Economics studies how individuals make choices in the name of uncertainty and scarcity while examining how human behavior affects the production, management, distribution, and effective use of services and goods. The study of economics helps Christians understand the complex and interrelated concepts of the world they live in such as trade, inequality, environment, development, poverty, and justice. Building on economics as a social science that studies human behavior, Christians’ behavior in particular and stewardship to God’s creation, this paper explores the reason why Christian individuals should care about economics in a way that affects stewardship of God’s creation and their obedience to God’s commands.
As Christians, economics helps individuals understand stewardship because Christians should glorify God in everything they do and serve other people with generosity, compassion, and justice. Economics is not just a matter of numbers and graphs but a matter that deals with principles and ethical values. It also helps us evaluate the trade-offs and consequences of our actions and choices and appreciate the wisdom and goodness of God’s creation. As Christians, individuals are accountable to God for how they use the resources their God has entrusted them with. They are also responsible for the impact they have on other people, especially the oppressed, vulnerable, and poor ones. Economics, in this regard, helps them measure the costs and benefits while identifying the incentives and disincentives that influence human behavior and weighing them against our behavior and moral principles.
“God created the world and everything in it and He saw that it was very good” (Gen. 1:31) and “we are called to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves” (Mark 12:30-31) (Bible, 2009). This implies that God wants His creation to be effective stewards of His people. Economics helps us understand that God has endowed us with different gifts, abilities, and talents, and how can we use them to create value and serve others. It also helps us recognize the challenges and limits of our fallen and finite world and how Christians can cope with them through innovation, cooperation, and adaptation while being good stewards to others. In a nutshell, economics can fit into the Christian worldview as a helpful tool that helps Christians fulfill their God-given roles and responsibilities in the world so that they can interact and cooperate with others in a positive and respectful way for effective stewardship.
References
Bible, E. S. V. (2009). The English standard version Bible: Containing the old and new testaments with Apocrypha. Oxford University Press.
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