ECONOMY 02 – Private Property & Ownership

ECONOMY 02 – PRIVATE PROPERTY & OWNERSHIP

God established the right to private property
  • Thou shalt not steal = right to private property
  • God-given right of all human beings
  • God is Creator and therefore Owner of everything > God makes us owners
  • Ownership is a good thing > God wants and save guards our ownership
Why? What does ‘Owning things’ teach us? 
  • To use things rightly … to take care of things
  • to maintain things … to fix things at the right time
  • to understand the true value of a thing
  • to be faithful with things … to be responsible for things
  • to train us in stewardship… to train us in basic leadership
Ownership = Selfishness?
  • Defending my right to my things … is this not selfish?
  • God commands generosity … but you cannot give unless you truly own
  • God first saves our Right to own > which then gives us the ability to give
Men’s most original job description                                   Genesis 1:28

“Fill the earth and take charge of it, have dominion over the fish … birds … every living thing…The Lord took the man and put him in the garden to till it and keep it”

  • God is the Creator and ultimate Owner of everything.
  • From creation God gave responsibility and care for the world to humans
  • So we are stewards / care-takers before God and under God
  • Authority is given > right & responsibility to work / use / innovate / develop / enjoy
  • Authority is limited > no right to destroy, for we are not the true or only owners.
Levels of ownership? Kinds of ownership?
  • my poem…my pen…my land…my goat…my son…my wife…my country…my God
  • Different levels of ownership, of authority, of limits of authority, of responsibility
Ownership and development

Proverbs 27:23-27 … “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds … the lambs will provide your clothing, … goat’s milk for your food …”

  • Value of labor … need for planning … slow growth … need for patience …self-control now will lead to increase later…re-investment…long-term thinking…development…providing for others also
  • We all own at least some money, things… we own our time, our words, our labor, our strength, our ability to pray, …
  • How do you spend it? How do you use it? Are you a good steward
  • Matthew 25:14 The Parable of the talents: doesn’t matter how much you have, but: be faithful over little > you will be able to be faithful over much
  • If you can’t take care of little things, how can God give you more?
  • If you can’t take care of things, how can God give people into your care? How can he give you leadership?
  • God requires accounting of his stewards, God requires increase … things in our hands need to increase in quantity, quality, development, usefulness, …
Wanting more and God’s way of getting more

Luke 12:48 … “For everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required”

  • We want things but we don’t want responsibility. Don’t cry for too much!
  • Leadership = authority = hard work = responsibility = accountability
  • if you don’t want to work or serve, if you don’t want responsibility, don’t be a leader
  • Illustration: Jackpot winners … within 15 years all had less than before!
  • Proverbs 13:11 “Wealth hastily gotten will dwindle, but those who gather little by little will increase it.
  • Proverbs 13:22 “The good leave an inheritance to their children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous”
  • God’s pattern: slow increase of goods by work… with it increase of character, wisdom, management, self-control … over generations of a family
  • God will not bless quick-rich schemes. Do not believe in quick-rich schemes. Do not go for quick-rich schemes.
The Importance of boundaries
  • There are limits to any authority given to us
  • Bible strongly instructs boundaries of all kinds:
    • Property      Deu 19:14    ‘You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker’
    • Political       Deu 2:5         ‘I won’t give you so much as a foot’s length of their land’
    • Relational   Deu 5:18        ‘Do not commit adultery’
  • I need to know what I may and may not do … what is and isn’t under my care
  • Boundaries tell me till where I am responsible, and where my authority ends
  • Example: African farmers, farming only 50% land because no exact borders are known
  • This is an economic nonsense!
  • Boundaries are good and needed
    • > I need to know what is mine and what isn’t
    • > I need to know what is and is not my responsibility
    • > Otherwise how can I know whether I am faithful?
    • > I am not responsible for everything, but I am responsible for some things
    • > I need to know what I can and cannot do
    • > otherwise how will I know whether I am transgressing?
  • We must know till where we have responsibility … and work hard to fulfill it > faithfulness
  • We must know what is a transgression of boundaries … and not do it > not sin
When the Right to Private Property is denied

Communism

  • Communism denies people the right to private property > collective property
  • Examples of communist countries (at one time): Soviet Union, Cuba, Mozambique, China, Northern Korea, Vietnam, etc.
  • ‘Everything belongs to everybody’ = ‘everything belongs to the government’ = ‘everything belongs to a few powerful people’
  • ‘Classless society’ is a beautiful ideal, but in reality communist countries have strong hierarchies and great differences between ruling class and normal citizens
  • Within 4 years of Lenin taking power and establishing the Soviet Union, the country descended into famine (1919-1923). Why?
  • Policy of ‘Everything belongs to everybody’ = no difference whether I work or no > decrease of production > lack > poverty
  • Policy of ‘Redistributing wealth by force’… but quickly there is nothing left to redistribute and no incentive to create new wealth
Countries with a less human rights: majority is poor, few are rich
Countries with more human rights: most are well off, some are poor, some rich

Socialism

  • Policy of taxing the rich to give free services to the poor
    • > rich are taxed as high as 70, 80, 90% of income
    • > if I earn nothing more by hard work, effort, innovation > why should I work?
    • > frustration of the hard working, skilled, able, enterprising and innovative people

Extended families

  • Forever demanding money from the hard working members to finance the indulgent, irresponsible members of the family > no savings possible

On a bigger scale

  • Worldwide: when the human right to private property is not granted > other human rights are also not granted
  • Worldwide: wherever right to private property is safe guarded > development, high productivity, relative economic prosperity
  • You can deny people the right to private property in a society, but you cannot do so without hurtful economic consequences!

Special ways of stealing

  • ‘Financing’ = small payments after purchase > ending up giving as much as double the buying price
  • Personal debt = stealing from your own future
  • Consumer loan = God did not give me enough, therefore I will arrange for myself in other ways
  • Family debt = stealing from your own children (no inheritance, inheriting debts)
  • National debt = stealing from future generations
  • Inflation = government stealing by printing more money > value of money falling > cheating those who saved
  • Unequal trade agreements
ECONOMY