Abstract
This paper intends to provide the church with a biblical perspective of work and economics in order for the church to missionally respond to global poverty. For this purpose, the Western Church’s attitude toward work and economics is critically examined in light of how the church’s biblical identity, a holy people, is related to work and economics in Scripture. This paper demonstrates that God’s mission in Scripture always involves redeeming work and economics from the influence of sin. As its main thesis, this paper contends that, from a biblical perspective, the church’s call to be a holy people requires practicing a way of work and economics that embodies and presents the compassionate character of God who envisions human flourishing. In conclusion, this paper suggests that the church, which seeks to missionally respond to global poverty, should participate in God’s mission of redeeming work and economics from the influence of sin.
Introduction
While the impact of globalization has slightly reduced poverty in developing countries, many people around the world still live without basic supplies (Kanniainen, 2016). This economic dimension of the global context of the church brings work and economics to the fore of the church’s missional response to global poverty. Missiologists have recently begun to recognize the missional significance of work and economics in the church’s mission. However, work and economics 1 are still on the fringe of the church’s theology, life, and ministry, particularly in the West. This paper intends to provide the church with a biblical perspective of work and economics in order for the church to missionally respond to global poverty. This is achieved by critically examining the Western Church’s attitude toward work and economics in light of how the church’s biblical identity, a holy people (Exo. 19:6; 1 Peter 2-9), is related to work and economics in Scripture. This paper demonstrates that God’s mission in the Bible always involves redeeming work and economics from the influence of sin. As its main thesis, this paper contends that, from a biblical perspective, the church’s call to be a holy people requires practicing a way of work and economics that embodies and presents the compassionate character of God who envisions human flourishing. In conclusion, this paper suggests that the church, which seeks to missionally respond to global poverty, should participate in God’s mission of redeeming work and economics from the influence of sin.
The Western Church’s Tendency Toward Work and Economics
This section briefly surveys the Western Church’s conventional attitude toward work and economics and its consequences and causal factors.
Dichotomy
Admittedly, the dichotomy between Christian faith, on the one hand, and work and economics, on the other hand, is prevalent across denominations and traditions in Christianity, particularly in the West. David L. McKenna (1990: 12–13) observes this tendency between spirituality and work: “Throughout the history of the Christian Church, the relationship between spirituality and work has been one of debate, confusion, and neglect. . . . According to this split-world view, any activity which took place in the church was ‘sacred.’ All other activities which went on outside the church or in the marketplace were downgraded as ‘profane.’” Doug Sherman and William Hendricks (1987: 47) call this tendency a “Two-Story view of work,” which “distinguishes between work that matters to God (work that deals with the soul, with the internal and sacred things, essentially the work of ‘ministry’) and work that has little if any value to God (secular, everyday work)” (Sherman and Hendricks, 1987: 47). The dichotomy between work and spirituality has formed sharp contrasts of values and virtues between Christians’ religious life and their life in workplaces. For example, McKenna states (1990: 14), “Off the job, our spiritual goals may be self-denial, self-discipline, and self-sacrifice, but on the job, our personal goals are just the opposite—security, status, success, and most of all, self-satisfaction.” In this tendency, economics is viewed negatively among Christians. Shawn Ritenour (2010: xi) states, “a none-too-small number of Christians believe that economics is about how greedy people satisfy their lust of the eye and pride of life.” This dichotomy between Christian faith and work/economics 2 has been fostered by selective ways of reading Scripture that easily dismiss economic subjects “as too worldly” (Ritenour, 2010: xii), or are blind to texts on economic issues (Barram, 2018: 3).
Consequence
One obvious consequence of the dichotomy between Christian faith, on the one hand, and work and economics, on the other hand, is the decline in ethical behavior among Christians in their workplaces (Sherman and Hendricks, 1987: 17). This resultant phenomenon surfaced in the research conducted by the Princeton Religion Research Center in 1983. This research surveyed ethical awareness of both the churched and the unchurched, comparing the churched with the unchurched on ethical matters. Surprisingly, the research findings showed no significant difference between the churched and the unchurched (Princeton Religion Research Center, 1983: 5), indicating sharp contrasts of values and priorities between Christians’ life within the church and their life in the workplace (Sherman and Hendricks, 1987: 18). Another consequence of the church’s tendency to isolate Christian faith from work and economics has made the church irrelevant to public society. The church’s emphasis on spiritual matters and its silence about Christians’ daily lives in the context of work and economics has fostered the church’s irrelevance to public society (Sherman and Hendricks, 1987: 16). Lastly, the church has become incapable of having any meaningful, missional impact on socioeconomic spheres such as the workplace and marketplace. The church becomes unprepared for its mission to a public sphere in which people are involved in work and economics because of lack of resources for applying Christian faith to work and economics (Sherman and Hendricks, 1987: 16–17). Worse, the church itself is liable to become an obstacle to its own mission, as the church is morally and politically corrupted. Once the church’s corruption is publicly exposed, the church can no longer critically engage with society, but instead becomes the target of society’s critique.
Causal Factors
There are multiple factors causing the isolation of Christian faith from work and economics in the West, but three of them are identifiable. First, the Western Church’s ignorance of work and economics has to do with the socioeconomic context of the Western Church, which, without question, has been economically blessed when compared with churches in the Majority World in which many churches struggle with conflict, oppression, and poverty. Being influenced by its socially and economically comfortable and rich context, the Western Church has become blind to economic matters in its reading, studying, and teaching of the Bible (Barram, 2018: 3, 17), and understood the gospel too narrowly “in spiritual terms” (Barram, 2018: 16). Second, overemphasis on grace in soteriology, particularly among Protestants, shaped the Western Church’s suspicion toward work (Larive, 2004: 25). It is absolutely true that we are saved by grace from God, but this doctrine has been often inappropriately applied to shape a distorted and negative view of work (Larive, 2004: 25; Witherington, 2010: 10). Lastly, Western modern culture profoundly influenced the dichotomy between Christian faith and work/economics. The development of Western Modern culture, fueled by urbanization, prevented the integration of religion and public society (Neill, 1963: 21). This separation between Christian faith and public society has been underpinned by and fueled by Western modern culture’s scientific rationalism (Newbigin, 1989: 12–26), which shaped dualism between facts that are regarded as scientific and public, and values, which refer to personal choices such as religious beliefs. This split between scientific (and public) truths and religious beliefs resulted in another split between people’s public and religious lives. The church has responded to modern culture not by critically engaging with it but by conforming to it, as the churches “have too easily allowed themselves to be thrust back into the purely religious sphere” (Neill, 1963: 21–22).
Work and Economics in the Biblical Narrative of Creation and Fall
Based on the preceding discussion, clearly the dichotomy between Christian faith and work/economics in the West is profoundly shaped more by the context of the church rather than the church’s reflection on Scripture concerning work and economics. This evaluation evokes the question of what Scripture says about work and economics in relation to the mission of God.
The Divine Origin of Work and Economics: God as the Worker and Economist
The first biblical account of work is found in the creation account in Genesis 1-2. Rebekah Miles (2011: 845) states, “From the earliest chapters of Genesis, one can see the central place of work in the created order.” The first work recorded in the creation narrative is not the work of human beings, but that of God as the biblical narrative begins with a statement of God’s work of creation: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). 3 The first two chapters of Genesis present God who is busy at work creating the whole world (Miles, 2011: 845; Stevens, 2006: 5). The Christian doctrine of creation affirms and advocates that God is the worker. This is the very first thing that the Bible tells about the image of God. Furthermore, the fact that the first worker in the Bible is not a human being but God himself implies that work is not created by human beings but derives from the nature of God.
M. Douglas Meeks (1989: 2) states, “according to the faith shaped by the biblical traditions, the metaphor Economist is a decisive and appropriate way of describing the character and work of God” (italics in original). As the first biblical account of work is found in the creation narrative, economics, which is a concept inseparable from work, is innately embedded in the creation account. The view of God as an economist is indicated particularly in light of the fact that God creates the whole creation as his household. In the Bible, economics is closely associated with the term household, the Greek word for which is oikos, and the word economy, or oikonomia in Greek is derived from the Greek word oikos (Meeks, 1989: 2–4; Rasmussen, 2011: 263). In a biblical sense, economy means literally “the law or the management of the house” (Meeks, 1989: 3). Economics “involves knowing how things work and managing ‘home systems’ (ecosystems) in such a way that the material requirements of the whole household of life (oikoumene) are met and sustained” (Rasmussen, 2011: 264). For early Christians, economics was a matter of caring for a household; the economist is the householder who cares for the flourishing of the household (Rasmussen, 2011: 264).
This way of understanding the meaning of economics and economist from a biblical perspective indicates that God is the economist in the sense that God not only created, but also, as the householder, seeks the flourishing of his creation as his household (Meeks, 1989: 75; Rasmussen, 2011: 264). This view of the relationship between God and his creation is in tune with two Old Testament portraits of God: (1) the owner of the whole earth and (2) the sustainer of the whole creation. God is not only the creator of the whole world but he also claims that the whole earth belongs to him (Gen. 14:19, 29; Exo. 9:29; 19:6; Deut. 10:14; Ps. 24:1; 50:12; 89:11; Job 41:11; 1 Cor. 10:26). Because of his ownership of the whole earth, his role as the worker did not stop when he completed creating the world but continues as the sustainer who takes cares of and governs the whole creation as his household (Ps. 104; Matt. 6:26; 1 Cor. 15:27; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3). In this regard, God runs his economy by creating and then sustaining the whole creation as his own household. God is both the worker and economist. Both work and economics derive from the nature of God.
Human Beings as Co-Workers and Co-Economists of God
The role of God as the worker and economist indicates that those roles of God reflect the image of God. It implies that, being created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26) to be bearers of the image of God, the first human beings were called to imitate God’s roles as a worker and an economist. This way of understanding human work and economics accords with the biblical fact that, as Paul S. Minear (1954: 33) states, “Our first glimpse of man is as a farmer, cultivating and conserving the ground” (Gen. 2:15). In the creation narrative, the first human being, Adam, is introduced as a worker who takes care of the garden of Eden, part of God’s household (Gen. 2:15). The first and primary vocation given to humanity was to be co-workers and co-economists with God.
Along with the call to gardening in Genesis 2:15, the creation mandate in Genesis 1:28 further establishes the idea that work and economics are central to the first and primary call given to human beings. This mandate, which anticipates human flourishing and requires stewardship over creation, would not be possible to fulfill unless human beings are involved in work and economics (Ritenour, 2010: xiii–xiv). Therefore, as Witherington (2010: 2) remarks, “Even just a momentary glance at the creation story tells us that work was meant to be in our DNA from the outset—God called humanity to fill the earth and subdue it.” God called to human beings for “both originating creation and continuing creation” (Fretheim, 2010: 18). In view of the fact that this work was about participating in God’s economy of caring for his whole creation, both work and economics are meant to be essential parts of what human beings are called to be from the very outset.
The centrality of work and economics in human vocation is also indicated by the social and interdependent nature of human beings who are created not as isolated individuals but as a community. 4 Work and economics are profoundly social activities in which individuals engage one another, exchange goods and talents, and meet their needs (Kantzer, 1989: 22). Work and economics in most cases are carried out through the social network of humanity. Therefore, the social and interdependent aspect of human beings supports the idea that human work and economics are central to God’s vision for the whole creation.
The Impact of the Fall on Human Work and Economics
It is often said that work is the curse of God as a consequence of human rebellion against him in Genesis 3. However, as noted above, work and economics were not God’s curse, but central to God’s original intention for human beings (Taylor, 2009: 151; Witherington, 2010: 2).
The Fall and the Condition of Work and Economics
The resultant influence of human rebellion on work and economics falls into two categories. The first explicit consequence is on the condition of work and economics (Larive, 2004: 10), as indicated in God’s judgmental words to Adam in Genesis 3:17-19. The ground was “cursed” due to Adam’s disobedience, and, as a result, his work to get food from the ground came to entail “painful toil” (Gen. 3:17 [NIV]). God’s curse upon the ground indicates that human rebellion was responsible for the pain of human work for daily living. Therefore, as Witherington (2010: 3) points out, “It is not work itself but the toilsomeness of work that was added . . . as a result of the curse involved in the Fall.” What is cursed is not work and economics, but the condition of work and economics because “cursed is the ground” (Gen. 3:17). This degraded condition of the ground is described in Genesis 1:18, which reads, “it will produce thorns and thistles for you.” God’s curse did not stop human work and economics, but human beings- came to require much harder work in order to get food from the cursed ground and to exchange their products with one another.
The Fall and the Nature of Work and Economics
Human rebellion against God impacted not only the condition of work and economics but also their nature as human work and economics came under the influence of sin. The fall’s impact on human beings is comprehensive, resulting in the brokenness of all the relationships that human beings have, namely the relationships with God, others, self, and the earth (Bartholomew and Goheen, 2004: 41–45; Sklar, 2016: 7–10). Likewise, the consequence brought to human work and economics is comprehensive, influenced by sin, whose root is independence from God and, thus, self-centeredness. The purpose and motivation of human work and economics are no longer to bear the image of God, but to reflect their desire to be independent from God, to control their lives, and to satisfy their own ambition. As McKenna (1990: 46) points out, “After the Creation came the Fall. The doctrine of the Fall leaves no doubt but that our work is corrupted by our sin.” Therefore, human rebellion in Genesis 3 not only impacted the condition of work and economics but also, as a result of sin, the nature of human work and economics changed, distorting their motivation, form, and purpose. Human work and economics were to be shaped by human beings’ intimate, obedient relationship with God and, by doing so, to be a means to bear the image of God. However, sin marred and corrupted this spiritual and social aspect of human work and economics. 5 In this sense, human work, which is under the influence of sin, can be viewed as “a resource of creation waiting to be redeemed” (McKenna, 1990: 22, emphasis added).
Work and Economics in God’s Mission in the Old Testament
The discussion of the following biblical narrative in the Old Testament shows, first, that God’s initiative to redeem his whole creation involves the redemption of work and economics corrupted by sin, and, second that God’s redemption of work and economics involves creating a holy people who practice redeemed and restored work and economics.
Work and Economics in the Abrahamic Covenant
God’s initiative to redeem the whole creation is particularly revealed in the Abrahamic Covenant in Gen. 12:1-3, in which he chose Abraham to bring his blessing to all nations. What missiologists have often failed to recognize in the covenant is that work and economics are the central elements of the covenant. While there is no doubt about God’s missional intention in choosing Abraham, the anthropocentric interpretation of the covenant, which focused only on the missional purpose of Abraham, has overlooked one central part of the promise: the promise of land. 6 More important for our purpose is the fact that land was the primary resource and condition for work and economics in the Old Testament. The economic aspect of Israel’s life is intimately associated with land. Work and economics, which involve activities of creating and exchanging properties, are closely associated with land. As Wright (2004: 115) states, “The widest basis that the Old Testament provides for its property ethics is the creation belief.” Creation is not one without the earth but one on the earth.
As noted earlier, the first work given to human beings was that of gardening. The creation mandate was given to them on the condition that they can access land. In the story of the flood, it was only after dry land became available to creatures that God gave the family of Noah the same mandate of multiplication he had given to Adam and Eve (Gen 9:1,7). God stopped giving Manna to the people of Israel when they entered the promised land. During the wilderness period, they were a people without land, but they did not have to work for food because God provided them with food day after day for forty years (Exodus 16). However, as soon as they entered and settled down in the promised land, they did not get Manna anymore (Joshua 5:12), indicating that they have no choice but to work for food. The possession of land was vital to Israel’s work and economics (Barram, 2018: 89; Goldingay, 2009: 404–405, 437–438; Knierim, 1995: 234). Thus, the theme of work and economics remains central to God’s creational intention for human beings from the very moment of creation (Genesis 1-2) to a re-creation through the Flood (Genesis 6-9) to the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12), and to the lives of the people of Israel. The centrality of the promise of land in the Abrahamic Covenant foreshadows that God’s redemption of the whole creation would involve redemption of work and economics from the influence of sin, and, by extension, transformation of work and economics from their perversion.
Work and Economics in the Exodus
God’s initiative of redemptive mission continues with the Exodus, in which he revealed himself and what he intended his chosen people, Israel, to be for his mission. What should be noted is the preponderance of work and economics around and in this event. First of all, work and economics, corrupted by the influence of sin, is clearly illustrated by Egypt’s slavery system, by which the people of Israel suffered economically. The context of the slavery system is shaped as all the land of Egypt became one person’s possession and as all the work and economics in the land were centralized to, controlled by, and conducted for one person (Gen. 47:13-16). The slavery system emerged as Pharaoh, who did not know God, desired to control and secure his power and property (Exo. 1:8, 13, 14). This corrupted work and economics, resulting in oppression and poverty. Thus, “poverty and oppression . . . are human inventions,” but are not God’s intention (Hoppe, 2004: 21, emphasis added).
Second, through the Exodus, Egypt’s slavery system, an example par excellence of corrupted work and economics, faced a challenge from God, revealing that God would not advocate such corrupted work and economics, which resulted in oppression and poverty. The event is profoundly economical in character, while not limited to it. The reason that the people of Israel ended up living in Egypt was, first and foremost, economic need for survival in the midst of famine (Gen. 45:6-7 [NIV]); one of the main reasons that triggered God’s initiation of the Exodus event is closely related to the issues of work and economics because the Exodus was God’s response to the corrupted work and economics that Israel suffered from (Exo 3:7-10). God’s solution to Israel’s affliction in Egypt was an economic solution, that is, “to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land” (Exo. 3:8).
Lastly, God’s rescue plan aimed at providing a new condition for Israel’s work and economics. The Exodus resulted in a profound change of work and economics in both the lives of Egyptians and Israelites. On the side of the Egyptians, God vanquished slavery, the economic system that sustained Egyptian society by taking its slaves, namely, the Israelites, out of Egypt. On the side of Israelites, by standing with the Israelites who suffered from such a wicked system of work and economics, God revealed that he would never advocate such a fallen system of work and economics in which people would suffer in poverty and oppression. The Exodus was an event whereby God introduced himself as a God of compassion and, in so doing, implied that the Israelites must not advocate any form of work and economics that would cause oppression and poverty. The preponderance of work and economics around and in the Exodus, which profoundly shaped the identity of Israel, adumbrates that work and economics are not peripheral, but essential elements in the identity and vocation of Israel.
Work and Economics and Israel’s Call to Holiness
In the Sinai Covenant, God explicitly revealed his intention in delivering the people of Israel out of Egypt (Exo. 19:5-6). It is in this covenant between them and God that they found their identity, namely a “holy” people (Exo. 19:6). Now they were called to obey the holiness command, “‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Lev. 19:2). All the above discussions that range from creation to the Exodus show the economic dimension of God’s missional purpose for Israel in general, and Israel’s call to be a holy people in particular.
Two foundational aspects of Israel’s call to holiness should be stated in order to properly understand how work and economics are related to Israel’s holiness. First, Israel’s call to be a holy nation is missional in its purpose because the Sinai Covenant is in continuity with the Abrahamic Covenant (Davies, 2004: 180; Dumbrell, 1988: 153; Fretheim, 1991: 209; Hamilton, 2011: 301) and because Israel’s holiness is a means by which God, who is the original source of their holiness (Hartley, 2003: 420), is presented and displayed to the nations (Blackburn, 2012: 95; Wells, 2000: 56-57). Second, the practical way that Israel can be holy is by keeping the law. This aspect is indicated in the conditional statement in the Sinai Covenant: “if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, . . .” (Exo. 19:5). 7 This relationship between the law and holiness is clearly illustrated in Leviticus 19, which is structured with two parts: God’s holiness commandment (19:1-2) is followed by the law to keep (19:3-37). This structure of the text indicates that for Israel to be holy requires its obedience to God by keeping the law given by him (Milgrom, 2010: 852; Wright, 2006: 374). These two aspects of Israel’s holiness are further understandable in light of the missionary nature of the law. The law given to the Israelites reflects the character of the lawgiver. 8 By keeping the law, which was given as a practical way for the people of Israel to be holy, they were enabled to reflect and, thus, present the character of God to the nations.
These aspects of Israel’s holiness reveal an intimate relationship between Israel’s holiness and work/economics since a considerable portion of the law pertains to work and economics, as will be discussed below. This implies that Israel’s holiness cannot and should not be separate from their way of doing work and economics. In other words, work and economics in Israel’s life is an integral part of the people’s vocation to be a holy nation. The theme of work and economics, which were at the center of God’s creational intent for the whole creation, reappears in God’s plan to bless all nations through his chosen people, Israel. Now it becomes clear that work and economics are a central part of Israel’s call to be a holy people.
Work and Economics in the Life of Israel
As noted above, the relationship between Israel’s holiness and the law indicates that the characteristics of Israel’s work and economics, reflected in the law, are meant to enable Israel to reflect and present a particular character of God to the nations. What are the characteristics of Israel’s work and economics that enable them to present God to the nations? What character of God is meant to be displayed through Israel’s practice of work and economics, as defined by the law?
Israel’s Work and Economics Are Profoundly Spiritual and Theological
Israel’s work and economics are profoundly shaped by their spiritual (or religious) life, namely their commitment to God. In the law in the Old Testament, the law about Israel’s religious life and the law about their work and economics cannot be separated, but the latter is profoundly shaped by the former (Duke, 2003: 64; Gottwald, 1999: 59; Wright, 2004: 55). 9 This is true particularly because the people of Israel “were to be a different kind of society, because YHWH was unquestionably a different God” (Wright, 2004: 57). The nations surrounding Israel would come to know God through the visibility of Israel’s distinctive life.
Furthermore, Israel’s work and economics are not only spiritual but also theological in light of the Old Testament claim that the whole earth belongs to God. God promised land to the people of Israel and gave it to them, but God says, “the land belongs to me” (Lev. 25:23). God’s ownership of land is not limited to Israel’s land but includes the whole earth (Deut. 10:14; Ps. 24:1). Thus, land is not a secular concept but a theological concept in the Old Testament, implying the primary role of Israel in relation to the land given to them is not that of owner but that of steward. Israel’s way of producing and exchanging resources derived from the land is not set by their own desires but by God, the owner of the land (Barram, 2018: 90; Wright, 2004: 148). Shaped by their commitment to God and grounded in God’s ownership of land, Israel’s work and economics were to reflect God in their midst and consequently present him to the surrounding nations.
Priority: Care for the Needy
An overall Old Testament emphasis in Israel’s work and economics is on taking care of those who are in need, as reflected in Israel’s economic law (Gnuse, 1985: 48). Israel was to be a society in which no poor would exist (Deut. 15:4). This point is clearly supported by at least three cases in the law pertaining to Israel’s work and economics. The first biblical case that provides a glimpse of this aspect of Israel’s work and economics is the law of gleaning, whose key scripture is Deuteronomy 24:19-22. Several observations from the text are worth noting. First, the context of this scripture is obviously workplace—harvesting in fields. Second, God commanded Israel to leave what remained from harvesting for the needy (Deut. 24:20). Third, God was serious about this principle to the extent that he even promised a reward for those who would faithfully keep this command (Deut. 24:19). Lastly, this economic principle is historically grounded in the Exodus (Deut. 24:22), showing that God wanted Israel’s work and economics to be different from any forms of work and economics that result in oppression and poverty. Another biblical evidence that shows the principle of generosity for the needy is the law related to loans, of which one key scripture is Exodus 22:25-27. An important observation in this text is that a common business principle should not be applied to those who are “needy” (Exo. 22:25). The economic principle in trading with the poor is not modeled on business rules but is adapted to meet the physical needs of the poor (Exo. 23:26-27a). Furthermore, God takes this principle seriously to the degree that he promised that he would respond to the cry of the poor (Exo. 22:27b), 10 revealing that “God is attentive to the cries of the oppressed” (Barram, 2018: 103).
The most explicit biblical evidence that shows that priority was to be given to care of the needy in Israel’s work and economics is the sabbath year (every seventh year) and the jubilee year (every fiftieth year), which are couched profoundly in economic terms. The simplest way to describe God’s intent for these years is to eliminate poverty among the Israelites (Barram, 2018: 113). Every jubilee year, “there will be a return to one’ s property and one’s family—a homecoming—and in which family land that has been forfeited in the normal transaction of business is returned” (Brueggemann, 1997: 189). Also, those who become slaves because of debts will be released. Thus, the poor among the people of Israel would be restored and liberated in these years, so that they are given a fresh start to do work with their restored land and social status.
What About Wealth and Business Principles?
What is already established in the above discussion seems to show that the Old Testament neither accentuates nor concerns itself with wealth accumulation through work and economics based on business principles, while the Old Testament respects properties (such as land) that belong to individuals or families. On the one hand, the Old Testament does not deny properties that belong to individuals (Goldingay, 2009: 435), as indicated in the laws that are concerned with protection of neighbors’ properties (Exo. 20:15, 17; Exo. 21-22; Deut. 5:19, 21). 11 On the other hand, the Old Testament law seems to not allow individuals to constantly or unlimitedly accumulate wealth through business principles, which do not focus on needs of the needy but on values of materials in exchange. The Old Testament law proscribes to change the land boundary given to individuals (Deut. 19:14). This instruction that prevents the selling of land means, on the one hand, that any individual or family cannot seek a constant increase of wealth, and, on the other hand, that any individual or family cannot be landless. This land protection law is particularly vital to protection of the poor and alleviation of poverty (Goldingay, 2009: 436-438). These pieces of evidence addressed above suggest that, while the Old Testament admits personal properties, the socioeconomic character of Israel was to be driven not by market forces. The Old Testament laws concerning the land given to Israel are “concerned less with the efficient use of a commercial asset than with protecting the rights of the family to the source of their economic survival” (Westbrook, 1991: 11).
Drawing on all the discussion about work and economics in Israel’s life, we can make several conclusive remarks. First and foremost, as Barram (2018: 118) concludes his study of the economic laws in the Old Testament, “God seems to be remarkably less concerned with individual rights, profit making, and economic efficiency than with the well-being of the poor.” Second, the purpose of God’s election of the people of Israel, in light of the socioeconomic law given them, includes a restoration of God’s creational intention of human work and economics (Wright, 2004: 89). Third, Israel’s work and economics shaped by the law have a missional dimension because they reflect and present God who is radically compassionate to all nations (Barram, 2018: 117).
Work and Economics in God’s Mission in the New Testament
As noted above, God’s redemptive mission in the Old Testament involved redemption of work and economics from the influence of sin by creating a holy people who was to practice work and economics in a way that God originally intended in the creation narrative. This divine initiative of redeeming work and economics continues through the earthly ministry of Jesus and in the life and ministry of the early church in the New Testament. 12
Work and Economics in the Earthly Ministry of Jesus
The theme of work and economics appears in the earthly ministry of Jesus at least in two ways: (1) the jubilee vision and (2) good works.
Called to Fulfill the Jubilee Vision (Luke 4:16-20)
As noted earlier, the jubilee vision accounts for God’s intention of work and economics in the life of Israel. Surprisingly, this jubilee vision is found in the so-called Jesus’s Nazareth manifesto in Luke 4:16-20 (Brueggemann, 1998: 214), 13 in which Jesus read Isaiah 61:1-2. The language used in Isaiah 61:1-2 derives from the jubilee year. The phrase, “to proclaim good news to the poor,” sets a socioeconomic tone in this text (Isa. 61:1a). 14 Particularly significant is the phrase, “to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners” (Isa. 61:1b [NRSV]). A word, which provides a closer connection between Isaiah 61:1-2 and the jubilee year, is the verb “release” (Goldingay, 2014: 300). The terms “captives” and “prisoners” refer to those who struggle with wretched socioeconomic conditions (Goldingay, 2009: 411; Westermann, 1969: 366–367) and are “related to the ‘release’ of slaves in the Sabbatical year or the year of Jubilee” (Smith, 2009: 634). It is clear that, by reading Isaiah 61:1-2, Jesus announced the jubilee (Albertz, 1994: 457; Brueggemann, 1998: 214). The fulfillment of the jubilee vision begins with the outpouring of “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord” (61:1a), indicating that the fulfillment of the jubilee vision is the work of the Holy Spirit. 15 Jesus’s earthly ministry was not only profoundly grounded in but also aimed at fulfilling God’s jubilee vision, indicating that Jesus envisioned the jubilee vision as being fulfilled in the life of those who follow him. 16 The jubilee announcement by Jesus clearly shows the continuity of God’s initiative of redeeming and transforming work and economics.
Called to Do Good Work (Matt. 5:13-16; Matthew 25)
Jesus defined the identity and vocation of his followers in Matthew 5:13-16. In this text, Jesus used three phrases as the identity and vocation of his followers: “the salt of the earth,” “the light of the world,” and “a city built on a hill.” 17 Particularly, the second phrase, “the light of the world” is connected to “good works” (or good deeds): “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16 [ESV]). It is the “good works” of the followers of Jesus that would enable them to be a light shining in the world and to result in God being glorified by the world. This reference to “deeds” implies that work is an essential means by which to have the world drawn to God. Thus, the mission of Jesus’s followers necessarily and essentially involves work.
Jesus’s teaching on good works is also found in Matthew 25:31-46. In this passage, Jesus explains what God’s final judgment of all nations would look like. Several observations are significant. First, the basis on which he makes judgment is what kind of works they performed, particularly, whether they have served God in their works by providing him what he needs (Matt. 25:35-36, 42-43). Second, identifying him with those who are needy (25:40, 45), God radically advocates the work that serves the needy. Third, the services to be provided is not merely to provide the needy with basic physical needs such as food, drink, and clothes (25:35, 36, 42), but entails deeper levels of deeds such as hospitality (25:43) and compassion (25:39, 43). This wide and deep range of deeds should be carried out regardless of job type, but can be effectively and fruitfully done through various professional occupations (DeKoster, 2015: 15–18). In this scripture, Jesus not only advocated the significance of work in the life and ministry of his followers, but also sought to transform their work from one shaped by sin to one that reflects the compassionate character of God.
Work and Economics in the Early Church’s Life and Mission
The centrality of work and economics of the vocation of Israel as a holy people continues in the life and ministry of the early church, as the two themes—(1) the jubilee vision and (2) good works—in the earthly ministry of Jesus are also found in the life and ministry of the early church.
The Inward Life of the Early Church: The Jubilee Vision Fulfilled
In the Book of Acts, the life of the early church is described twice (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-37). In these descriptions, the early church is depicted not only as a spiritual community but also as a new economic community. The church is portrayed as a community that is shaped by one particular economic practice, namely the selfless sharing of possessions. Early believers sold their properties to take care of those who are in need (Acts 2:44-45). They shared all their possessions with others insofar as “there were no needy persons among them” (Acts 4:34).
This economic character of the early church is connected to the jubilee year in the Old Testament. As noted earlier, the jubilee year aimed at preventing poverty among the people of Israel. This jubilee vision reappears in the descriptions of the early church, not as a regulation to keep but as the fulfillment and realization of the vision. The economic distinctive life of the early church shows the continuity of what God envisioned the people of Israel to be through their work and economics.
In Acts 2-4, the descriptions of the life of the church in both places immediately follow early believers’ experience of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This observation indicates that the distinctive aspects of the church’s life were direct consequences of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The connection between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the economic character of the church is already indicated in the reference to “the Spirit of the Lord” in Jesus’s Nazareth manifesto (Luke 4:18). Jesus began his earthly ministry of fulfilling the jubilee vision in the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1, 14). Now the same Holy Spirit transformed the early church into a distinctive socioeconomic reality.
The Outward Ministry of the Early Church: Good Works
While, as noted above, the economic character of the early church in the Book of Acts focused on its inward life, the authors of the New Testament epistles encourage believers to actively engage in public spheres through good works. In Romans 13:1-7, Paul encourages believers to be active and good citizens in the outside community by doing good for the benefit of the outside community. 18 In Galatians 6:9-10 and 2 Thessalonians 3:13, Paul encourages believers not to be tired of or weary in doing good in expectation of positive fruits produced by good works. While, in his exhortation for believers to do good, Paul puts more emphasis on the inner life of believers, he sets no limits, boundaries, or conditions concerning to whom, when, where, and how believers should do good (Gal. 6:10). Along with Paul, Peter also strongly advocates doing good works to the outside community (1 Pet. 2:14-15; 3:13-15). Peter’s words in these texts show the evangelistic nature of doing good in a sense that believers’ acts of doing good will display the “hope” that they have, namely the gospel they embody, and, consequently, have unbelievers ask about that hope. When believers actively engage in public society by doing good in a way that embodies the gospel, it creates moments of evangelism (Horrell, 2005: 267).
Holistic Nature of Holiness and Integration of Faith and Work
The centrality of work and economics to the life and ministry of the church corresponds with the holistic view of holiness (1 Pet. 1:15) and the inseparable relationship between faith and deeds (James 2:14-16). In 1 Peter 1:15, Peter says, “just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” The call to holiness is comprehensive in scope, rejecting a sharp contrast between faith and work/economics. Rather, it suggests that believers’ work and economics should reflect and present their holiness. This integrative relationship between holiness and work/economics is further established in James 2:14-26, in which James puts forward the inseparable relation between faith and deeds. As Witherington points out, “any real definition of living faith affirms what James . . . once told us—faith without works is dead (2:26).” Thus, the dichotomy between Christian faith and holiness, on the one hand, and work and economics, on the other hand, is a fallacy from a biblical perspective.
Conclusion
This paper critically assessed the Western Church’s conventional view of work and economics in light of what Scripture says about how the church’s call to be a holy people is related to work and economics in order to provide the church a biblical perspective of work and economics for their missional engagement with global poverty. The biblical survey of work and economics in this paper shows the centrality of work and economics in the mission of God and the life and ministry of God’s people who are called to be a holy people. Work and economics were central to God’s vision for the whole creation (including humanity) but were corrupted by sin brought about by human rebellion, unable to be a means to bear the image of God. God’s redemptive mission in Scripture always involved redeeming and transforming work and economics toward God’s original intention for work and economics. To that end, God created a particular people, namely, Israel, as a holy people who practice work and economics that reflect the compassionate character of God and, by extension, present it to the nations. The centrality of work and economics in God’s mission and Israel’s holiness call continued in the earthly ministry of Jesus and the inward life and outward ministry of the early church. Thus, the dichotomy between Christian faith and holiness, on the one hand, and work and economics, on the other hand, is a fallacy from a biblical perspective.
Global poverty is one of the missional challenges that the church is facing today. From a biblical perspective, poverty is not part of God’s original vision for humanity, but primarily the consequence of corrupted work and economics. God originally intended human work and economics to be a means of human flourishing and of embodying and displaying his compassionate character to the world. In order to missionally engage the issue of global poverty, the church needs to embrace this original intention that God had concerning work and economics, and participate in God’s mission of redeeming work and economics from the influence of sin.
Footnotes
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The author received financial support from the Office of Faith, Work, and Economics at Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, Kentucky, USA) for the research of this article.
