Cedarville Magazine 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, OH 45314 1-888-CEDARVILLE | magazine@cedarville.edu cedarville.edu/magazine Business (and free enterprise more generally) is vastly underappreciated in our culture. Almost every political climate has had a populist party that blames society’s problems on wealthy business elites, and ours is no exception. It’s understandable. People tend to think of the world as a zero-sum game, where one person doing well means another person is harmed. The good news is that this view is completely false. You don’t have to come to my economics class to know that when you make a trade with someone, both you and the other person believe that you’ll be better off! Otherwise, you wouldn’t make the trade! Even when you deliberately trade to benefit the other party, your generosity leads you to be happier because you know you imaged your Father who is in heaven. The marketplace is a place to make exchanges, and every exchange leads to more societal value since it makes both parties happier. These exchanges can get very complex, but the voluntary nature of exchange always leads to more value. When I exchange my time and effort for a salary at Cedarville University, I consider all the benefits of this role (which for almost all employees includes the amazing opportunity to help shape young people into more mature Christians in addition to the salary.) To me, these benefits are more rewarding than any other choice I could have made. Every entrepreneur creates exchanges that add value to both parties, and they do this most effectively when they solve a big problem. Many of us don’t like Amazon’s politics, for example, but we’re happy that we live in a world where things magically show up on our doorstep the day after we order them! Amazon’s relentless focus on driving down logistics costs and time has created amazing value and completely upended the way we purchase things. Any successful business is based on satisfying their customers. When they don’t satisfy us as much as we’d like, that just provides another entrepreneur with the opportunity to step in and do a better job! In the garden, we see each day of creation leading to more complexity and diversity. Chaos becomes more orderly each day. God is the ultimate problem-solver of Scripture; He solved the problem of our sin by sending His Son to pay the price for us, bringing order out of chaos both on the cross and, ultimately, when He returns to make all things new. So our call as image bearers is to see the problems and chaos of this world and make them a little more orderly too. When we do this, we fulfill our dominion mandate and image our Father who is in Heaven. So, I thank God for the gift of free markets where we can solve the problems of this world and make everyone's lives better. Soli Deo Gloria! Jeff Haymond serves as Dean of the Robert W. Plaster School of Business. He earned his PhD in economics from George Mason University. THE FREEDOM TO FLOURISH BERRY CENTER FOR FREE ENTERPRISE Cedarville’s Berry Center for Free Enterprise shares free enterprise principles grounded in biblical truths about stewardship and working unto the Lord. By hosting events and speakers, providing online resources, and connecting Cedarville’s business community with partner organizations, the Center offers avenues for learning, growth, and Kingdom impact in the business world. The Center promotes entrepreneurship at Cedarville through the academic programs, student organization, and events like The Pitch and CU Entrepreneurship Camp. 48 IN CLOSING
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