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I would argue that it has to physically come from somewhere, and if we don't earn it ourselves, then we must receive it from others. So our only choice is to depend on those who do the work for pay, so that we can benefit from their generosity? This does not make any sense to me. How is that honoring God?
"The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment".
Proverbs 10:16
I do not believe that the full witness of Scripture is for Christ followers to completely disengage ourselves from the economy that we have been placed in, whether it is sinful or not. No human system is perfect- it is corrupted by greed and the sins of man. But our responsibility is to engage the system in a way that challenges it and utilizes it to further the kingdom of God. If I don't make a living for myself, someone else will have to make it for me.
I am certainly struggling with the most faithful way to walk out life in this society that demands that I be a producer/consumer for the rest of my life, and encourages me to never jump off the hamster wheel. But I believe that the answer is not to simply work for free and trust God to provide in a figurative sense, or through the hard work of others, without engaging in the marketplace at all. It is to discern God's specific call on my life, and run toward it with faith that He will make a way.
Whether that calling is to work in full time ministry and accept the gifts of others to further that ministry, or to own a business and employ workers, and provide customers with a valuable product or service, than so be it. Money is not evil- the love of money is evil. Working for a wage is honorable, and can be redeemed by the Lord to honor Him if we will listen to His specific guidance in our lives and not to the voices of fear and lack that so pervade our culture today.
I think the first thing we should do with the good and hard questions that immediately come to mind (related to this topic) is ask them while looking at the life of Jesus. He offered his work and time to people for free, as a gift, and his needs were provided by the gifts of others. And I think we agree that his life made sense and was honoring to God, right?
Jesus did not force anyone to pay his bills or provide his food (this is not a "welfare" scenario). What he did was give, and trust God to inspire others to give to him. And his giving did inspire others to give, to other people and to him. These experiences were blessings both for those who received from Jesus and also to those who gave to him.
Jesus also did not "completely disengage from the economy," at least not in the sense of disconnecting from the giving and receiving that happens between people. He contributed much to his community (healing, teaching) and received food and shelter from people, in what I have called a "gift economy." He also seems to have used money at times, to buy food for example. (These things were still a gift in a way, though, since he had this money because someone gave it to him.) What he disengaged from was the practice of "selling ourselves" for pay. His work was free, his receiving of goods was free. Love alone motivated those exchanges. This is revolutionary, earth-shaking, amazing.
This does not stand in the way of discerning the specific call of God in our lives. Quite the opposite, it frees us to follow that call single-mindedly, with all our energy and time, without worrying about "making a living" or "paying our way" first. Which is precisely what Jesus told us to do:
And this doesn't just apply to itinerants or missionaries. Jesus spoke generally and to all, inviting us all into this miraculous life of the kingdom. And, among his followers throughout history, there have been many examples of people with all kinds of callings living this way. Caring for orphans (George Muller), providing medical care (many examples, much like Doctors Without Borders), building houses (Habitat for Humanity), and on and on. I also have practical experience living this way, during many years lived "on the road" and years lived in one place. My wife and I are now offering free spiritual retreats on a farm in the country for poor people from the city (more info here).
I am not trying to say money is evil, or prevent anyone from working for a wage, if that is what they really want to do. I've just heard from many people (and experienced myself) the burden of trying by our own hard work to support ourselves and our families, and how often it distracts from "what we really feel called to do by God." And I'm saying Jesus offered an answer to that. An incredible, miraculous (but very real) answer.
I'm also saying that this way of living and working (as we see in Jesus' life) communicates much more clearly the nature of the kingdom of God and the ways of our generous, loving Father.
Once he "went on the road" so to speak, he took up the life of an itinerant teacher/prophet/healer. For that period of time he depended on the generosity of others, and gave freely what he had to offer, which was not any product, but the truth of the kingdom of God and it's arrival on earth. He relied on the faithful support of others who continued to work to help him in ministry! This is no different today than a person being called to do long term missions and asking for support from others. Everyone has a place and role in the kingdom, and some people's role is to help support financially.
I work for a non-profit. And Doctors Without Borders, and Habitat for humanity are funded by a small group of people with deep pockets, as well as a larger group of people who give their hard earned money to support the work of Christ. No non-profit can run without funding. That is just a cold hard fact. So using those organizations as examples of a money free love-based economy is a false assumption. I will restate it: without people who "sell themselves for money" supporting them, these organizations would simply not exist.
When Christ said "be anxious for nothing", He was speaking to man's heart. For some individuals, it may be necessary for them to strip themselves of all earthly possessions and rely on others for support to truly trust God for provision. But my practical point is, everyone is called to engage in different ways. Placing a blanket prescription on all believers to not charge for their work or earn a wage is simply economically and financially unrealistic and unsustainable, and is not supported by the full witness of Scripture.
When you mention that trying to earn money and provide for our families is a distraction from "what God is really calling us to do", I can understand that frustration. I would desperately like to finish my degree, have a child, and be able to work in full time ministry and still afford a simple lifestyle. But have you considered that God may be trying to improve our character through a little hard work and patience? My mother, whenever I would complain that something "wasn't fair", would retort, "honey, life isn't fair.". And as much as I hated that statement it is true. We live in a fallen world, and we have been cursed to work the ground and toil for our living. If our Lord and Savior had to do it, who are we to assume that we are above it?
A believer's responsibility is to discern in their heart what God is calling them to do specifically, and that will look very different for each of us concerning our vocation and how we will provide for ourselves. He has a very unique plan for each of us concerning this.
Last but not least, I would encourage you to check out a few organizations that are creatively utilizing the free market to make a HUGE impact, Tom's Shoes
http://www.tomsshoes.com/ and ThriftSmart http://www.thriftsmartfranchise.com/
Business and commerce can be utilized in creative ways to spread the kingdom, and "selling ourselves" or "giving it away" don't have to be our only two options.
The rest of your argument seems to be that Jesus received gifts from people who worked for pay, and so do missionaries and other charity workers. I agree. But I don't see how that contradicts anything I have said. Jesus encouraged people to give of what they have, and he accepted their gifts, and that is primarily how God provided for him and his disciples. But Jesus never told anyone to keep working for money so that they could keep supporting him. On the contrary, he told them to "sell all, give to the poor" and follow him. He told them to follow his example, and that included his example of giving freely of his work and not asking anything in return.
Jesus did not consign anyone to stay back and hold down a job to be a "supporter," while he and his disciples lived the beautiful, amazing life of the kingdom. All were invited and called to follow. Of course most will not, or will only follow "to some extent"; so we don't have to worry about there being any shortage of people with wealth to share. There will always be people that can give of what they have, but hopefully they will follow Jesus' call and continue to give more and more, on their way towards giving all. No one needs to stay back to support others who are following more radically. To read more about this, go here.
So there is no "cold, hard fact" standing in the way. And we need not continue to toil under "the curse." Our savior has come, and he has invited us into his kingdom. It begins now, for those who will believe and follow him.
He only told one person to go sell all, give to the poor, and come follow him. We have evidence that the disciples left their occupations to follow Christ, and that later they sold their possessions to live in common. But this was a voluntary thing, not a sign of their commitment to the Way, as is illustrated in the words of Peter when Annaias and Saphira died. And while the Christian community in Jerusalem lived as a commune, this was not the predominant mode of living for Christendom in the first and second century.
As Jesus was the eldest son and his earthly father had passed away, it was his responsibility to care for the family. He passed this responsibility on to the apostle John at his crucifixion. Considering all the passages in the Bible of how we should work hard, honestly, etc. I don't know how you could assume that Jesus did not live an exemplary life in his work as a carpenter.
The passage Mark refers to is immediately after the Luke 12 passage I quoted in the article above:
Plus, there is the problem with being compensated for so much of my effort. In Mathew 6, Jesus taught that we should be CAREFUL not to be compensated for our works. This is a very hard saying, but I know it needs to be taken seriously. While too often the tendency is to ask how can I be better paid or recognized for the work I'm doing, Jesus tells me the question I should ask is, "How can I do this work without being paid, noticed, or even thanked?"
It's important, though, to focus ourselves on what we are being called to do by God ("seek his kingdom") and not just on ridding ourselves of a job. It is a risky thing to give up our source of income, and it can have very hard consequences. I believe we can trust God to support us in this, if we are trying to be obedient, and following his lead towards the work he has for us. But if we are not, if we are running away from work or just making some critique of society by rejecting it, then we could find ourselves quickly regretting our recklessness.
If you decide to give up your job, consider the verse 'six days shall you labor and do all that you are able, and the seventh day rest'. I job has nice convenient boundaries about how much work is expected for how long. If you give up your job, then I would expect that the obligation to work would increase to pretty much all your waking time six days a week. If you were actively helping people/society/the environment out all that time, I believe God would take care of your needs if you knew how to see his provision. But that is a lot more work than most people are willing to do.
And I am not aware of Jesus ever adding the stipulation that God would care for our needs "if you were actively helping people/society/the environment" "pretty much all your waking time." Jesus was not demanding more work of us, but offering rest.
What we are called to do is obey God's will for us in our work. From Jesus' example it is clear that this does indeed mean giving and caring for others. But the motivation for this work does not come from some ethical demand to work "all your waking time" (which means always wondering if we are working enough to satisfy God) but from the love for others that God inspires within us. Free gifts of love. And the type and amount of work we are called to is the work we are created for, thus the work that satisfies us and gives us joy in fulfilling God's purpose for us. This is much more like what we call "play" (which can still be physically hard, but in a good way—if we have forgotten, we can take a look at our kids).
I think it's also worth pointing out that serving God (alone) as our "boss" is much better for us, since God knows what we are made for and how much we can handle and loves us. And God is not driven by a production goal or by the demand to make profits for shareholders. God calls us to do what we can do—what we can do well, and what we can do in a healthy, satisfying way, for our good as well as the good of those we serve.
There will be more on this in the last part of the essay...
I would like to point you to another verse in John 5:17. My NIV translation reads: "Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." Jesus was responding to Jewish leaders complaining that he was working on the Sabbath. Jesus was trying to follow the example of his father. We try and follow the example of Jesus who was working even when humanly he should have been resting. While we read of Jesus taking time to pray and rest, we also see him so exhausted that he is sleeping through a storm, and foregoing food to teach people a Samaritan woman brought out to hear him.
When you care for young children, (and maybe you do, I don't know) you are working pretty much 24/7. There is no Sabbath rest; no one day where you rest. If you do get some rest it is because the child(ren) happen to be sleeping and you are not and you are choosing not to try and catch up on other work/chores that are not getting done while they are awake. Or because someone else is caring for your child(ren) while you are taking some rest. Most of the time the work is a pleasure because you love your children, they love you, and it's a lot of fun to watch them grow and learn. And the pleasure you receive makes your work restful.
Your young children demand almost all of your time and attention, but generally it is not a burden. God expects us to love him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Is that a request or a demand? I don't know, I could go either way. But it seems to me that it implies that he wants all of our time. He wants us to love him with our work and our rest. Does that work look like play? I do agree that Jesus promises to make our burdens light. Does that work look like pain? The garden of Gethsemane was painful work which continued until Jesus died. Does that rest look like work? Does the rest look like work? I find it takes some work to truly meditate, which probably looks like rest to others.
I believe God's other promise that if we sought his kingdom first, which I interpret as to do God's work first, then he would supply all of our other needs, like eating, clothing, shelter, etc. And I believe that it was a conditional promise.
The only thing I want to point out is that the image Jesus' gave to us (for us to be like) is not a parent, but a child. God is the parent, with all the responsibility for our safety and provision and care (he's the one who needs to work 24/7). We must "turn and become like children." We must "receive the kingdom of God like a child." And part of that, I believe, is what I described in this article.
The movement of spiritual growth is the movement towards Jesus, so our lives begin to look more and more like his.
It seems that Jesus did not hesitate to make these promises to the poor, though, and so we shouldn't either. If anything, these words of Jesus are more precious to the poor and we should do our best to offer them to those who are most burdened by need and labor. (My wife and I are trying to do just that, in the retreats we are offering for the poor.) These promises and Jesus' incredible invitation are an important part of his "good news to the poor."
Starvation is usually caused by two things: environmental disaster or political corruption/ineptitude. These are things that can be largely avoided and there needs to be a certain amount of repentance for their presence. Part of our Christian faith is to bear the burden of others' sin without vengeance and sometimes this results in our death. Another one of a Christian's burdens is to be generous. If someone is starving and we have not been generous then we need to repent. But God gives us the strength such that we can bear these burdens with his grace. But there are times when our faith is tested like Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednigo to see if we will cave when faced with death. But because we know that death is not the end, that our God is greater than our circumstances, we can hold strong.
I wonder if the "deaths" and disappointments we experience working along with (or against) institutions and economies foreign to the way of Jesus have the unintended effect of making our joy even more real? I wonder if the topsoil, which we cannot make or ultimately even comprehend, will teach us something about "making" a living? I wonder what the effect of "[considering] the lilies of the field" would have on us, a people within God's direct care (Matthew 6:28)? I wonder all these things because it ain't easy following this Rabbi, especially if we are in between some mixture of grateful, loving, forgetful and confused.
But if there are two things we are to be seeking (God's kingdom first, then also the economic demands of the world) doesn't that necessarily divide us? Didn't Jesus say we cannot serve both God and mammon?
And the similar saying of Jesus in Luke, which I quoted before, challenges Berry's interpretation:
God's kingdom is what we are to seek single-mindedly, and within it we practice the "gift economy" that Jesus showed us.
Does this make us "dependent upon bad people busy with quite other seekings"? Not completely, but to some extent, yes. This should not worry us, however. As we see again and again in scripture (and I have also seen this in my own experience), God often uses people with less-than-good intentions, people seeking their own purposes (or even seeking evil), somehow bringing good for his own people out of it. It is astonishing, even miraculous, but very real and a wonder to experience.
2 Thes 3:8 - Paul worked for food
Eph 4:28 - Work to earn something to give to the needy
Both these passages entail earning money and not simply giving away their labor.
Paul certainly promoted working for pay, to support himself and his work, at least at some points. He does not seem to have stayed with this method his whole ministry, however. In one of his letters we read:
And then there's this, which refers to one of his visits to Thessalonica (the folks to whom he wrote those lines you mention in 2 Thess):
These describe an economic life much more like Jesus' own example. Paul gives freely, and others give to him.
And, in 1 Cor 9, where Paul argues for the right of ministers to be paid for their service to the community, he concludes:
Again, giving freely of what God has given freely to him.
And we don't have to work for pay to give something to the needy, right? We can give our goods or service directly, or give from what others have given to us (as Jesus did).
All of this, to me, says that Paul was closer (in word and action) to Jesus "gift economy" than he is usually portrayed. And I think Paul's understanding (and living) of this developed through his ministry, bringing him closer to Jesus' example. The final say on this subject, however, is always Jesus'. He is the one we follow, he is the perfect model for us.
If the disciples were following Jesus' example, they should have done with the miraculous catch of fish what Jesus did with the five loaves and two fishes...
The responsibility for the result and the assurance of its success rests solely on the mother, but she can involve the child without letting everything get ruined. So God involves us, because he loves us, yet the outcome (and the assurances that his promises will be fulfilled) remains completely certain and secure because of him.
Here's two more quotes from Two Economies I think worth mentioning (at least as a follow-up to what has already been said):
also...
I don't think Berry, in this essay, has dealt sufficiently with the implications and examples of Jesus' economic teachings. But he does say some stuff that still gets me thinking. In a good way.
Paul, do you think Berry hears the tones of what you hear from Jesus? Sometimes I think the acid cloud of industrialism and other such evils makes Berry's voice much more intentional about re-membering community versus the more anarchist prophetic variety. Does that make sense?
Berry talks a lot about place, membership, community, economy, etc. as well as about how all of those things are either being torn apart and fragmented (mostly through industrial colonization) or re-membered and made right (mostly through neighborhood memory, stories, and handed-down lives).
As far as "the prophetic anarchist variety," to be honest, I just sort of threw it out there not knowing if it communicated very clearly what I wanted to say. But irregardless of the word "anarchist" (which I'm a lot less comfortable using), it seems Paul represents the prophetic tradition pretty well and, as his article about sustainability would suggest, he has gone even farther than most radical types when it comes to living into and sharing Jesus' teachings on work and economy. This would include, I suspect, an old agrarian like Berry.
Does that help?