Tag: stewardship
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Living Simply in Abundance (25)
What can we conclude about living simply in abundance? Here are eight thoughts. First and foremost, living simply is not a matter of material wealth. It is a relational matter with God. Our singular focus on God will orient our relationship to our wealth and every other aspect of our life. Second, God's intention for…
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Living Simply in Abundance (24)
I've suggested that we need to get in touch with the forces within us that distort our sense of need and be intentional in our financial management. Beyond this, I want to suggest that we must also become disillusioned. Isn't it interesting that the word "disillusion" has a negative connotation? After all, if we are…
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Living Simply in Abundance (9)
What was Jesus' view of wealth? I want to begin in what may not seem to be the most obvious place for discussion: The discourse on the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24-25), especially the stories of the talents and the story of the sheep and goats in chapter 25. Matthew presents the Mount of Olives…
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Living Simply in Abundance (7)
Earlier in this series, I wrote that wealth and prosperity were promised outcomes for faithfulness to the Mosaic covenant. But within that covenant, we find this warning: Deuteronomy 8:17-20 17 Do not say to yourself, "My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth." 18 But remember the LORD your…
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Economic Fallacies: “Zero-Sum Game”
The Zero-Sum Game Fallacy views wealth as a fixed quantity meaning the only way someone gets wealthy is at someone else's expense. There are three possible types of games in the world. First, there is the lose-lose game. There are not many examples of this one. I always think of the 1983 movie War Games…
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Economic Fallacies: “Biblical Redistribution”
The Biblical Redistribution fallacy identifies wealth equalization as the primary economic concern of the Bible; the Jubilee Code of Leviticus 25 is the most exemplary passage. Based on this perspective, public policies ranging from tax rates to debt cancellation for developing nations are advocated. These policies may be worthy and appropriate, but that is distinct…
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Imago Dei and the Material World (Part 1)
What are we to make of the world we live in? What is our relationship to the created order? Many Christians in recent years have reevaluated the significance of the material world in light of the biblical narrative. Recovery of eschatological and teleological frameworks has become central to this renewed interest. Until recently, most mainline…
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“Compassion, Justice, and Christian Life” Book Review
Yogi Berra once said, "To say a player has potential means he hasn't done it yet." Many folks offer ideas about Christian community development they say have potential for transforming communities. Bob Lupton doesn't just have potential ideas. He has done it for more than thirty years in Atlanta. I've followed his work since I…
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The Chief End
Scot McKnight had an interesting post at Jesus Creed last Thursday called Is the chief end … missional? You are no doubt familiar with the first question of the Westminster Catechism: Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. (If you are…
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The Other Six Days: C5 – Trinitarian View of Work
The Other Six Days Part Two – Summoned and Equipped by God: Chapter 5 – Doing the Lord's Work Trinitarian View of Work So what is God's work? Stevens lists more than thirty adjectives from the Bible that describe God at work. He identifies four themes: Creator – forms, fabricates, maintains and finishes.Lover – does…