The Bible and Christian Ethics

David Singh

• Publisher: Regnum
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781908355201
• eBook ISBN: 9781908355799
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

This book contains papers from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies' quarterly journal, Transformation, on the topic of Christian Ethics. The papers were selected from volumes published over a period of 25 years during which period Transformation grew from merely being an international journal of 'Christian social ethics' to 'Holistic Mission Studies'. Here, Mission Studies is understood in its widest sense to also encompass Christian Ethics. At the very heart of it lies the Family as the basic unit od society. We see all of the other papers on the themes of word and works, poverty, justice and environment relate primarily to this theme. All the papers together seek to contribute to understanding how Christian thought is shaped in contexts each of which poses its own challenges to Christian living in family and in broader society.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

Biblical Perspectives on Wealth Creation, Poverty Reduction and Social Peace and Justice

Daniel Bitrus

Rev. Daniel Bitrus is with the Church of Christ in Nigeria

Each of the three components of this topic could have very well been treated under a section of its own. Allow me to break down the topic in the following order: the right Christian attitude to work; the biblical perspective on wealth creation and poverty reduction; a call for the promotion of social peace and justice as a prerequisite to effective development. Let me now deal with these points one by one.

The Right Christian Attitude to Work

I am convinced that unless we have the right attitude to work, we could spend the whole day talking about wealth, poverty, social peace and justice ‘until the cows come home’ without hitting the nail on the head. Here are some key thoughts on the Christian attitude to work. Many people, including some that profess to be Christians, have a variety of negative attitudes to work. Some feel that work is something to be avoided or at best tolerated, a necessary nuisance.

There are those who see it only as a means of earning a living. Yet others see it as an unfortunate consequence of the fall. They see physical labour as the result of the curse on man as a punishment for his sins.

There is another attitude towards work that has a subtle semblance of spirituality but is unacceptable. It holds that work is simply a useful sphere of witness. ‘To be sure, the Christian should be a witness to Christ in every situation, but it is very inadequate to see the workplace as having no Christian significance in itself, but only as a well-stocked lake to fish in’ (Stott, 1990, p. 165).

John Stott asserts that ‘…according to Scripture work is a blessing not a curse and it is the creation, not the fall which has made us workers’. He goes on to say ‘Those who are trying to develop a Christian mind on work, however, look first to creation. The fall turned some labour into drudgery (the ground was cursed, and cultivation became possible only by toil and sweat), but work itself is a consequence of our creation in God’s image. God himself is represented in Genesis 1 as a worker…. So from the beginning men and women have been privileged stewards of God, commissioned to guard and develop the environment on his behalf’ (Stott, 1990, pp. 165-166).

It is important to note that work is intended by God to give human beings fulfilment in life. This is primarily because we have been made as creative creatures after the image of our creator who himself is a worker. That is the essence of what God meant when he said to man, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it’ (Genesis 1:28). We cannot subdue the earth without getting involved in creative and meaningful work.

It is equally important to note that ultimately, work is not intended to benefit only the worker, but also the community. The Bible constantly relates the productivity of the soil to the needs of the society. Therefore, God gave the Israelites a ‘land flowing with milk and honey’ (Exodus 3:8) for their good and for the sustenance of their poor, the widows and the orphans as well as the aliens. Paul instructed the Ephesians that instead of stealing, one should work with his own hands, in order that he may have something to share with those in need (Ephesians 4:28).

We can see that the Bible regards work as a community activity carried out by the community for the good of the community – this on top of the fact that it gives the individual the sense of worth and job satisfaction. All this is in line with the divine purpose of God who desire that human beings should be co-workers with himself in managing and developing his creation. That was why he did not create planet earth to be reproductive on its own – without the subduing and developing activity of human beings. John Stott puts it eloquently when he says, ‘so there is a corporation in which indeed we depend on God, but in which (we say it reverently) he also depends on us. God is the creator; man is the cultivator. Each needs the other. In God’s good purpose creation and cultivation, nature and nurture, raw materials and human craftsmanship go together.’

Without keeping these truths in perspective we will not adequately fulfill our role in society and on planet earth. We will not effectively work for the proper harnessing of our God-given resources for the common good of our suffering communities. Therefore, it is important to hold the right attitude to work.

The Biblical Perspective on Wealth Creation and Poverty Reduction

One stands amazed at the variety of subjects that Scriptures address quite adequately. When we speak about wealth creation and poverty reduction, the Bible is full of models from which basic guiding principles can be drawn.

The term ‘wealth’ needs to be defined in the context of our discussion. The Oxford Learners Dictionary defines wealth as a ‘large amount of money, property, etc.’ or ‘the state of being rich’ (Oxford Learners Dictionary, 1995, p. 138). But for the purpose of the subject under consideration, wealth here is to be understood as money or property that is in a quantity that enables one to meet the basic needs that make for a comfortable life. It does not necessarily mean becoming rich. It refers to the generation of resources that enable people who are poor to be lifted to a higher level.

There is a sense in which it may be impossible to completely eradicate poverty from any society. If anyone disputes this claim, how would he or she explain the meaning of the words of our Lord when he said, ‘The poor you will always have with you….’? (Mark 14:7). That is why our subject stops at poverty reduction rather than poverty elimination or eradication.

Let us examine what the Bible has to say about wealth creation and poverty reduction:

Think for a moment about life in ancient Israel. Its people lived in small towns and villages. They farmed plots of ground in the fields around their town or tended flocks in the nearby pastures. Sometimes, husband and wife may have worked side by side. At other times, they probably did different tasks. Perhaps the man drove the oxen (hard physical work) or threshed the grain, while the wife went to the market to sell the produce. The children meanwhile, spent part of their time helping their father in the field, the rest with their mother in the market. The whole issue of the father ‘going out to work’ and the mother ‘staying home to raise the kids’ did not arise; and it still isn’t relevant today in primarily agrarian societies (Erlandson, 1992, 211).

The Old Testament has examples of people who were quite enterprising to the point that they accumulated some wealth. Job was a wealthy man. Abraham and Lot were quite wealthy. The joy of it is that they did not allow their wealth to go to their heads. On the other hand whether someone becomes rich in the process of whatever enterprising activity they carry out or they generate sufficient money and acquire enough property to give them a fairly comfortable life – what principles do we glean from the Scriptures that will help us in our contemporary world?

The book of Proverbs gives us a glimpse of the art of wealth creation and poverty reduction. In the last half of Proverbs 31, that is verses 15-18, we read of the wife who had a noble character. Douglas Erlandson says, ‘Here we have a description of a woman who is a diligent merchant and entrepreneur, apparently able to earn sufficient money to buy land that she will then work to increase her profits. In a phrase, she’s running a family business’ (Erlandson, 1992, 212). A careful study of the example of this woman will give lots of guiding principles on micro-enterprise development.

I hasten to add that her husband must not be seen as an idler. The statement that ‘Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land’ (Proverbs 31:23) could imply that ‘The elders of the gate adjudicated disputes, much like judges do today. If not a full-time occupation, it was certainly time consuming and probably without financial compensation’. What would have been the fate of this man if the wife was not as enterprising?

From the example of the wife of a noble character as seen in Proverbs 31, we can see that the kind of microenterprise development that is transformational in nature and effect must be gone into with total commitment and dedication. Such an enterprise may be multi-dimensional, for this woman was engaged in trading but expanded her enterprise into property development and agriculture. She did not selfishly stick away her money in the bank, leaving the family to starve. She provided food for her family. This implies that she did not neglect her nuclear family to the preference of her paternal, maternal or extended family. Although she worked long hours, one can deduce that she did not neglect the need to take sufficient rest else she would have not achieved what she did without breaking down.

Our elders say, ‘If you want your dreams to come true, stay away from sleep’. This is not to say that we must not sleep at all, but that we must not love to spend long hours sleeping. We must work out a system that best suits our situation in terms of a good balance between work, rest and leisure.

As has been noted earlier, God provided Israel with a land that was full of milk and honey, not for their enjoyment selfishly alone, but to be shared with the poor, the orphans and aliens. The same idea of not neglecting others in need is repeated in several places in the Old Testament (Deut. 15:7, Psalm 82:3, Prov. 21:13, Jer. 22:16) and carried over into the New Testament.

Paul, writing to Timothy says, ‘If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel’ (1Timothy 5:8). The leadership of the early church, after endorsing the mission of Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles, urged them not to neglect the poor (cf. Gal. 2:10). The same was the challenge of Jesus to the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:21).

The biblical principle we get from all this is that after we have undertaken any micro-enterprise activity and generated ‘wealth’ we must not neglect other members of our family or the poor in our society. This does not necessarily mean that we should constantly give hand-outs to the needy. We should find ways of helping that will not create dependency. It is said that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a meal; but if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for life. The best type of assistance to the poor is one that eventually helps them with the equipment and the know-how on some trade, craftsmanship, or any relevant micro-enterprise that is within their capability.

In this regard, there are many examples of success stories in different parts of Africa that need to be multiplied. One can site an example from Zimbabwe as reported by World Vision International. It is the case of Mufakose Glad Tidings congregation that grew from 400 to about 800 members in three years. They were able to build a magnificent church building, a two-storey building with a wing that is used for a training school. How could they do this by October 1995 when three years prior to that they had only 62 of them employed? How did they now end up with every household head in the over 300 member congregation having an income-earning job?

First, through the work of the pastors and elders of the church who preached on the importance of work and sought out employment opportunities for their members. Second, through the loans and business training provided by Zambuko Trust to members of the church, enabling them to expand their small businesses and employ other church members. The funds the church used on the building came from special offerings designated for the purpose. The regular tithes and offerings allowed the church to carry out its normal ministries, including providing for the widows and orphans in its community. The church’s regular evangelistic services and demonstrated concern for all people in the community have caused its dramatic growth. And the work of Zambuko Trust has played a key part in enabling the church to find its own wholistic ministry (Maphenduka and Reed, 1996, 78).

This is a good example of transformational development realized as a result of an effort in building the kingdom of God through micro-enterprise development. As wealth was created, poverty was reduced. Such an approach to ministry is wholistic in that it seeks to reach the total human being. Not just to save the soul for the hereafter, but also to make the gospel relevant to the here and now. That is the perspective we gather from the Holy Scriptures.

Time and space will not allow me to go much wider and deeper than I have so far attempted to go. Let us now take a look at the last part of our discussion.

A Call for the Promotion of Social Peace and Justice as a Prerequisite to Effective Development

It is sad to note that most African countries are referred to as underdeveloped countries. This is because through civil strife, ethnic clashes, political thuggery, rivalry and war etc. we break down and destroy what we have put up by way of development. Even where there is no physical war, there is so much unrest and insecurity that peace is not experienced in the society.

There is so much injustice and lack of fair play in our laws, systems and practices that the gap between the rich who usually happen to be in a tiny minority and the poor who are the big masses, is wide. Corruption in high and low places, corruption among the law enforcement agents and the judicial systems, make it futile for people to try and seek redress through the legal systems. In many cases, jungle justice is openly practiced even in this twenty-first century. The injustice and lack of peace have a lot to play in widening the gap between the rich and the poor. I agree with Prof George Kinoti when he says:

[P]overty means injustice. It is unjust for a man to live in great luxury while his neighbour lives in abject poverty. It is unjust for a few Africans to live in great luxury while majority of their countrymen are oppressed by hunger and disease. And it is unjust to have such a wide gap between the West and Africa, particularly when Africa has forcibly contributed so much to the West in terms of natural resources and labour. (Kinoti, 1994, 19).

There can be no meaningful development in an atmosphere of insecurity and war. When there is no peace and where there is injustice people lack the motivation and willpower to be engaged in useful economic activities that will help to better their lives. The state of hopelessness produces poverty of a high order. The opposite leads to prosperity. In fact the Hebrew word shalom and the Greek work irene mean both peace and prosperity. The biblical concept of life is for it to be an indivisible whole:

Prosperity includes spiritual, moral, intellec...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Words and Works
• Response to Poverty
• Economic Justice
• Family
• Environment
• Back Cover