What’s your view of “labor”?
In the video series we watched last night (the Truth Project), Dr. Del Tackett made several statements about labor and working that made me raise my eyebrows. He might be right (he’s obviously a lot more intelligent than I), but on the other hand maybe he’s wrong. At the very least, I didn’t like what he did hermeneutically with a couple of scripture passages…
He purports that God has ordained the following economic system: a three part system including God, Stewards, and Stuff, in which God owns all the “stuff”, God designates stewards to be accountable for the “stuff, and the stewards steward the “stuff. He then purports a lesser/lower version of the same system (a three part system including owners, workers, and stuff – Owners own the stuff, owners designate employees to be accountable for the stuff, and the employees steward the stuff, while owners are responsible for the well-being of their employees)
Something strikes me as wrong, even though when I look at the diagrams he drew, it seems hard to argue with it.
Perhaps more than anything, it felt like Dr. Tackett was suggesting that God has ordained a system of capitalism, even though the word “capitalism” never appeared as far as I remember in the 60 minute presentation.
I don’t have any problems with capitalism. I’m not a socialist, I’m not a communist, I’m not a liberal politically-speaking; I’m fiscally and socially conservative, and I have been and remain a capitalist.
But I’m not sure that God is as concerned about a country’s economic system as some on the Christian right want Him to be, Dr. Tackett’s arguments notwithstanding.
Granted, there are plenty of hints in the Scripture that point toward working hard, investing well, and doing long-term financial planning. But there are plenty of hints in the Scripture that point toward sharing, giving generously without expectation of repayment or reward, and living communally.
I am loathe to endorse the idea that God prefers capitalism over socialism or communism.
In fact, I could probably make the argument that more people become followers of Christ living in a communistic system than in a capitalistic system, as miserable as a communistic system is. Actually, they probably become followers of Christ in large part BECAUSE they live in the misery of a communistic system. And isn’t becoming a follower of Christ more important in the long-term than what economic system people live in?
Scripturally, I didn’t like what he did with:
1. Ephesians 6:5-8 – he took Paul’s commands to masters and slaves and applied them to the owner/worker relationship. I’d have to study the passage, but it certainly feels like a stretch. On the face of it, I’d rather default to a position that Eph. 6:5-8 is a passage that is no longer culturally relevant.
2. Leviticus 23:22 (leaving the gleanings in the field for the poor) – he asserted that a) the poor need work, not a handout, and b) it is the duty of owners/employers to provide work opportunities for them. Essentially, he argued that those who own businesses are obligated to provide opportunities for those who are unemployed and/or poor.
Ok, again, this might be right. I don’t know. But this is where the capitalistic side of me rears up and says that Americans live in a system in which virtually anyone who desires to succeed and to provide for themselves and their family can do so (excluding the physically disabled and the mentally disturbed). I have extremely mixed feelings on the (b) idea above.
Anyway….
Here’s a recent article about Glenn Beck’s recent comments on economic and social systems. I’m not a Glenn Beck fan, but I’m not his biggest detractor either. Mostly I just thought it was interesting that his brou-ha-ha came up at the same time that we watched this edition of the Truth Project… Check out the article here.
What’s your view on labor?
5:26pm
I didn’t get a chance to check out Glenn Beck’s article yet, but I so far agree with you Nate….the perspectives on those scriptures seemed like a stretch. I think what ‘strikes you as wrong’ is that he definitely seems to be twisting God’s Word to make it support a political/social stance towards a country’s economy. I don’t think that’s ever a good idea!
My view of labor? Get the epidural. lol
I’ll respond more later when I’m not chasing kids around and trying to make supper at the same time!!
9:35am
get the epidural hahahahahahahahahaha
9:47pm
hey nate, great post. i didn’t comment for awhile because I had to think about stuff. i’m not real sure what I think about tacket’s ideas, but I’ve always had an allergic reaction to the idea that we were created just to steward things, like God is a cosmic big businessman in the sky, creating us just to keep His stuff in line. Not much of a Father/Son relationship going on there. It seems different than the idea I get from Genesis 1-2. Obviously God “owns” everything, but what’s the point of having your kids grow up, if you never give them anything of their own, to own and manage.
I’m a solid capitalist simply because of the freedom and dignity it gives to everyone. I’d say that it has solid roots in the Christian faith, simply because of those reasons. I can’t say that I like the idea of “interest” or that I like the fact of the greed that we all can struggle with, but all in all, it does something that other economic systems can’t – it says that each man is capable of being in charge of his own little domain, which is biblical. obviously, as you pointed out, the sick and the elderly need looked after and cared for.
i’m trying to write an article about socialist countries and the decline of christian faith. I can’t figure out which comes first or if it is hand in hand. I look at Europe and the lack of faith there, and ponder.
Great post to make me think and I’m glad about that.
4:50pm
Ben, hopefully I didn’t give the impression that Tackett postulates that the “labor” relationship is the main metaphor for how we relate to God. The labor relationship is just one of many relationships he touched on in the Truth Project, including how God relates to us through Trinity, Community, Labor, the State, the US government in particular, the Church, etc….
Certainly there are many scriptures that directly or indirectly state that everything belongs to God and that we are intended to be good stewards of his stuff.
The tiny pieces of “lib” in me say that while capitalism purports to give freedom and dignity to everyone, the fact is that all people are not in fact created equal. Capitalism works great for people who are “self-starters”, entrepreneurs, and ambitious. But it doesn’t work so well for people who are not any of those things. It’s possible to be a hard worker and yet not have a great deal of ambition on a personal level. I’m a case in point, I think. I don’t mind hard work at all. And while I have dreams and goals, I don’t think that they will ever make me a rich man in a capitalistic sense. I’ll never be Rush Limbaugh or Barack Obama – not because I don’t want to work as hard as them, but because I don’t have the level of personal ambition that they do.
At the risk of trying to prop myself up on a pedestal (which is definitely not my intent), what about people who have fewer talents and gifts than myself? What about the “one talent” guy? What about the guy who is in fact poorly educated, has no personal ambition, etc, and was lucky to get on the factory line, making widgets? Where is the dignity in the system of capitalism for him? Where is the freedom for him? There’s not much there.
Perhaps God has told him that he is to be a widget-maker for all his life. Certainly that gives him a bit of dignity, but it is dignity that comes from the inside, not dignity that is seen as such by the folks on the “outside” so to speak.
I don’t know, Ben, as I said, I’m quite conflicted on this whole issue. I do think that capitalism is the best of a bunch of bad systems that all became flawed because of the Fall. But I’m not sure that God cares so much whether Christians are capitalists or whether our nation should export capitalism to socialistic countries. I think he would rather see us 1. On an individual level, be people who are more like Him, and 2. Export that process of “being more like Him” – and take note that I didn’t say export “Christianity”. We already have enough “Christianity-ers”…. People who say they are Christians but all they mean is that they live a “good” life – not that they actually depend on Christ on a daily basis.
I’ll be interested in seeing your article….
12:21am
hey nater, i did get that impression, so you have my views on that! lol
i think we probably have the same views and struggles. I guess that the only thing I can say is that I really have no problem with the fact that God creates us unequal. I look at that and say that no human economic system is a solution for that.
I agree about the greatness of the church in this respect. You have all types of people who are unequal in skills and abilities. It is a beautiful thing to see how different people fill different roles. Some people are highly educated and some have no education. Some have very little to offer but themselves and their presence. You take this group of unequal people and they try to become more like God. They look out for one another spiritually and also physically. I’d say that your church is the one group of people who you should be able to count on. I would say that is being like God.
I would also say, it is very hard to get people in our churches to admit that they need help. Everybody is so daggone independent that they try to go it all alone.
Just thought of something. The greatness of our country has never been people living in isolation from each other, but people actually working together to improve each other’s lives. It has only been in the past, I’d say, 40 yrs. that this “self-reliance” has come about. I really think this is because of a lack of faith in God. When we trust God, we see that He has put people in our lives that we can help and who can help us. We learn to rely and depend on each other for each other’s welfare.
Capitalism could be a beautiful thing in a nation of men who want to be like God Himself. No cheating, no lying, no false advertising, no gimmicks, no shoddy workmanship, no crazy work hours…etc….Simply individual people working with one another to imrove each others lives.
The one thing I would say about a Socialistic and Communistic Govt. is that both governments tend to try to fill the role of God in the lives of individual people. Ultimately, that is why they will fail.