There has been a lot of talk lately about the stalemate in congress on just how to fix our economy. There has been many a talking head and pundit criticizing this politician or the other for what is clearly a problem caused by all parties and no one has really posed anything that seems like it will work. Some have said that this has been done purposely to force us into a one world currency and / or government or that it's the bankers and the IMF that is responsible for this mess. I believe that it is because we have ignored some basic biblical principals that, if applied, could easily solve many of our economic problems.
WE DON'T TAKE CARE OF OUR POOR
Imagine what would happen if we followed the simple biblical principal of seeing to it that the poor are taken care of? Some of you might be thinking that there are already multitudes of government programs that assist the poor, and I would agree with you, but this is not supposed to be the job of the government. The fact that so many are dependent on the government is a serious sign that we have forgotten some of these basic biblical principals given to Israel but very relevant for today.
Lev. 19:9-10 says:
‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
Please note that the verses quoted didn't put the blame on the poor for being poor, nor did it point the finger and accuse of them of doing something that made them poor, it simply points out that there are poor people among you and this is what you should do.
So why did G-D tell them to do this? Two reasons, one is so that they would understand that they were but stewards of the land and that the land and all that it produced belonged to G-D,but also give them a way that they could help and be a blessing to their poor neighbors. Those that were poor didn't have to beg for help because G-D had provided a way for them to eat without the humiliation of having to beg! In fact if you go and look through all the laws that concerned the poor, it never had anything to do with government intervention, instead it had to do with those that had more, helping those that were in need. Even in the cases where people became the servants of others it was only allowed for a certain period of time and then all debt was forgiven and the person could have a fresh start. So the short version was that it is our responsibility not the governments to take care of people.
Imagine what could happen if we followed that principal. Imagine what could happen if all the big corporations and agri- farms came to the understanding that G-D has blessed them so that they could, in turn, bless those that are less fortunate?
Here, where I live, We have a Sylvania plant that makes automobile lights. Now just imagine what would happen if the owners or the CEO of the plant looked around town an realized that there are many people out of work and they decided to do something about it. They might go out and hire several hundred more people to work at the plant but then they would loose some of their profit margin. What could they possibly gain from this? First it would increase production, more workers usually mean more production, and it would also give them a larger loyal customer base. Think about it, first you would have those that were hired being grateful for the job, thus allowing them to take care of their families, and word would get out about what they did, and I know that I would be buying all my lights from them after that, knowing that they were willing to sacrifice some profit to help those in need. I suspect that many others would feel the same. Its a win -win situation. I am not saying that this should be the motivation, just suggesting that it could be a result.
Some might say that this idea is nothing but Socialism,well I disagree. I don't believe in "redistribution of wealth" or that you should be forced to pay for my disabilities, the government sent me to war not you. What I am saying though is simply this; if everyone from individuals to business applied that one basic principal we could effectively end poverty here in the United States and ,perhaps, the world as well. If we all became our "brothers keeper" there would be no need for government intervention and ,as a result, we could fix part of our messed up economy.
This is just one principal. There are more to come.
Shalom,
Ignacio
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