BY DARROW MILLER
Ideas have consequences. For example, “limited good” is the idea that there is a limited amount of good to go around. In economic terms, it means the amount of resources and bounty available to be shared among us all is limited or finite, so every time one person profits, another must lose. The world becomes a highly “competitive game” with winners and losers. The consequence is distrust and envy and for many, a sense of fragility and fatalism.
The question is whether this idea is true? Did God design creation to be limited in good or did he design it to create more good – more bounty? If so, what is the role of humans in the creation of bounty? In summary, what is God’s design for economic life?
A detailed study of the Scripture shows that this “limited good” idea is not true. Creation is not a closed system, where God and humanity have no influence. Instead, God made creation an open system, in which we can create and develop more resources, abundance, and answers to our problems. Bounty can be limited by our own lack of creativity and innovation.
