Debt slavery

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Debt slavery

Written by Mr. Trev McCallum

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Tough times are being experienced across the developed world. Unemployment is high, companies are closing their doors and our buck doesn’t buy quite what it used to. What should we do in times like this? There are two options; be thrifty with what you have or spend what is yours (or even not yours). I think most would agree that when financial times are tough it is wise to tighten up one’s belt and stop spending. Perhaps I’m a simpleton. To me it is obvious; when times are tough household spending and debt levels should naturally reduce and savings increase. If the family does not know whether dad will have a job or the business will keep producing the same income; expenditure is cut wherever possible. Right? Does this make sense? It does to me. Well, hang on then. Why is it then that at the outset of the recent financial recession our government opened the spending and national debt floodgate? A future generation’s freedom has been mortgaged to provide the wants of a few groups now. Have I missed something here? I think I might have, perhaps simpleton will stick!

There are many free resources and suggestions at the end of this article. So persevere through or just skip to the end for some suggestions and free online books.

My opening remarks highlighted a Puritanical work and savings ethic. Such an ethic is the outworking of a Biblical world and life view. This work ethic has a long-term view. Many Christians have perhaps never realized or forgotten the long term nature of the Christian work. Christ gave His church the responsibility to disciple the nations, teaching them to obey His Law ( Matthew 28). This will take a long time. Perhaps it will be many thousands, if not tens of thousands, of years. Short sightedness in the grandness and extent of the Great Commission causes long-term consequences. As followers of Christ we are to be thrifty with the monetary blessings God has bestowed upon us. We are stewards of His creation. There is no room for Christian “stinginess” but equally we must be wise with our possessions. This means managing our affairs according to God’s Word. More than that, it includes teaching others and the nations to manage all of their affairs according to the Law of God. This is a long term view. It takes time and hard work to preach the Word and also disciple people in how to live as believers. Perhaps we have forgotten the (humanly speaking) most difficult aspect of our Christian life: discipling the nations to obey Christ’s commandments. Changing how one lives in the world is often difficult and painful. It is hard to change a mindset of spending that which is not our own. The road more frequently travelled is to indebt oneself, family, church, state and country to the bankers. This slippery slope easily leads to thinking that our father in Canberra will redistribute wealth to support our wants/needs.

Our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, is a self-acclaimed socialist. He attaches the label Christian to the front of that political philosophy, informing us that he is “an old-fashioned Christian socialist”.^[1] In my opinion this term creates one of the greatest oxymora ever seen. But this is exactly where the difficulty is. Many modern Christians do not possess an adequate Biblical worldview. It allows bales of wool to be pulled over unsuspecting eyes. New eyes are needed, not glasses or a change of lenses. We need to be trained in a worldview that comes straight from the Scriptures. This training must incorporate all of life. There is no neutrality, whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, it must be to the glory of God ( 1 Corinthians 10:31). This includes the usage of our money and other possessions. Does this leave no room for the sovereignty of God over providing for us? No. God is sovereign, even the falling sparrow occurs due to His sovereign will ( Matthew 10:29). The other side of the coin is that God has given us the responsibility to do His “will on earth as it is in heaven” ( Matthew 6:9-13) through the Great Commission ( Matthew 28). We are responsible to live according to our profession of faith. This means we must love the Lord with all things that He has blessed us with. To love God is to obey His commandments ( John 14:15). The basic premise of any form of socialism is coercive use of governmental authority to redistribute wealth from one class of people to another. This is achieved through various means. One that stands out is the sliding (graduated) scale of taxation, the more income you earn the higher your tax. The sovereign government then redistributes the income of the “rich” to the poor through social programs and cash payments. This system of wealth redistribution is a carbon copy from Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto.^[2] How is this age old practice not theft? The Christian Socialist Movement (CSM)^[3] states on the one hand that they “believe in personal freedom, exercised in community with others and embracing civil, social and economic freedom.”^[4] A little further down the page the CSM states that this will be accomplished via “redistribution economically to close the gap between the rich and the poor.” Any honest Christian socialist must point out how this ideology does not break the 8^th commandment ( Exodus 20:15). Redistribution of wealth, via governmental intervention, is forcefully taking from one person to give to another. How does tax payer funded social security not constitute theft? However, the Christian socialist is on the horns of the argument when asked these questions. The answer destroys the mythical philosophical consistency of socialism and Christianity. Perhaps many CMSs do not have 2 Thessalonians 3:10in their Bible. Or perhaps it is overlooked. Our social zeal should not break what is commanded in this passage; “if any would not work, neither should he eat.” Social reform is not about redistributing wealth. It is about the power of the Gospel unto salvation, from which flows discipling men to be diligent, thrifty and God honoring with their time, talents and possessions.

Many argue that the government has a responsibility to the poor. Yes, the Bible commands governments to protect the poor ( Isaiah 10:1-2). Socialists of every taint push the argument further; Canberra must feed, clothe and fund the poor. However, the problem here is that this (diaconal) responsibility is not afforded the government in the Scriptures. It is afforded the church, whose witness and work will be far greater once the faulty philosophy of Marx and Engels is thrown in the bin. Nowhere does the Bible grant government authority to amass untold amounts of wealth and debt to encourage laziness and slothfulness in its citizens. Enormous governmental power, authority and sovereignty exasperate these ungodly tendencies in citizens. We see this in the reckless spending of all western governments. Our Australian government is spending like there is no tomorrow. The following graph plots the net Commonwealth debt from June 1993 to 2009^[5]:

Redistributing wealth is happening on a massive scale. So much so that our Commonwealth Government is mortgaging our and our children’s futures. From December 2008 to June 2009 the Australian federal debt nearly doubled (from $55 to $101 billion) and Kevin Rudd sees no reason to stop. In fact some report that budget papers estimate Australia (i.e. you and me and our children) will still be in debt in ten years.^[6] Government spending does not create jobs without a side effect. Funding is taken by force from one group of people (i.e. stealing their ability to save and create jobs) and given to another. This is not necessarily, and usually is not, the most efficient use of resources. The recession we are in has been swept under the carpet via Government spending and the Reserve Bank of Australia (and all other reserve banks) creating fiat money ex-nihilo. Governments then splash this money around to key lobby groups via fiscal policy^[7] and reserve banks via interest rates, expressed in monetary policy^[8]. This will not solve the problem in the long run. Debt is bondage and the slave will repay the master. Who will we become slaves to is an appropriate question. Taxes will pay for the borrowings; it is just a matter of when these will increase.

In the Bible 10% ( 1 Samuel 8:14, 17) and 20% ( Genesis 47) taxation of income is seen as tyrannical. Our tax rates are more than tyrannical. They cripple the church and many thrifty, hard working individuals and families. Why? Who wants to save and be thrifty when the Federal Government redistributes your income by brute force? Not many, the rest seek to hide/protect their income in legal or “illegal” tax structures. This is the “Christian” socialist dilemma; nowhere does the Bible advocate a system of giving that is forced from fear of the governmental sword. Scripture presents a system of God’s people giving of their own free will. Even the tithe is commanded and then each individual is responsible for his own (household) obedience. There is no ecclesiastical tithe police! Christian giving should not be governed at the point of a big government gun. If you don’t believe our government uses this gun, try to refuse paying your income tax. You can’t and if you do, as a business/self employed person, the ATO will find and prosecute you.

As Bible believing Christians we ought to be hard/wise workers; who save for the future through thriftiness. We ought to be generous with our giving, within the means God has blessed us with. As God fearers we ought to demolish the argument that socialism and Christianity are compatible. We are free people because Jesus died for our sins. We should not want to be in bondage to any totalitarian government policy.

1. Know what you have. It is imperative to know your financials, where you spend money and where it could be saved. Budget to use only what you have. Try to save an amount regularly or pay down more on your debts.

2. Stay out of debt as much as possible. Debt is not evil, but it does put you in bondage to the lender. Limit the time that you are in bondage. You should be able to increase your giving to missionary/discipleship/evangelistic works if you become a good steward of your wealth.

3. Become educated in financial matters. This does not mean go to university. At university you will be indoctrinated in spending what you don’t have. Rather read God’s word and books about economics and finances. Be careful here. There are many well meaning Christian socialists. But you should try and read at least one good book on the subject every year.

Here are a number of excellent free resources to kick start your reading. These are thanks to I.C.E FreeBooks:

An Introduction to Christian Economics can be freely downloaded at this LINK.
Sacrifice and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Acts can be downloaded at this LINK for free.
Honest Money: The Biblical Blueprint for Money and Banking can be downloaded at this LINK for free.

The Anselm eShop has a few excellent reading materials too:

Biblical Economics should be read by every Christian and can be bought at this LINK.
Inherit the Earth, Biblical Principles for Economics, lays out (in laymen’s terms) the Biblical blueprints for economics. It can be purchased at this LINK.

4. Approach your pastor/minister and ask for him to deal with the sin of theft, including government redistribution, when appropriate from the pulpit. Talk to your minister/pastor about what the Biblical model for a government is. Pray for him to not fear man.

5. Write to your federal MP and ask for the government to reduce our national debt instead of increasing it.

6. Write to the Australian Christian Lobby and Salt Shakers, asking them to lobby the government to slow and start eliminating spending. Government needs to reduce and eliminate debt. We cannot continue to spend at the rate we are without long term consequences. Our children and grand children will be in bondage.

Due to government legislation I need to declare that this article is not intended as financial advice of any form. It is simply a commentary of how I believe the Bible applies to our lives. Please ASH query me any questions or comments. I am more than happy to address any queries in a subsequent article.

End Notes

^[1] The Sydney Institute, 30 October 2007, The Slow Creep of Conservatism, cited October 2009: http://www.thesydneyinstitute.com.au/ghwcContent.php?ghwcID=153.

^[2] Marx K, Engels F, 1848, The Manifesto of the Communist Party, point 2, p. 20, cited October 2009: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/manifest.pdf.

^[3] Many socialists (including Christians) seek to distance themselves from Communism. However this is mere wishful thinking. There is a popular “fictitious distinction” between communism and socialism. “The two terms socialism and communism are synonyms.” Von Mises L, 1990, Economics Freedom and Interventionism, An Anthology of Articles and Essays, The Foundation for Economic Education Inc., New York, p.117.

^[4] Christian Socialist Movement, What We Stand For, cited October 2009: http://www.thecsm.org.uk/Groups/87274/Christian_Socialist_Movement/About_CSM/What_we_stand/What_we_stand.aspx.

^[5] Australian Office of Financial Management, Table H16: Government securities on issue at 30 June 1983 to 2009, cited October 2009: http://www.aofm.gov.au/content/historical_08_09.asp?NavID=15.

^[6] Hartcher P, 2009, Rudd has lost his boldness and roar, Sydney Morning Herald May 13, 2009, cited October 2009: http://www.macroeconomics.com.au/files/Rudd's_lost_boldness_&_roar_SMH_13_May_09.pdf.

^[7] “Fiscal policy is defined as the action by the federal government of Australia in collecting revenue from the Australian economy and spending the proceeds of these actions. Each year, the government will hand down a budget, and in this budget the treasurer will state how the revenue will be collected, and what it will be spent on.” Cited October 2009: http://economics.mrwood.com.au/unit4/fiscal/approach/fapproach1.asp.

^[8] “Monetary policy can be defined as those actions by the Reserve Bank of Australia that are designed to affect the availability of money in the Australian economy. The RBA achieves this by altering the supply of money, which in turn will affect the cost at a retail level.” Cited October 2009: http://economics.mrwood.com.au/unit4/monetary/approach/mapproach1.asp.

Published in : Worldviews, Economics

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