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

Chapter One: Introduction to Economics 25 Second, as noted above, God allows unequal outcomes to grow His people as they choose to do the right thing voluntarily. In 2 Corinthians 8-9, the apostle Paul encouraged the Corinthians to complete their planned gift to poorer Christians to benefit the body of Christ (both the giver and the receiver). One of the Apostle’s major points was that the gift be voluntary—not compulsory—since God loves a cheerful giver. Third, one cannot conclude that income inequality in and of itself is necessarily inconsistent with God’s will. There are at least five reasons given in Scripture for poverty (this list is not necessarily comprehensive): 1. Slothful/lazy (Proverbs 6:6-11; 24:30-34; 26:13-16) 2. Natural disaster/drought/famine (1 Kings 17) 3. Exploitation by the powerful (James 2:6, 5:4) 4. Vows of poverty (Mark 12:41-44; Philippians 4:10-12) 5. God’s supernatural or providential action (Job 1; 1 Samuel 2:7) Likewise, there are at least three reasons for some being rich: 1. Hard work/diligence (Proverbs 10:4) 2. God’s divine blessing (1 Samuel 2:7 ; Proverbs 10:22) 3. Exploitation of the poor ( James 5:4 ) While it is incorrect to have the view that the poor are always poor because they are lazy, while the rich are rich because they are diligent and work hard, it is equally wrong to assume the poor are poor necessarily due to exploitation by the rich. There are a wide variety of reasons for inequality of outcomes, and they merit different responses. Few Christians would disagree that God calls His people to help the poor, yet it is by no means clear that the way we should help the poor is by taking from the rich, especially if the poor are in that situation through their rejection of biblical values (2 Thess. 3:10) . Indeed, a slothful man’s hunger may drive him to work for food, as his hunger works for him (Prov 16:26) as it does for all men. Biblical stewardship will have individuals exercising stewardship for the benefit of all to the glory of God! As Christians, we really need to come to grips with why an omnipotent, sovereign God who is all loving would allow any children to starve to death when He could send not only manna from heaven, but any other item needed. In the end, we must conclude that there is a bigger purpose to the pain of this world; somehow that pain is an integral part of God’s plan. Maybe God wants us to voluntarily be His hands and feet to a hurting