Economics - Simple

Economics can actually be easily understood. Here are each of the basic economic philosophies explained in simple "two-cow" terms:

Communalism: You have two cows. You keep one and give one to your neighbor.

Communism: You have two cows. The government takes them both and--from time to time--provides you with sour milk.

Fascism: You have two cows. The government takes them and sells you the milk.

Liberalism: You have two cows. The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, and then pours it down the drain.

Socialism: You have two cows. The government taxes you to the point that you must sell them both in order to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow which was a gift from your government.

Free-Market Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

Centralized, Multi-National-Corporation-Based, Government-Subsidized, Democratic Socialism: You have two cows. You sell one, force the other to produce the milk of four cows and when it dies you write off the depreciation, hire a lobbyist, and garner a government bail-out and tax-breaks in order to purchase two new cows. Repeat.

Bible Study - Galatians 3:1-9

When you read the story of Abraham you are amazed at a man who had such faith. When God speaks he responds. He is a good man who handles life very well. When you review his story you find

• God spoke to Abraham when he was 75 years old and he left Haran and when to Shechem. Lord told him, I will give your descendants this land.
• There was a famine in the land and Abraham went to Egypt. This is where he told Sarai to say that he was her sister.
• The next story is the strife between Lot’s herdsmen and Abraham’s herdsmen. It led to Lot going to Sodom and Abraham settled in Canaan.
• Then you have the story of the war of the kings, Abraham and his men have to move quickly to rescue Lot and his family.
• Then you have Abraham meeting with Melchizedek king of Salem and offered a tithe to him from the battle.

But when you come to Genesis 15 something very important takes place. Our Lord says to Abraham, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward will be very great." Abraham responds to the Lord with the statement, "I am childless". The Lord has him to go outside and look into the heavens and says to him, "so shall your descendants be."

Then you have an amazing statement in Genesis 15:6 "Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." This verse is very critical in Paul's writing in Romans 4 and Galatians 3. James also uses it in James 2.

After all that Abraham has done, it is now by faith that he starts his walk with the Lord. Genesis 15 begins his walk of faith that leads to Genesis 22 where he offers Isaac as a sacrifice. It seems to me that Abraham conversion and walk of faith truly starts in Genesis 15:6.

Galatians 3:7 says "be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham." For us to start the walk with the Lord we have to come to the place that "we believe in the Lord" just as Abraham did that night he looked into the stars and realized that what God promised would take place.