“Change the Family, Change the World”

And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? For I have chosen him, in order that he may command his children nd his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; in order that the Lord May bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him. —Genesis 8:17-19

The family unit is the basic building block of society; if families are healthy, so is the culture. Conversely, sick families produce sick nations. As the Scriptures above declare, Abraham—the earthly “father of the faith” (Romans 4:16)—was charged by God to raise a successful, natural family as a parallel act to laying a proper foundation for the spiritual family God would build through him. Indeed, commanding his children and his household—in order that God could, in fact, bless all the nations of the earth through him—clearly indicates that we must first change our families to change the earth God’s way.

Successful businesses and strong, long-term, national economies are similarly built upon the foundations of the strengths or weaknesses of the families undergirding them. Let’s say it this way: Change the family, change the economy.

God lives and moves in community. The Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) forms the first community. Not only is God’s singularity emanating out of the mystery of community within Himself, He is called by Jesus a “Father.”

The economic implications of God’s community-family are enormous. The concept of the division of labor is one of only several foundational cornerstones of productive modern economics. That concept came straight out of the Trinity. Were there no Trinity, such a concept would have no emanation from God and, therefore, no ultimate standing outside of man’s own imagination. The Father’s role is limited by self-imposition; the Son’s role in creation and salvation likewise has borders, as do the specific tasks of the Holy Spirit. Out of their specific roles we see teamwork, specialty, and perfect economic cooperation.

Therefore, perhaps the single greatest phrase of economic endeavor is stated in Genesis 1:26 wherein God says, “Let Us make man…” The very act of creation comes out of corporate community within God. His most significant creation is a family of sons and daughters called “man.” The scriptures say so plainly:

What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? —Psalm 8:4

Economics and family are then fully intertwined in God. They were birthed by Him out of a corporate act of labor, using common resources to produce and care for a race of beings that were told to “multiply and take dominion” of God’s earthly resources. This process proceeds from a base of covenantal married family life, for the propagation of the race, to the glory of God. While I could spend much more time developing this on a theological basis, for the sake of this short article, let me simply say this: God gave the resource development and management process of the earth to His created earthly family in Adam and Eve, His first son and daughter. He later reaffirmed this stewardship mandate in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And that is…

THE BOTTOM LINE.