Christian "Iron Rice Bowl" or Family Business?

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be required." Luke 12:48 (NAS)

"Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson

"From each according to work, to each according to need" （Anlao Fenpei 按劳分配). Mao Zedong, Dec. 1929

A couple months ago, over half a million people in the U.S. were laid off in one week. With Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, imagine the fear as people scanned the sack list for their names. But also imagine the relief and quiet confidence of those with good guanxi (Chinese for "connections").

Better yet, what if your Father owned the company, and you were a member of a family business? Now that would be comforting--but even then, if your Father knew what was good for both the company and you, he'd expect you to pull your weight, or sack you along with everyone else (though take you back once you'd learned your lesson).

The Family Business Fortunately, our Father does own the "company." In fact, he owns the entire planet--though that does not mean he hands us everything on a silver platter. Even in the Garden of Eden we had to work. Imagine Adam trying to fulfill his task of naming and caring for every creature on the planet (Genesis 2:19); I found it hard enough to name two sons, much less everything from aardvarks to zebras.

Family Promotions My Father does own the family business, and he promises that I shall inherit it, but he expects me to work my way up. Although I cannot work my way into the family (He adopted me, not the other way around), Christ said that my position within the family depends upon me, because the Kingdom of Heaven is built upon sound business principles (Luke 12:48). The better I manage what I have, the more I will be given. If I manage poorly or squander what I have, it will be taken away and given to a better steward. It can't get much simpler than that--though many Christians live as if they expect life to be a Christian Iron Rice Bowl.

China's Iron Rice Bowl. When we came to Xiamen in 1988, most State-owned firms were in the Red (pun intended). Workers in the Iron Rice Bowl had no incentive to work; poor workers received the same as good workers. Even in the 1980s, some companies tried such reforms as productivity bonuses, but these were attacked as "capitalist," but as I teach my MBA students at Xiamen University, not even Socialism was ever intended to reward people who did nothing.

UnSocialism In December, 1929, fully 20 years before Liberation, Mao Zedong wrote "Against Absolute Equalitarianism" to refute the idea that in a Socialist China, everyone would do the same and receive the same. Mao refuted this with his famous line, "From each according to work, to each according to need" （Anlao Fenpei 按劳分配). But somewhere down the line, China forgot the "according to work" part, with disastrous results. Fortunately, in the early 1990s Deng Xiao Ping silenced the arguments of whether elbow grease was Capitalist or Socialist with his famous line, "It does not matter whether the cat is black or white as long as it catches mice."

Iron Rice Bowls just don't work, whether under Socialism or Capitalism, whether on earth or in Heaven.

All Things? Philippians 4:12 is a favorite promise verse: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (ISV). But those who quote it like a Christian magic mantra forget two things about it:

1. Do Comes Before Have Phil. 4:13 says "do" all things, not "have" all things. We must seek before we receive.

2. Contentment Precedes Power Verse 4:13 is preceded by 4:11, 12, which reads, "...for I have learned to be content in whatever situation I am in. I know how to be humble and how to prosper. In each and every situation have learned the secret of being full and of going hungry, of having too much and of having too little." (ISV)

Why Contentment? Contentment comes from objectivity. It means that we have not inflated our estimation of ourselves, or our contributions, and that we acknowledge our Father's fairness towards us. And when when we can be objective about both ourselves and our Father, we can be trusted with more--but not until then.

2008 has been a financial disaster for many people, and I've no idea of what 2009 will hold. But I do know who owns the Family Business, and that I'm part of the Family. Now I just need to get down to business.
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