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?
and eventually I will be wearing it again at that great campfire in the sky when we’ll sing “happy birthday” to everyone in 50 different ways and play the rhythm game and tool around on our guitars singing great hymns of the faith and “Afghan” on a cool autumn night with stars wheeling overhead and a full moon coming up late in the night and no one will be too tired to stay up to see it rise at 1:00 in the morning and it will be glorious beyond all compare.
