The Economy of God

I'm in the process of reading a book by one of my favorite authors, Miroslav Volf (if you would like to know more, click the link to the right for "Exclusion and Embrace"). This book is titled "Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace." Pretty much, Volf is contrasting the economy of this world with the economy of God.

Each of us that has grown up in the United States has a pretty skewed idea of what it means to give and receive. If you give someone a birthday card, you will be disappointed if you do not receive a birthday card back. If you invite someone to dinner, you can expect to be invited to dinner in the next month or so. We believe in reciprocity. The problem?

This is not the economy that God desires. God expects us to give without any return. If we lend money, it should be free of interest. If we give gifts, we shouldn't expect them to be used in a way that pleases us. We should lavish on those who cannot hope to pay us back. Why?

Because God has first done those things for us. God started his economy at the start of all things. He created things that couldn't possibly return the gift of being or of life. Later, he redeemed those things he created in a way that they couldn't possibly hope to return. As hopeless children, all we can give to God that he desires is our own love. And while that is intangible, it is something that God created the entire cosmos to have.

So what does that mean? It means as Christians, and as larger units as the Church, we should be giving without expecting return. We should be willing to receive graciously, because that is part of the divine economy. Imagine if everyone was willing to give but no one was willing to receive? We must receive and seek to pass the blessing to someone who doesn't deserve it and can't earn it. We should be willing to ask, because God tells us we should as from him. Words like "earn" and "merit" are not longer worth mentioning, because in God's economy none of us can earn or merit anything. All we can do is receive, and then, in turn, give.

Volf says this "For a giver, every need is in a sense like any other need, and the mere fact of its existence is a sufficient reason for attending to it. Only ungracious and reluctant givers inspect the causes of a need and dole out the benefits in proportion to its legitimacy.
"Some needy recipients may prove unworthy. They may be ungrateful, they may squander gifts irresponsibly before their genuine need is satisfied, and they may greedily refuse to pass even a crumb from their table to neighbors in more dire need. They clearly need to learn how to both receive and give- though probably not from those who give to them, lest the givers prove to be reluctant and arrogant, and therefore bad givers. Yet if receipients are in need, gifts should be given. Need is the only justification a gift requires."