Our research indicates that the economic system we call the free enterprise system was derived from the laws given to the Israelites in our Bible.
Free enterprise is the basis of the prosperity we have inherited in America, yet it has come under increasing attack by anti-freedom and anti-Christian forces that have arisen. Recently our own government launched an attack on free enterprise, moving toward a state-controlled economy like China.
It is up to us to defend free enterprise if we hope to save our freedom and prosperity.
There are five main features of a godly economy, which we call the five pillars of prosperity. Each is under attack.
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The foundational pillar is adhering to the rule of law (Lev. 9:15 and Ex. 22:21), which creates a level playing field and certainty in business transactions. Our laws are enacted by Congress under our Constitution, but there has been a steady encroachment by bureaucrats and our presidents. We have seen government agencies such as the IRS, the Justice Department, the Labor Department, the EPA and others try to enforce regulations that blatantly contradict laws passed by Congress. Our courts, which are designed to protect us from these lawless power grabs, have begun to return to constitutional principles in their recent decisions and now are under attack by a scheme to pack the Supreme Court with lawless judges. We need only look to the example of Argentina, which packed its court and allowed lawless government policies, to see how a prosperous country can be driven into poverty by subverting the rule of law.
The second pillar of prosperity is the right to own private property (Ex. 22:1-5; Deut. 28:9-11), which is the very expression of freedom and prosperity. Yet private property is under attack from Big Government restrictions to achieve social objectives, excess taxation and efforts to sabotage politically disfavored businesses like energy and firearms. There are even American socialists who seem to have forgotten how socialism and its cousin communism drove nations into poverty and murdered millions. Property rights are a bulwark against tyranny and slavery.
The third pillar is the right to freedom of labor (Deut. 28:8), to reap the rewards of our work. The right to determine how you work and for whom is a mainspring of creativity and flexibility, as for example when Uber drivers signed up to supplement their income. But self-employment lets people save on their taxes by deducting expenses, so Big Government has come against companies like Uber to force drivers to be taxed as employees and be targeted for union organization. Government also restricts services through unnecessary licensing laws, depriving people of opportunity and driving up consumer prices. Everyone suffers when government interferes with freedom of labor.
The fourth pillar of prosperity is limited government (Deut. 16:19-20, 17:16-20). God warned Israel when they wanted a king that authoritarian rule would subvert the rule of law, compromise private property rights and undermine freedom of labor (1 Sam. 8:11-18). This process has been underway in America as Big Government has become more powerful, and now we have dedicated authoritarian politicians who brazenly want to end our freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of self-defense and our other constitutional rights. Nobel Prize-winning economist Friedrich Hayek warned us of the outcome of unlimited government in the title of his classic book “The Road to Serfdom.”
Finally, the fifth pillar of prosperity is protecting the poor (Deut. 15:7, 11; Ex. 22:20-27). In ancient Israel, this protection included the obligation of believers to help the needy, limits on usury, the right to start over and the right to rise from poverty. The church has largely turned its obligations to help the poor over to the government, but as a result, government programs have stifled the ability of many to rise out of poverty. We have also seen usury limits abandoned, allowing up to 500% annual interest, and bankruptcy protections eroded. By creating a permanent underclass of poor people dependent on government, we are putting our entire society at risk.
Thinking they are helping the poor, many in the church have not stood up for God’s free enterprise system. But the best way to help the poor is to follow God’s design for an economy. We need to educate our people and speak out to defend the rule of law, private property, freedom of labor, limited government and protection of the poor.
Establishing economic literacy should be a goal of our churches, and is a reason we have made our “Real Faith and Real Money” book available for a free download (see below).
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4:6a, NKJV).
Don’t let it happen in America. Defend free enterprise while you can.
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Ron Allen is a Christian businessman who is active in ministries spreading a message of reconciliation to God, to men and between believers. He is the founder of American Wake Up Call. For a free download of “Real Faith and Real Money,” visit http://bit.ly/RealFaithandRealMoney.
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