The things and man and God
- This page is part of an ERW course, Principles of economic restoration.
- By John Eagles, March 5, 2009
When we speak about economy, we speak about things. Things are available in the form of natural resources and in man-produced products.
We cannot speak about economy without considering the meaning of things in relation to God and man. When we look up in the sky we see the stars and the sun and the moon. We walk over the surface of the earth underneath trees. Animals provide us with food and services. All around us are the things that God has created for us. To do as if we could exchange goods without considering the relationship between God and us and the things would be the same as to deny God. To deny God would mean to ignore our deepest essence as people created in the image of God, as children of God.
Imagine that someone builds large ship and all things on it. On that ship, people are born as children of the builder. The children never get to see who built the ship. When they get older, the children begin a fight over ownership of portions of the ship and even over the entire boat. They make rules for who owns what but never consider that there is someone who built the ship and that he had thoughts about the correct use of the ship by his children. This situation more or less pictures that of the present-day economic dealings of people on this earth.
Essentially all things belong to God. We can own things because God gave them to us, but then it is logical that we ask God how we are supposed to deal with the things.
Some people say that God gave us stewardship over the earth and all animals and things on it. The term 'stewardship' implies that we would only be held responsible as caretakers. But because we are God's children, our responsibility and blessing goes further than mere stewardship. As God's children we can fully inherit the right of ownership, yet this will only come to pass when also live and behave as God's children.
We cannot speak about economy therefore without first having to consider our relationship with God. It is only when we have managed to learn to live as full and good and adult children of God that we will be able to have complete ownership over the things that God has given us.
To the degree that people live away from God or even against God, they are not entitled to any ownership. From God's viewpoint, when people have no relationship to their Creator, they are not legitimate owners of anything. What does this tell about ownership by people who don't recognize God as their Creator, or who haven't learned yet to live under God's control completely? It actually means that all those who have not yet restored their relationship to God must be seen as thieves of all what they claim to own. They may be 'innocent' thieves in the sense that they never learned about God and about how to rightly relate to God, but in that case they are like children of thieves who own property that their father had stolen. For thieves and children of thieves alike, the adagio is that they must return the things to the rightful owner.
The aspect of ownership and exchange of goods in relationship to God as Creator is what in religious terms is called 'offering to God.' Whenever we own or use something, whenever we produce or sell or buy something, there is this element of offering to God that needs to be considered.
Think of the following: God created the universe, the stars and the sun and the moon and the earth. God also created all animals and plants. Our bodies are made of atoms that are provided by all that God created. When we don't recognize God as Creator, we do not even have rightful ownership over our own bodies.
God created the universe as a synthesis of spiritual and physical elements. We have a physical body that is home to our spiritual body. After we die, we enter the spiritual world with our spiritual selves. From there, we shall continue to influence life on earth. We are going to visit our descendants from the spiritual world. When we build a house in the physical world, it depends on how we do this in a spiritual sense whether this house also will stand as a firm and noble construction in the spiritual world. Whenever we make something, we are instilling more or less spiritual content into it.
When we make things, we can do this with love for those for whom the things are made. We can also make things in a mechanical manner. In that case there is little difference between what we make and what is manufactured by a robot. In many cases, people make things while feeling bad and even hateful. The world in which we live is made out of energy. Energies are never just neutral. The most beautiful energies are created in love. When we are aware of this aspect of economy, we can build a world of light and happiness because the things we make will create an atmosphere of joy and light for all those making use of the things.
Above i have mentioned the following three aspects of economy:
The matter of rightful ownership of things, which can only be determined by our relationship to God. We are speaking about the offering aspects of economy, which makes out the essence of religion.
The matter of spiritual aspect of things that we own or use or produce. No economy can be set up in the right way without living a life of spirituality.
The matter of energy aspects of things. All things are made out of energy and it is through our love or sometimes hatred that we fill the things we use, own or produce or trade with. In order to learn how to make a good economy, we need to become aware of this energetic factor. The energies of all things are positive and negative, male and female. It is the harmony between positivity and negativity, masculinity and femininity that brings about good creations and good dominion over all the things that God gave us.
