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The Economy

Definition
The word economy comes from the Greek word οἰκονομία / oikonomía and is originally related to the management of a household.
Today it includes the management of the production, distribution and consumption of the communities’ resources, goods and services. It further includes the business and the trading of those commodities.
Some also define the economy as the management of scarcity, an interesting definition as scarcity varies with time : today, what is scarce is no more financial capital but natural resources.

Key Bible verses
Durtoronomy 8:18

The ability to literally create wealth through ingenuity, enterprise, creativity and effort and is a God-given gift and a universal impulse. The markets and economic systems that emerge whenever people are free to pursue buying and selling become the lifeblood of a nation. This includes anything from farms to small businesses to large corporations.

The challenge is to have a right distribution or resources between all : social justice between the poor and the rich. God does not want poverty but, if prosperity leads man to walk away from God, He can use poverty to chastise him.

Of course this realm is prone to corruption through idolatry, greed and covetousness. In response, the Church must embrace its responsibility to train up those who are called into the marketplace to manage businesses and provide leadership with integrity and honesty. We believe it is the Lord’s will to make people prosperous and that He desires for His Church to use its wealth to finance the work of Kingdom expansion.
The economy appears early in the history of mankind and from Genesis in the Bible :
Genesis 1: 28 : And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and shepherd it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

In the “Strong’s Concordance”, the word “Subdue” is the Hebrew #03533 “Kabash”. That word is closely related to “kebes” (meaning “lamb, sheep, young ram”), which leads tot he idea of shepherding the earth, not overexploiting her, with great consequences in terms of environment and use of natural resources.

Other important verses are:
Haggai 2:7-9 : I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.

Exodus 22:25 : If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.
Hebrews 13:5 : Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Principal opponent on Economy

Money as such is not the problem, but the LOVE OF MONEY is, if you make it an idol which would
lead you to live with a divided heart, divided between « two gods », two kingdoms :
1 Timothy 6:10 : For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Luke 16:13-14 : No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.

Prayer points

  1. Pray for integrity, honesty and protection for the ones who occupy and rule on this mountain, that the Biblical principles would guide them.
  2. Pray for our governing authorities (see above), ministers, decision-makers : for wisdom, for an economy more social and fair, that the rich would not become always richer and the poor always poorer. Pray that men and women who are called to be in the marketplace will have a revelation of their high calling and walk in it, being blessed and seeing supernatural increase.
  3. Pray that Christian leaders would arise on this economic mountain, pray for « marketplace leaders », for Josephs who can help prepare “storehouses”, especially in times of crisis (as the one we are in with this post-covid 19 chapter).
  4. Pray against the operation of unlawful and ungodly businesses that perpetuate sin and hurt our society, such as the drug and alcohol, abortion, pornography and sex-trafficking industries. Pray that the strongholds keeping these centres for profit in operation will be pulled down in the mighty Name of Jesus.
  5. Pray for a fair distribution of work and employment in the world (too much stress on some people and unemployment for others) ; that the jobs would be “sustainable”, that they would help combine and balance better family and work life. Pray against exploitation of human resources.
  6. Pray for the Chambers of Commerce, the Rotary, Kiwanis, and the Lions Club. That the people who join those clubs to elevate their sphere of influence would come in contact with God (many of those groups are recruiting ground for free-masons)..
  7. Pray that Christians would generously sow finances in the Kingdom of God, that they would be free of the influence of Mammon and would invest in Christian projects.