Every day we are confronted with the headlines: Escalating Economic Gloom Ahead. Homes and jobs lost. Consumer prices skyrocketing. Banks failing. Financial institutions going under. What can we do? Or rather, is there anything we can do? Absolutely. We can look for inspiration to the most successful economist the world has ever known—Jesus Christ.
Economics is often called the "dismal science." Economists consistently predict loss, shortage, lack, disruption, failure. But Jesus' take on the world was far from a dismal one. In fact, he said, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). He never feared a loss or lack of good. He proved unequivocally that the fear that seems to drive an economic downturn has no place in the kingdom of God, good. He understood that we are governed by the laws of the divine economy.
The divine economy can best be defined by contrasting it to the so–called material economy of supply and demand that we all interact with every day. The word supply designates possession. The word demand indicates lack, or the need to acquire. But Jesus saw that there is no void of good in the omnipresence of God. Jesus demonstrated the grand equipoise of supply and demand, and his works proved that he understood these laws. He rejected the so–called premise of the material economy, and affirmed the spiritual laws that maintain the divine economy. He led us to see that there is only one real economy—perfect, intact, God–directed, and God–protected.
