Life, Travel, GRACE

This world was carefully crafted for the ones who would bear His image. It is a home fit for those who were the crown of creation. It is a world rich in resources to sustain them and to give them a creative opportunity to serve others. It is a world that draws people to God and teaches them about Him. It is a world of incredible joy and delight. Excerpt from More Than Money . The world was indeed designed for life, learning, joy and as capital. All these will lead to the ultimate purpose of God i.e. to demonstrate His glory. In order to achieve these purposes, we will need to discern basic principles of economic life. After all, He calls us to work together. The principles of economic activity include creativity, wisdom, productive abundance, generosity, integration of the individual and community and finally love that serves.

The material world serves as a means to sustain life. This gift from God has been passed down through Adam. This resource continues to benefit mankind, which is called capital. Our resources are abundant, from plants, flocks, precious stones, and minerals to lands ( Gen 1:29-30, 2:12 ). With the capital resource given, man transforms them into other form for use in work and service. People works out the resources and make it fruitful for other means of needs. However, some people might have use the capital in a detrimental way. Most of them are for personal gain. Note that when we begin with capital, victimhood is removed. Without capital, people are always dependent on others. God’s intention for the capital is fruitfulness (in quantity and quality) ( Isa 55:10-11 ).

One of the purposes of God’s created world is enjoyment and delight. In fact, the Garden of Eden literally means “delight” in Hebrew. It is God’s intention to bring joy to mankind. Because of this, we can enjoy our resources and possessions. One may ask whether it is “spiritual” or biblical. It’s not wrong as long as we are not forgetting the provider. It will become illegitimate if we have committed sin for this enjoyment. Typical examples are cheating and stealing for our own gratification. The acts are not glorifying Him though. Apparently, it is necessary for God to provide us with aesthetic beauty and delight. However, huge industries are built around entertainment these days. What is then the relation between entertainment and aesthetic delight? Are they from the same category? One is man made and the other one is God’s art of work. How can we apply the concept of aesthetic beauty and delight in our business, work or the use of our resources? That should be achieved by alloca...

The God’s created world is a classroom, an environment that was designed for continual, lifelong learning and worship. This world teaches us that God is the creator (Job 12:7-10). It speaks of the glory of God (Rom 1:20) that our worship should be to him. Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Psalm 111:2 Isn’t that God’s creation and its wondrous that stir in us a desire to worship Him? This should allow us to focus on Him, not on the materialism itself. Therefore, be watchful so that you will not worship the created world itself. The world also gives lesson in wisdom, God’s provision and faith (Pro 30:24-31, Mat 6:28-30). We learn from the nature and it makes us to be a better planner. The Scriptures also use observation from the material world to deliver lessons about living. We learn about God by observing how He utilizes the material world. What does your management and use of material resources communicate to others about you and God? As Go...

From the account of the creation, God was focused on preparing a “custom-built” home for mankind. He planted Eden and put the man he had formed there (Gen 2:8). Earth is not only created for human but for all creatures (or living life) as well (Psa 104:5-30). It is therefore, God’s purpose to form the world to be inhabited (Isa 45:18). And he sustains this with his provision (both food and joy) (Act 14:17). These evidences describe God’s care to us, as one can see our “home” is complete and ever sustaining and providing. Think of the world. No wonder the Scriptures agree that we live by God’s grace. Imagine you were the first to awake in the newly created world, one cannot deny the feeling of home, a sense of life and abundance. This should be how our home or business feels like when people walk into it. Do you feel at home (or homey) in your work place as well as in your living quarter? Our growing is influenced and shaped by our environments. Remember how our home shaped us as a chil...

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:11-12 From the old testaments to the new testaments, numerous verses focus on the praising and glorifying God. Indeed, this purpose of glorifying God is demonstrated in the work of God, mankind and material world. It is because God is the creator that he deserves the honor, praise and glory. Similarly, the creation itself is the sign of the glory of God. As we are made in the image of God, we should manifest God’s glory in our economic activity as well. How do we, as individual (and as a group) can reflect the glory of God in ...

“Unlike an office complex or gymnasium, which have no value if people do not inhabit them, creation can glorify and bring God delight apart from human presence. Flora and fauna exist first and foremost not for human use or enjoyment but for God’s pleasure.” Rodney Clapp Just as the world was crafted especially for man, man was fashioned and placed into the world for a specific role and purpose. Creation, as spectacular as it is, was not the apex of God’s creative work. The heavens and earth were but a setting to display the wonder or wonders of God’s work. The intensity of this anticipation and delight is reflected by the threefold usage of the Hebrew word, bara , (created), in Genesis 1:27. The poetic structure of this sentence attests to the incredible emotion of wonder and joy that God had in creating man. The whole stage was now set. Now He was ready to place something entirely different and wonderful onto center stage. The world awaited the one who would bear the image of the invi...

The origin of the economic activity was examined. We would look at the account of creation to see economic principles at work. The book of Genesis provides the first definitive account of how the spiritual and the material worlds collaborate to accomplish God’s purpose. The first two chapters of Genesis (Gen 1:1-2:25) provide the most significant description of God’s architecture of material world. We would notice the astounding scope of His work, His attention to the smallest detail, the beauty of His design and order. God’s creativity is revealed through the creation. A thought to ponder: capital is defined as resources which produce an ongoing return. How do we observe this material world as the capital base that God has created for man? The creation of flora and fauna (which were created foremost than human) is for God’s pleasure. Then God entrusted man to be the caretaker of this magnificent material world. It is thought that this earth was a gift for Adam (of course the other gre...

As we have completed the study on Dangers Men Face (I haven’t got the chance to share the discussion of the remaining chapters), we explored the biblical concept of economy and management. The study material is More Than Money , the last module of Scriptural Roots of Commerce . The purpose of this study is to understand the foundation of economic life. We will see that the material world is meant for the glory of the God. As we try to align our perspective with God, we face tension - tension with God and with the people around us. Among the tensions which some of us may feel (excerpt from the study module): Caring for people yet seeking profit Humility and the drive for success Ethics, justice and misuse of authority Family, business and social responsibilities Handling personal possessions well in a needy society Upholding moral values in a corrupt environment Personal drives vs corporate demands What have you tried to manage these tension...