Kingdom Commerce (7)
Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. Acts 4.34, 35
Transforming grace and truth
No nation—indeed, no community or tribe—can exist without an economy. Whatever its form or elements, an economy will exist among men to facilitate the exchange of goods and services and to meet the needs of those who participate in it. In all economies, some standard of exchange exists—such as money—to expedite exchanges of all sorts, from the kid at the corner store buying gum to the most recent merger of large conglomerates.
But the black horse of corrupt commerce all too easily finds boarding within the economies of the world. And those systems of commerce, once corrupted, spread that unhappy virus to all other areas of life and culture, even to the churches.
But economies do not have to remain agents of corruption and corrupting influences on the lives of those they are intended to serve. Chattel slavery, after all, was abolished. Robber barons have been regulated. Corrupt politicians are occasionally exposed and removed.
Even the Church has experienced revival, renewal, and awakening so that it gets back to its roots and rediscovers the Kingdom economy, where grace is the currency of exchange.
The Scriptures boldly proclaim, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Ps. 33.12). This blessedness pertains to every aspect of national life, including commerce. Can an economy be redeemed? Or, at least, can it be so salted with the grace and truth of God that it begins to refract divine principles of economic wellbeing? We must believe that, as Jesus Christ works to reconcile the world back to God (2 Cor. 5.16-20), and as He is making all things new (Rev. 21.5), the economies of the nations may also know the impact of His transforming grace and truth.
For evidence of this we may look to our first Christian forebears. Among them the reigning currency of mere self-interest was exchanged for an economy of grace, self-denial, compassion, generosity, righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit. And that Church flourished, in its commerce and in all aspects of life.
The grace exchange
What principles can lead us to a system of commerce that is more honoring to God? And what can we expect in the way of real gains in seeing our own national economy transformed by the grace and goodness of the Lord? Put another way, can we expect, and should we commit to working for, the Kingdom economy of Scripture to become the defining economy of our times?
First, some principles: As we see in the first Christians, they embraced the goals of economic activity that we described earlier—meeting needs and giving glory to God. These people knew that they were not their own, that they had been bought with the price of Jesus’ blood and righteousness, and they resolved to honor Him with every activity of their bodies, even their commerce.
This has to be the starting point of all economic activity for every believer. This is the fountainhead of grace – love for God and love for our neighbors. Christians must renounce greed and self-centeredness, queue up daily at the grace exchange of Scripture and prayer, pay attention to the needs of those around us, moderate our natural acquisitiveness, give freely even as was freely given to us, and seek to advance the righteous, peaceable, and joyous reign of Jesus Christ in all our economic activity (Rom. 14.17, 18).
Happily, this kind of economy is already at work within many churches. The more we concentrate on being agents of grace within our households and among our fellow church members, the greater will be the likelihood that this Kingdom economy will spread to other areas of life—education, government, business, leisure, the media, and all the rest (2 Cor. 4.15).
Stewards of a trust
Second, we must engage all commerce as stewards of a trust. God has given us gifts, resources, skills, and opportunities so that we might be fruitful in economic endeavor; but we must always remember to invest our resources wisely, for Kingdom ends, and to hold the fruits of our labors as a trust from God. We are not our own, after all; we belong to Christ, Who belongs to God. We are His stewards, and servants of His Kingdom and economy, and all our economic activity must reflect this.
Again, we see more than a few traces of this commitment among believers today. Let the stewardship we practice in our churches be a spigot of grace in all aspects of our lives.
Finally, we must determine to trust the Lord in all our doings and not to look for short-cuts to self-advancement through economic or other machinations (cf. Acts 5.1-11). This will require that all our economic activity be based in Scripture, bathed in prayer, and transacted with the currency of grace. Thus even the way we participate in the getting-and-spending economy of our day can be salt, light, and leaven of grace and the Kingdom not of this world.
Only as we look to the Lord together, as communities of believers, will we be able to identify and resist the temptations of economic gain as an end in itself, an idol; overcome the corrupting practices of worldly living; and serve as restoring and transforming vehicles of truth for our neighbors.
And this is as much as we can expect by seeking the redemption of commerce and economic activity: to be a light in a dark place, as those who ride the white horse of Christ against the black horse of corruption. The Church can be a haven of hope in a desperate world, an emblem and arena of compassion and sacrificial living to any who may be in need, a sign and outpost of the Kingdom of God. But we cannot do so on the world’s terms, as if the Kingdom economy of God were not advancing daily in the world.
We must seek the Kingdom and righteousness of Christ in all we do as believers and communities of faith, even in our economic and commercial transactions. If we can begin to achieve this, believer by believer, church by church, grace unto grace, we may begin to redeem our corrupt system of commerce and realize significant progress in the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom.
For reflection
1. Do you agree that Christians should seek to play a role in redeeming commerce? Why or why not?
2. In your own life, where do you need to begin working for the redemption of commerce? What will it look like as grace begins to pervade all your economic activity?
3. What could your church do to bear witness to the Kingdom economy in its transactions with the surrounding community?
Next steps—Transformation: Take your answer to question 2 and reduce it to a series of next steps in each area. Support these steps with Scripture, commit them to God in prayer, and begin taking them every day.
T. M. Moore
Glorifying God in how we use our money might seem like a small thing. But our life is made of small stuff, and God expects us to work for His glory in all things. Our book, Small Stuff, can help you develop a mindset for glorifying the Lord in whatever you do. Order your copy in book form or as a free PDF.
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: In our Read Moore column, we continue readings from the book, Such a Great Salvation. Our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert finds him pressing on in his journey to the Promised Land of the Saints. You can subscribe to Read Moore and Crosfigell and receive them in your email regularly. Use the Subscriptions box at the bottom of this page to update your subscriptions. All subscriptions are free. Click the Articles tab on the home page to see all the selections available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
