Grace Economics (1) (4)
“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. 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.” Deuteronomy 25.13-15
The trust factor
A free-market economy such as we enjoy in America depends on a high degree of trust. Trust is a form of grace which is often betrayed by greed, whether in those who lend, those who produce goods or provide services, and those who borrow or consume goods and services.
Lenders trust that those who contract for their funds will repay them promptly. Consumers trust that the goods and services they purchase are of a proper quality or up to a high standard.
Employers trust that employees will exchange a fair day’s work for a fair wage, and employees trust that employers will be timely and fair in their compensation practices.
Everyone trusts that the money of our economy is what it claims to be: “legal tender for all debts, public and private.”
Distrust in the economy
There are always people in any economy who don’t agree with Benjamin Franklin that “honesty is the best policy.” “What’s best for me” is their motto, and they will do whatever they can get away with in order to make a buck at someone else’s expense. In such cases, grace is supplanted by greed, and corruption weasels into commerce.
Most of us have been taken advantage of at one time or another in an economic transaction. So common has dishonesty become, in fact, that one only has to mention certain occupations—lawyers, say, or used car salesmen—and caveat emptor begins to sound through the halls of our brains.
The Law of God understands this tendency and explains it as a manifestation of human self-love grounded in sinful rebellion against God: greed rather than grace. Because this is a universal condition—all have sinned—it has to be checked, especially when its unbridled manifestation might jeopardize the public weal. Hence the laws insisting that sellers use fair weights and balances, charging the same price to every customer, whether wealthy or poor.
And this checking of dishonest and promoting a fair and honest way of life begins in the home. Children who grow up learning honesty may one day be in a position to encourage honest with their friends, and in their schools, workplaces, and communities.
Restorative justice
The Law of God not only encourages honesty, it actually enforces it. Two aspects of a Biblical view of justice come into play here. The fact that these continue to exist in our secular society indicates the ongoing grace of God upon us and the influence of our just, fair, and honest forebears.
In the Biblical statutes elaborating the eighth commandment—such as our text above—are included rules guiding what we may refer to as restorative justice. In restorative justice a man who was found to have violated the basic principle of honesty in a transaction was required to make good on what he had “shorted” his customer, and then to add a fifth to it (cf. Lev. 6.1-5). He who had practiceddishonesty would be disciplined by the Law through specific acts of restoration.
Dishonesty came at a high price in ancient Israel. The man who cheated his neighbor would not go to jail—a form of retributive justice—where he would be sustained by his neighbor’s taxes for a period of time. Instead, as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, he would be required to make the original deal good and then to add one-fifth of the value of the deal in compensation to his neighbor. The neighbor would be satisfied and then some, and the offender would be duly chastened, and less likely to do such a thing ever again. The larger community would see honesty restored, and the former transgression would not likely be repeated, and would doubtless soon be forgotten. Jesus approved these laws when he affirmed Zacchaeus’ determination to repay those he had cheated (Lk. 19.1-10).
What good, for example, does it do to put the thief or the scam artist in prison, where he can do nothing to atone for his dishonesty or to recompense, be it ever so slight or take ever so long, those from whom he stole by his dishonesty? By requiring such a person to continue working, he might be kept off the public dole (i.e., prison), restored to a measure of dignity, enabled to repay the stolen wealth of his victims, and continue providing for his own needs.
The same principle could be applied to many other kinds of crimes if restorative justice were employed more consistently and retributive justice used more sparely. Retribution, including incarceration, is certainly necessary for some crimes. But more use of restorative justice might decrease prison populations, return dignity to offenders, and restore property to the offended and trust to communities.
These changes in our economy may not be immediately on the horizon, but this does not excuse the believer from practicing honest and just in our daily lives.
If we truly believe that honesty is not just the best policy, but the only policy that we will tolerate in economic matters, then should we not work harder to demonstrate the beauty and viability of an honest way of life?
Biblical principles
By following Biblical principles of restorative justice, we do not merely punish dishonesty, although we do, but we inculcate honesty both in those who are guilty and in the rest of society. Restorative justice—a principle encoded in Biblical law—can be a conduit through which grace can flow through an economy and greed can be suppressed.
In addition, restorative justice allows us to lower the burden of taxation on the populace as a whole by requiring the dishonest to relearn proper behavior rather than languish behind bars. Biblical Law thus proves again the merits and possibilities of grace economics.
Bur again, these ideals define the character of the Kingdom economy; they are being lost among those whose orientation is under the sun rather than under the heavens.
For reflection
1. Do you know of any examples of restorative justice that have worked in your community?
2. In our day, retributive justice—a Biblical idea, to be sure—typically takes the form of incarceration. We punish lawbreakers. How might retributive and restorative justice work together better?
3. What is required of a community where restorative justice is practiced? How might churches aid their community in practicing more restorative justice?
Next steps—Transformation: Continue praying through the Ten Commandments each day. How might restorative justice work in a family? In a church? Seek the Lord’s wisdom on this matter.
T. M. Moore
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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: Our Read Moore podcast begins this week an extended verse meditation on the exaltation and reign of Jesus. In our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert, the saint arrives at The Promised Land of the Saints. Why not start your day with our worship devotional, The Scriptorium? We’re barely two chapters into this daily guide for the book of Ephesians, so it’s not too late to jump on board. Click here to see all the other columns and writers 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.
