Property in the Divine Economy – The Law of God and Public Policy

Property in the Divine Economy
The Law of God and Public Policy

Private property is a gift and trust from God.

“And you shall not steal.” Deuteronomy 5:19

In our nation today, property is a primary measure of prosperity and well-being. Property is to be sought, acquired, developed, used, and enjoyed as central to realizing the hope and promise of an economics of material wealth.

Next to life and liberty, the right to private property is the most cherished right of practically every American.

The teaching of God’s Law, however, is along different lines. In the divine economy, an economy based not on material wealth but on justice and love, private property is a gift and trust from God. Individuals do indeed have a right to private property, and wealth is not an evil per se. But only within the framework of justice and love, which characterize the divine economy, can people realize the full purpose and potential of the property entrusted to them by God.

We see this, first, in Israel’s having plundered the Egyptians. The people of Israel were slaves in Egypt. They possessed almost nothing of their own. However, they came out of Egypt laden with all manner of material goods, provided for them by the judgment of God against their oppressors. God expected His people to use this material prosperity to sustain themselves and their neighbors and to honor Him during their sojourn in the wilderness.

We also discern this view of property in Israel’s acquiring lands and farms and cities in the land of Canaan which they did not cultivate, sow, or build. God gave the nations of Canaan, and all their possessions, into the hands of His people as a gift and trust.

We also see this view of property in the instructions in God’s Law concerning tithes, gleaning, respect for the property of neighbors, proper use of the land, and the return of property to original owners during Sabbath years. The people of Israel were to understand that all their property had come to them from God. It was given to them as a trust, and they were ultimately accountable to Him for the use they made of His good gifts. Each person’s allotment of property was his own possession before the Lord, but not merely for his own indulgence or enrichment. Neighbors were expected to care for one another with their property, to respect one another’s property, and to be content with, and make the best use of, the property entrusted to them by the Lord.

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T. M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.