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Dr. Jim Garlow is a lifelong pastor who most recently served in San Diego, California, and now leads Well Versed, a ministry dedicated to bringing biblical
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Is Capitalism Biblical? 0:00 Chapter 13 in the Well versed Small Group series is Capitalism and Socialism.0:06 Let me ask you a question. As followers of Jesus Christ, should we care at all about the whole discussion of capitalism or capitalism versus socialism? Is 1 more biblical than the other? When you think0:18 of, let's say, capitalism, is capitalism at all biblical in any way? Some would say no. Some would say yes. Let's just talk about that just for for a moment. Capitalism is basically0:30 when you work and and you are entrepreneurial and you get to keep the profits from from your work. All the way back in the Garden of Eden, Adam worked. Now some say0:42 that work was a result of a fall. No. Work was changed as a result of the fall, but his his his work predated the fall. Why? Because you and I are made in the image of0:54 God. We have a fundamental entrepreneurial productivity spirit stamped within us. And regardless of the kind of job you do, whether you're you're decorating1:05 cakes or arranging flowers or whether you're a surgeon, bringing healing to people's bodies or whether you're a maid, changing the the the laundry and the linens in the1:17 bed in a in a hotel room or you're a heavy equipment operator running a bulldozer, there's an entrepreneurial or or sense of productivity in what you're producing. Your work is1:29 producing something of significance. And from your work, do you get to keep what you have? Well, the answer is found in the let's start with the which is the Declaration of Independence,1:41 this incredible phrase, the pursuit of happiness. And the pursuit of happiness just sounds like I wanna be happy, period, and that's all there is to it. There's a history of that phrase, and the history of the phrase1:51 really probably comes from this word, the issue of owning private property. In other words, the legitimate profit that you get to keep from your efforts, you2:03 get to actually own something. You'd claim it as your own. Even though the earth is the lord's, you get at least temporary use, of that piece of the earth that is yours. So is capitalism biblical? I would contend going2:15 all the way back to the Garden of Eden, it is very much whatever you do, do all to the glory of God, whatever your occupational setting. Occupation and vocation are different. Occupation2:27 is whatever you do to earn a living. Vocation means whatever you do. Occupation, you do it to the glory of God. Let's slow it down and rewind that 1 right there. Your occupation is whatever you do, whatever your work is.2:39 But your vocational calling before the lord, that is that is do whatever you do under the glory of god. So if you're a heavy equipment operator, you operate that2:50 bulldozer unto the glory of god. If you're an attorney, you practice law under the glory of god. If you're a farmer, you farm under the glory of god. Everything's done under the glory of god. That's what it means by3:01 vocatio in the Latin or vocation, the doctrine of vocation. Now capitalism has gotten a really bad word in recent years because of crony capitalism. Crony capitalismVocation, Cronyism, and Biblical Sharing 3:13 is where deals are cut, involving government officials, powerful people. In which a deal's cut and they just simply it's another word for theft. There's nothing justifiable3:25 about crony capitalism. The way I'm speaking about capitalism is when it has parameters around it established by Judeo Christian values. So is capitalism3:37 biblical? Well, it is a system by which you work, and you get to keep that which you have earned. But if you put parameters around it guided by Christ following, yes, capitalism3:49 can be a very good thing. Some would say, well, wait a minute. No. It's very selfish. Capitalism is fundamentally selfish. No. I have seen people who have lots of money be4:01 selfish. I have seen people with nothing be selfish. For those, for example, who were Occupy Wall Streeters, they were as greedy as the Wall Street they protested. You don't have to4:13 have a lot to be greedy. You can have nothing and be greedy. So the spirit of greed is always wrong. Don't equate capitalism with greed. Some people say, well, socialism.4:25 Socialism is inherently biblical because they go to Acts chapter 2, and they go they go to those verses in 42, 45 where they shared everything it had in common. No. The4:36 Bible is not socialistic. Socialism is when the government forces you to all share the same amount, exact same thing. The Bible is not socialistic. The4:48 Bible, where in Acts chapter 2 and other places, was voluntaristic. I would hope everybody who's a follower of Christ would be voluntaristic in sharing their resources. In in that particular occasion in Acts chapter5:00 2, there were 3000 followers of Christ at the end of the day. When the day started, there was 120. Well, those 3000 needed a place to stay and to be discipled in the5:12 faith. So what did they do? The hundred and 20 shared all they had to keep the 3003 thousand 120 now, to keep them all there for the purpose of providing healthy discipleship for5:23 them. That wasn't the government coming in and saying, I'm gonna take from you because you have a lot and give to you because you have nothing. A socialist is basically a communist without a gun. The Bible5:35 never advocates socialism. That's really a form of governmental theft. But the Bible does have a healthy view of capitalism as long as it's parameter by5:47 Judeo Christian values and structures around it that keep us from being yielding to a spirit of greed. So capitalism properly defined and5:59 properly refined can be an expression of how we remain in the image of God with great entrepreneurial spirit, great creativity, and awesome productivity.Rewards of Hard Work vs. Socialism's Failures 6:13 Alright, guys. Socialism and capitalism. These are 2 topics that our our generation, the millennials, are completely ignorant on. We don't get it at all. In fact, as many as 40 countries have tried socialism,6:25 and it's failed miserably. Capitalism rewards entrepreneurialship. The spirit of capitalism is really the spirit of good, honest, hard work. And the bible always commends hard work. In6:37 fact, the bible says the worker is worthy of his labor. That means, man, good, honest, hard work, you should deserve6:44 to get paid for that.6:46 Definitely. For example, the creator of this phone, you know how he made money? He made a lot of money by providing the service.6:52 Yeah.6:53 If you provide people that provide a service tend to make a lot of money, you know. And I'm not even mad at the fact that he made more money than me or maybe even make more money than I ever make because he provides a7:03 service.7:04 Right. Absolutely. For an example, last year I graduated from college and oftentimes I would pull all nighters studying studying studying for exams and oftentimes I got A's. On the other hand,7:16 there were other students who wouldn't study, they wouldn't go to class, and they get Fs.7:20 Mhmm.7:20 So say the professor wanted to apply a socialistic approach. She would redistribute my points on my A that I received and gave them to the student who got an F so that we both got C's. So next7:32 time a test would roll around, would I want to study? Absolutely not. Socialism takes away incentive to work hard.In this video 0:00 Is Capitalism Biblical?3:06 Vocation, Cronyism, and Biblical Sharing6:13 Rewards of Hard Work vs. Socialism's Failures
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