While the stock market can waver between climbs and falls, there is an important factor to consider.  Often one of the causes of rising stocks is a devalued dollar.  What is a devalued dollar?  Why would a devaluing dollar result in a rising stock market and price increases in food, gas, and commodities? Since the dollar is worth less, it takes more of the less valuable dollars to buy the same old stock. So the stock goes up -that sounds good, right? Depends on what you want. Do you want to see a higher number in your 401K? Of course, we all do. What if at the same time that your stock portfolia goes up, the price of the stuff you buy (gas, groceries, etc) goes up as well?  In fact, last week it was reported that food prices rose at historic levels.

Now we have a problem. You may have “more money” in your stocks, but they have the less buying power as prices for things you need go up as well. The final result? You are not richer because of your higher 401K, you are poorer -since you lost your buying power.  This is the result of what economist call inflation.  Inflation is the increase in the money supply when a government  prints more money.  This is now an increase in supply of money chasing the supply of goods (food, gas, corn, oil, etc).  The Bible teaches strongly against “unjust weights” in the Bible. Jesus showed us how angry God gets at financial corruption.

There is an often misunderstood, but relatively well known passage in the Bible about Jesus’s anger that speaks to this issue:

45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”

Jesus “drives out” the thieves that have made His Father’s house into a place of robbery. I will often hear someone expound on this passage and conclude that Jesus/God therefore hates any kind of commerce or capitalism. This is not only erroneous, but missing the whole context and point. Let’s look at how the political/religious system was robbing the poor and middle class by devaluing their currency. That’s what Jesus is mad about.

In those days, people would travel great distances to come to Jerusalem to sacrifice to God. God had instructed them to bring their best sheep, animal, etc to sacrifice to God. So this out-of-towner would come to Jerusalem to make a sacrifice to God. Before he was allowed into the temple, his beast had to undergo an “inspection.”

The Bible teaches the importance of sound money as a protection for everyone in a community and nation. What we see going on today in our Federal Reserve is equally as wrong. They are purposefully attempting to devalue the people’s currency hoping that a rising 401K will keep you distracted from the rising prices at the gas station and the grocery store. They hope the citizens will blame the companies for raising prices when they have created the environment. For more information, check out www.godonomics.com or Here is a clip from “What Would God Say to Alan Greenspan?”

I talk with managers and presidents of companies all the time and hear a resounding theme. They say that way too many college students are coming out of college with a severe entitlement mindset -lacking a good strong work ethic. They think that they will be rewarded equally to their co-workers -even with only a half-effort. Students are surprised by the competitive, merit based reality of how the workplace really works. Many quickly hit the wall and make changes; while others lose a myriad of jobs before finally learning the basics of incentive, reward, and work ethic.

God gives clear instructions about work. He tells us that work is a gift -as early as Genesis with Adam and Eve- and promotes a strong work ethic. He emphasizes the need to “Work as unto the Lord in everything we do” in the book of Colossians. He also teaches us that profit is good and uses a brilliant business woman in Proverbs 31 to show us how to run a business that blesses others. God tells us (as parents) to “teach our children” all the time in Deuteronomy, whether we are hanging around the house or going for a walk.

Never has there been more of a need for parents to teach our children how to work, what to expect, and why free market capitalism is the most powerful engine in history. Work is built on Godly precepts like property rights, incentive, and reward.

I started a little business with my children a few years back. I make balloon animals and taught my children to make balloon dogs, parrots, and hats. We got a license to perform at a local outdoor venue. At the time, my daughter was 12, and my son 10, and they worked with me for 3 hours. We made $33 in tips. After the crowd cleared, we talked about how to “divide the booty.” Their first reaction was to divide it evenly and pay each person equally. I asked if everyone had done the same amount of work. They acknowledged that dad did over half the work, my daughter pulled her weight second, and my son… well, he goofed off at least half the time. At some level, both of them knew that we should pay each of us based on our effort and productivity. Although my son would prefer to make as much as my daughter and I, he knew that he deserved less. So we divided up the proceeds and each person was paid fairly, not equally. I received $13, my daughter $11, and my son $9. As a result of this exercise, my son received incentive to work harder next time; and my daughter felt fairly compensated for her extra effort. Then as we went to get in the car, I explained to them that my $13 went to pay for the $10 on balloon supplies and $3 on parking. So really, I “made nothing,” but it showed them the hidden costs of the business owner. Hopefully, they could relate this to one day in the future, when they get a full-time job.

For a free, first session of Godonomics, check out:  http://www.godonomics.com/watch-session-1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPEWYekDC9k

Producing… Profiting… Savings… and Giving.

If you are poor, you don’t have enough money for yourself, let alone others. God wants us to produce and profit, so we can help others. We can experience Goderosity. The act of being a steward of God’s talents, gifts, and money by giving to others as an act of worship.

Our church takes 80+ doctors, home-builders, and nurses to Belize each year to offer free health-care, dental work, surgeries. I’ve seen faces repaired, burned ears restored. I’ve seen homes built for people who would never -ever- have a home. I’ve embraced the poor. Seen the look of hope and gratitude in their eyes.    Two years ago, a doctor in our church coordinated with local businesses and raised funds to give the first ever ultrasound to the country of Belize. The entire country owns ONE ultrasound given to them by a generous doctor touched by the pain of poverty and using his gifts, vacation time, and training to bless others.

We are called to be rich toward God. Rich toward the poor. Rich toward the hurting. We are called to be good Samaritans.

When I was in Belize last, I saw the extreme poor display more gratitude than 99% of Americans I know. I also was humbled to see them take up an offering to help the tsunami victims. The poor give better than the rich, even though they have so little to give.   We need to help the poor…

More than that, we need to learn from the poor how to trust God and give to others.

For more information, check out the free first session of Godonomics:

http://www.godonomics.com/watch-session-1

If you zoom in, you see the towers are recorders. The bushes are turnips. The walls are white Hershey’s chocolate.  The main building is made from onions.  Inductive Bible study is a lot like this. You zoom into the verbs, words, and phrases in a passage to see the Bible really come alive.  Let’s zoom into a short passage in James 1:9-11 about money.

9 Let the  lowly brother

glory in his exaltation,

The Poor need to glory in the gospel, not their grievances

James writes, “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position” (James 1:9).  James is talking about those who are physically poor and hurting financially. He is talking about those at the last rung of the social ladder. He is talking about those who are indentured servants deeply indebted.  But notice, they aren’t just poor; they are also fellow believers because James identifies them as a brother – or a sister – in Christ.  What advice does James have for these hurting brothers and sisters?

For a free, first session of Godonomics, check out:  http://www.godonomics.com/watch-session-1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPEWYekDC9k

Our children are racing into a future that is becoming increasingly uncertain. We want to pass the dreams we received from our parents on to our children and grandchildren. Will they have the same opportunities to thrive? Will they be given the same environment of liberty to pursue their own hopes as we had? Will they understand the importance of religious, political, and economic freedom? There are actually alot of economics to be learned at Chuck-E-Cheese.

The Bible teaches that God loves sound money. One of the roles of a just government is to protect its citizens from fraud. The most important financial protection a government can offer is to keep the currency strong. Consider how important God sees this issue

Leviticus 19:35-36 You shall do no injustice in judgment in measurement of length, weight, or volume.

You shall have honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 25:13 -16 14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small, You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord your God.

Proverbs 16:11 Honest weights and scales are the Lord’s. All the weights in the bag are His work.

Proverbs 20:23 Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord, and dishonest scales are not good.

What does it mean to have honest scales? What are dishonest scales? Let’s look at the Chuck-E-Cheese store first. We arrive at the arcade and give our children $20 worth of tokens to play games. As they win certain games, they collect tickets. They are so thrilled and excited to have earned over 1700 tickets in one hour. The come up with a bucket of their children’s currency with high hopes of being able to buy some great treasures and exciting toys. They’ve seen the wall covered with giant stuffed animals and ipods. They’ve played hard in hopes of bringing one home.

Then they count up their currency and discover something. Their tickets don’t have the buying power they hoped. Their tickets are so “worthless” that it takes 500 of them just to get a blowpop. It takes 1000 to earn a Chinese handcuff. The ipods and giant stuffed bears cost over 20,000 tickets. They are disappointed. You realize something is messed up since you you gave them $20.00; and now if they spend all their winnings, they can only “afford” cheap toys that cost less then $1.50 at any dollar store. What’s happened here? The people in charge of the currency (Chuck-E-Cheese) have tinkered with the number of tickets you win and the prices of the cheap toys in such a way that your children’s money has lost it’s value.

The US government’s central planning has done the same thing to the US dollar. It’s lost over 80% (Some Estimates have it up to 97%) of its value over the past 100 years. The government even provides us a website to measure how much they’ve destroyed our currency here. The result: An ice cream cone that cost 0.26 cents when my grandfather took me to McDonalds when I was a child, now costs over one dollar for my children. Is the ice cream that much more valuable now? Does it have alot more intrinsic worth? No. It’s not that the prices are rising as much as the dollars and cents are worth less. You now need almost four times as many “tickets” from the US treasury to buy the same dessert. Something is wrong. Very wrong. Gas prices have doubled. Food costs more. Insurance costs more. Healthcare keeps rising. Though there are many factors to consider, the biggest is the tax on regular folks called inflation: the increase in the money supply. God hates unjust weights because it hurts the entire society. Inflation is the most insidious tax that no one can even see, but they can feel. For more information check out www.godonomics.com Here is a clip from Bovine Economics: 

“…Communist regimes…turned mass crime into a full-blown system of government.” The estimated death toll totals 94 million, not counting the “excess deaths” (decrease of the population due to lower than-expected birth rates).”

Here is a summary of the carnage from the book:

65 million in the People’s Republic of China

20 million in the Soviet Union

2 million in Cambodia

2 million in North Korea

1.7 million in Africa

1.5 million in Afghanistan

1 million in the Communist states of Eastern Europe

1 million in Vietnam

150,000 in Latin America

10,000 deaths “resulting from actions of the international Communist movement and Communist parties not in power.”

“Courtois claims that Communist regimes are responsible for a greater number of deaths than any other political ideal or movement, including Nazism. The statistics of victims includes executions, intentional destruction of population by starvation, and deaths resulting from deportations, physical confinement, or through forced labor.”

So with the naked facts painting a evil and horrific picture of communism, why do many today still have dinner conversations like, “Do you think Jesus was a communist?” or “I think the early church practiced communism…”?  Those statements are as naive and uneducated as hearing, “I wonder if Jesus and the early church were mass murderers?” and “I think Jesus would want us to promote a system that grants the State power to coerce and starve its citizens.”

The problem is the “redefining of history” and the redefining of words. Fifty years of progressive education has indoctrinated and brainwashed a generation into thinking the word communism and Marxism are synonymous with “Giving” and “Generosity.” They are not. Was the early church generous? Yes.  Were they radically “others-focused” with their personal individual possessions? Yes. Did they promote and encourage the State to steal from one group and give to another? Never. Would any of the disciples say, “We were practicing communism?”  Not a chance.

Christianity is a thinking religion, a rational mysticism, an empirical, historic event based on the facts of history – most notably the literal, physical, and documented resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let’s not fall for the perfect murder by dialing “M” for Marxism. Let’s remember the “M” stands for MURDER.

For more information about what the Bible teaches about liberty, prosperity, and generosity,  check out www.godonomics.com

For a lighter take on Marxism, check out the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRPiUE_4jyU

The Bible says we must “bear our own load.” We need to examine ourselves. We are instructed to examine our work. We are admonished to rejoice in our work. God says that instead of depending on others, we need to bear our own load. We must work towards self-sufficiency as God is supplying our needs rather than being a burden on others.

Work Toward Self-Sufficiency

Galatians 6:4-5 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.

Self-sufficiency is a critical part of hard work….producing vs depending. Paul says “examine your work,” and make sure you are “bearing your own load.” In America today, that seems almost obvious. Concepts like hard work and profiting rather than depending have been woven into the fabric of our culture. It’s hard to see how radical this idea is until you compare it to history. Paul was introducing these Christian ideals into a Greek and Roman culture where gentleman didn’t do manual labor. The bulk of society was lazy and thought work was something that only servants did. In one passage of the Bible, Paul comes into Athens and notes the laziness of the aristocrats,

“For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to hear or tell some new thing…” (Acts 17:21)

They spent their time philosophizing and pondering, but not working and producing. Paul challenged this idea by teaching that work is a gift, a calling, and a command from God. Self-sufficiency is a way to not be a burden to others while fanning into flame the talents and skills deposited into you by a loving personal Creator. Paul says we should “bear our own load.”

What is a load anyway? In Roman days each soldier marching across the countryside with their own “backpack.” This was their load. Each soldier was responsible for his own load of supplies. It would be unthinkable for an able-bodied Roman soldier to turn to another Roman soldier and say, “How about you carry my load? I’d prefer not to.” What would happen if a well intended helper started carrying the load of another? They would end up hurting the one they were helping in the process of offering assistance. “How is that?” you might ask.

When you carry another person’s responsibility, they don’t learn to carry their own load. They don’t grow physically as the muscles are developed from carrying their responsibility.

We live in such a codependent society today.  We end up crippling others emotionally, financially, and spiritually by rescuing them from all difficulties. When you don’t let a child fail and learn how to cope with failure, you handicap him from dealing with reality. When you rescue an addict every time he goes on another binge, he doesn’t learn the consequences of his actions. When a person is lazy, but still has all his needs and wants provided for, he learns that laziness is rewarded. This is why it can be hard to launch teenagers into the work force who have become accustomed to the easy life with mom and dad. If you don’t teach and prepare them to carry their own load, they will never learn to become responsible adults and contributors to society. Instead, they will be developmentally handicapped in a cycle of dependency.

The Bible gives us two concepts for determining when to help and when to walk away. Paul tells us to distinguish between a burden and a load.

Gal 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

As parents, leaders, and civic decision-makers, it is not easy to determine the line between a load and a burden; however the distinction is critical. While we are not to carry someone else’s load, we must carry each other’s burdens.

We all have times when we are crushed by a “burden.” A burden is a crushing weight, rather than an individual load. It is an out of control emotional struggle, physical struggle, or financial game-changer that puts us into a death spiral. When others are hurting and crushed by a burden, a follower of Christ must do unto others, as they would have done unto them. This is the way we fulfill the Law of Christ.  We individually access the need and generously come along side those who are hurting -all the while- making sure we are helping with the “burden” without carrying their load. It is in both your self-interest and theirs to teach them to live a productive life, not a dependent one. This is the importance of self-sufficiency.

In The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith expounds on the importance of self-interest. He shows that when an individual pursues self-sufficiency, he indirectly promotes the good of society: “by pursuing his own interest, [the individual] frequently promotes that of the society more effectually.”  Self-interested competition in the free market, he argued, would tend to benefit society as a whole by keeping prices low, while still building an incentive for a wide variety of goods and services. He said:  It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.

For a free, first session of Godonomics, check out:  http://www.godonomics.com/watch-session-1

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAIwlPVWU8c[/youtube]

Something in us knows that thankfulness is at the core of how the universe should work. None of us want our kids to become compulsive complainers or Eeyores of entitlement.

We all know the challenges of having that talk with both our kids and that relative who always buys more than we know they can afford. We tell our kids, “Now Aunt Betty can’t afford much, so don’t go asking her for anything big and expensive.” Our son retorts, “But she always buys me whatever I ask for. Last year I got the megablock supersonic ultrasystem.”

You know he’s right, but he doesn’t realize that Aunt Betty just put it on a credit card and probably hasn’t finished paying it off one year later. So you just reply, “I know she did, but I don’t want to hear you asking for anything big this year.”

You know instructively that a child’s sense of entitlement and greed, linked up with a people pleasing relative who is low on funds, is a recipe for disaster. Aunt Betty keeps running herself into the ground financially, while rewarding your son or daughter’s insatiable desire to get bigger and bigger things each Christmas.

You remember Jesus’ words to a Roman soldier, “Be content with your wages.” You hear the voice of the apostle Paul whisper, “I have learned to be content in any and all circumstances.”  You know that unless you intervene, your child will not learn gratitude and contentment, but will live on the hamster wheel of greed and discontent well into adulthood.

Today, our American society has become that demanding child, begging Uncle Sam to pour out more and more benefits — despite the reality that he is putting it on a national credit card. They don’t and can’t see the long term hurt caused by short term demands.

We need mothers, leaders, and families that teach our children to Act their own Wage, and suppress the never-ending appetite for more.

For a free, first session of Godonomics, visit:  http://www.godonomics.com/watch-session-1

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMi3M0080-k[/youtube]

During the early days of our nation’s history, a group of pilgrims came to America. They were not wearing belt buckles on their hats; however, they did come with the dream of finding liberty, prosperity, and building a new way of life. Governor Bradford’s group landed in the New World with a charter requiring them to practice communal living, or socialism, in the new settlement. It sounded like a great concept. Everyone would work for the common good by farming the land together and sharing their produce equally. As a religious and moral people this seemed godly, sensible, and relatively easy to implement -until they tried it. Those first months were devastating. Many were seemingly too busy to go work the fields. Others felt a bit “under the weather,” expecting others to pull their weight. Over half of these pilgrims died from starvation that first year. Everyone assumed someone else would do the work.

Bradford rallied the troops with a stirring reminder that if the work ethic didn’t improve more people would die. One year later, many chose leisure and laziness over hard work, and hundreds more perished.

Bradford was desperate for answers. He decided to search the Scriptures and see what God might say about this problem. He discovered three principles that saved the village and possibly America: property rights, incentive, and freedom. He found the blueprint in the Holy Scriptures. When God brought His people out of Egypt and taught them to live as a free people, He gave them ten building blocks for a society. God said, “Do not envy or steal someone else’s house or donkey…” In other words, each person will have ownership over their own personal belonging: their own land and their own cattle. Bradford noted that the concept of property rights appeared throughout the Scripture, including 2 Thessalonians speaks of each person working for his own bread, not eating someone else’s bread. He was surprised that the Scriptures spoke of incentive: “If you do not work, you shall not eat,” “Give her the fruit of her labor,” and “Do not muzzle an ox while it is threshing.”

Bradford called a town meeting and threw out the socialism model. After all, if a community of devout religious people couldn’t make it work, what hope is there for “normal” folks? He implemented the basics of capitalism by having families work their own property to provide for themselves. No longer expecting others to work for you. He tried to apply these three principles from God to his society. After a season implementing the new model, something amazing happened. Families and family members who were “too tired” or “too sick” to work suddenly came alive. Husbands and wives, children and cousins worked together on their own farms. Each person and family had incentive to work hard and provide for themselves and those they cared about most.

The result was a bumper crop. There was so much bounty… So much provision… They had plenty for themselves and others. So they celebrated the first thanksgiving to thank God for His provision and His wisdom which made a town’s economy work. Later, Bradford later wrote in his journal about this experiment and warned future generations that socialism doesn’t work. It may sound utopian, but the results leave you “feeling like a turkey” rather than eating a turkey.

The Biblical Principles of Property Rights, Incentive, and Freedom, are foundational to the success of any society. They are also the bedrock of the free market system. These concepts were outlined by God to Moses as He gave a blueprint for a free society. As these Hebrew slaves headed out to begin a new nation, God gave them the framework for freedom. It began with property rights. Property Rights are referred to in 20% of the Ten Commandments. We are warned not to “envying someone else’s house or horse.” In other words, someone else owns it, and you don’t have the right to take it or even envy it. The other commandment addresses the legal issue: “Do not steal someone else’s donkey or field.” Why shouldn’t we take something that’s not ours? Someone else has property rights to that asset.

Property rights are the foundation for freedom in any society. No longer would the king or Pharaoh own your land. No longer would the strongest and most powerful militia determine who-owns-what by the nature of survival of the “wickedest.”

For a free first session of Godonomics, visit: