace to others. ECONOMIC SUMMARY OF CHRISTIAN ANTHROPOLOGY Our review of select portions of Genesis and 1 Corinthians leads to observations that drive our understanding of economics. There are four pillars that guide economic behavior: 1) We are individually created in the image of God, 2) we were created individually with different gifts that God intends us to use for His glory and the benefit of service to others 3) We are finite/dependent beings, and 4) We are fallen. Let’s review each of these in turn.