Gary North

Let's review the five points of the biblical covenant model:

1. God's sovereignty
2. Man's delegated authority
3. God's law
4. God's sanctions (positive and negative)
5. Inheritance in history

This is understood in terms of five questions.

1. Who's in charge here?
2. To whom do I report?
3. What are the rules?
4. What do I get if I obey? Disobey?
5. Does this outfit have a future?

These five points are inescapable in economics.

1. God's original ownership
2. Man's stewardship
3. God's kingdom: "seek first"
4. God's blessings: "all these things"
5. The inheritance: "the meek shall inherit the earth"

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just (Prov. 13:22).

Accumulating capital to leave to your covenantal heirs is not only legitimate, it is morally mandatory. You are supposed to leave behind more than you inherited. This was Jesus' message in the parable of the stewards.

And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord (Matt. 25:20-23).

The sinner in the parable was the man who buried his talent and returned no more than he had been given by the owner.

Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:27-30).

There is a message here for Christians who are paying interest on money used to purchase consumer goods. They are depleting their capital. They are reducing the capital available to leave to their heirs. They are worse than the steward who buried the talent. They are the unwise souls who borrow from the moneychangers. "Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury." They are the cursed ones. Moses promised the Israelites that they would be lenders to many nations -- a mark of God's blessing.

The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them (Deut. 28:12-13).

Then what of the borrowers? "The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender" (Prov. 22:7).

Debt is a moral issue. It is a spiritual issue. It is not something neutral in God's kingdom.

God commands His people to leave an inheritance. Why? Because, over time, this leads to the triumph of His kingdom. This is a prophetic issue.

For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth (Psalm 37:9).

But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (Psalm 37:11).

For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off (Psalm 37:22).

The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever (Psalm 37:29).

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).

The Bible is clear: covenant-keepers will inherit the earth. But to do this, they must inherit. What are they to inherit? (1) The kingdom of God; (2) the laws governing this kingdom; (3) wealth accumulated by past generations; (4) skills in accumulating more. Capital is a tool of dominion.

This is not to be by military conquest. This is to be by purchase. This is the meaning of "redemption": to buy back.

Debt that is used to purchase depreciating assets is the opposite of God's kingdom-expansion plan. On the contrary, it is His kingdom-contraction plan. This plan is to characterize covenant-breakers, not covenant-keepers. Again, I quote Moses.

The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them (Deut. 28:12-13).

Yet, in our day, Christians are borrowers. Some of them are heavily in debt. They use this debt to buy depreciating consumer goods.

When people think of their children, they are ready to sacrifice. By "sacrifice," I mean "save." They are willing to reduce their consumption in order to provide better opportunities for their children. There are few things in life more thrift-oriented than bearing children. Children make parents future-oriented. This is a major motivation for establishing a thrift program.

The first step in a Christian thrift program is tithing. The second step is establishing a debt-reduction program. Achieve the first before you start the second. This is where my program of debt-reduction differs from the other well-known programs.

Make a list of all the assets you inherited from your parents on the day you left home or left college. Consider the private costs of your education, which was a capital asset. When you have this estimate, consider what legacy you will leave to your children. Is the total greater than what you received? If you have more children, it will be if you match what you received. This is what compounding is all about: well-funded children.

What marketable capital do you intend to leave at your death? To whom? To be used to achieve what? Write all this down. This should be your last will and testament in the form of an outline of a trust document.