Good Day Fellow AWOP’ers!
Welcome to the first installment of AWOP’s Biblical Economic Blog. Each month we’ll dissect a biblical economic principal to help in your current economic life. To begin, let’s break down the two terms, “biblical” and “economics”, as a foundation:
• Biblical: Of, relation to, or being in accord with the Bible.1
• Economics: A social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.2 In the American Dictionary of English Language of 1828, Noah Webster defined an economist as “one who expends money, time or labor judiciously, and without waste.”
I know, some of you are thinking, “How boring is this biblical economics going to be?” Not boring at all, I say! We want to use the resources God has given us to build His Kingdom. We need to think of our time, talent, and treasure as ALL for His Kingdom. We need to think beyond our pocket books! God owns everything–including us. Going forward, we will give you the biblical foundation, and pair that with the economically practical/tactical “to-do’s”.
Money is Emotional
Why is this important anyway? How are 2000-year-old practices applicable today? Great questions and here is the first lesson. Say this out loud: “Money is emotional.” Yep, you read that correctly. Money is emotional. Stewardship of God’s resources has always been entrusted to imperfect human beings with free will and emotions. If this blog can help you, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2, NIV). “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Relative to your stewardship, we help resource the kingdom in time talent and treasure.
Over the next blogs we will unpack some basics:
• Giving your money its “marching orders”: a simple way to budget.
• Tithe: it’s more or less 10%?
• God protects my family, so why insurance?
• Taxes: why should I pay Caesar (and can I avoid it later)?
• Thy Will Be Done: basics in estate planning
• Investing: some basic tools to use
We are going to put the fun back into family finances by providing God’s truth with tactical “to-do’s”.
Sincerely,
Just Jason
Get ready for next month’s “Giving Your Money Its Marching Orders: A Simple Way to Budget”.
1http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biblical
2http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/economics.