ECONOMICS of the INTERIOR Part 7 Subtracting Your Rights

by Dr. James W. Jackson

Founder, Project C.U.R.E.
Author, The Happiest Man in the World: Life Lessons from a Cultural Economist

Principle #5: God’s Multiplication Begins with Your Subtraction 

A couple of the most powerful principles I ever learned as a Cultural Economist I learned from the American legend, Johnny Appleseed. He helped me understand the economic principles of leverage and also the principle as to when to take your hands off and let go of a situation. Born in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1774 as John Chapman, he was raised on a small farm, and his favorite place in the whole world was his father’s apple orchard.

When traveling settlers would pass by, he would ask questions about the fertile lands of the frontiers of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Those curious conversations spawned the inspired dream of one day planting apple seeds throughout the new frontier. By 1792, when he was 18, he headed west. Johnny Appleseed received all the apple seeds he desired free of charge from the cider mills. He set off on a mission to plant apple trees.

As to the principle of leverage, I learned the concept that you can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can never count the number of apples in a seed! The power of multiplication through leverage is astounding. And you can never really quantify the true potential for growth by simply measuring what you hold in your hand today.

As you place those seeds in the rich, fertile ground of your new frontiers, the silent miracle of multiplication takes place. Soon you will have seeds from many, many apples growing in the autumn sunlight waiting for you to harvest the plentiful crop. Then, once more those multiplied numbers of seeds can again be replanted with the exciting expectation of an exponential harvest.

As to the other principle, I learned that if I expected there to be a multiplication of harvest, I needed to plant the seed in the ground and then subtract my rights to that seed and let it grow. Johnny Appleseed could not go back to the seed every six months, rip it out of the ground, and ask it how it was doing. He had to let it go and let it grow.

As you subtract your rights of ownership to what you possess, God has the opportunity to bless and multiply it for his purposes. In fact, my reading assignment validated the notion that God enjoys taking what he owns already and blessing it and multiplying it. A good example was when the little boy gave the five barley loaves and two small fish, and God multiplied it to feed 5,000 men, plus women, plus children, and had baskets full of food left over. The lad learned that as he released his possessions God could see to it that lots of other people could end up better off!

That was the same principle Solomon was addressing when he said “It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything . . . .” (Proverbs 11:24)

Solomon was not just talking in riddles. He was trying to communicate an extremely important principle of the economics of the interior. The things that you hold on to so tightly in life are the things that usually have a way of being squeezed right out between your fingers and you lose them anyway. The tighter you squeeze, the more they slip through. But the things you are willing to release are the things that multiply. God’s multiplication begins with my subtraction.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. (Matt. 16:25)

I love this next story I read about because I was actually able to see where it all took place. One day I was riding in a car with my very good Israeli friend, Shaul Amir. We were driving from Tel Aviv to the port city of Haifa to meet with some government officials. We passed a road sign that pointed to Zarephath.

I turned to Shaul and asked him, “Is that the same town that is close to the Cherith Brook where the old prophet Elijah hid out during the famine?”

“How would you ever know about that story, and how do you know anything about our old prophet Elijah?” Shaul ask me with a puzzled look on his face. “That’s has become one of my most favorite stories ever,” I answered. “Let me recite the story I know and you tell me if we are both talking about the same story.”

Elijah had confronted the wicked king Ahab and his double-wicked wife Jezebel telling them that because of their evil, God was going to withhold the rains and send a famine. In anger Jezebel tried to murder Elijah. He ran for his life and hid along the Brook Cherith where the ravens brought him food until the famine dried up the flow of the brook.

When there was no more water in the brook, God sent Elijah to this little town called Zarephath, where God instructed an old widow to take care of him. As he approached the town, he spotted an old woman collecting wood and asked her for a drink of water. She turned and started to leave to fetch him some water. Then he hollered at her to also bring with her some bread for him to eat.

That brought an emotional response: “This is a famine. I am trying to go to find some water for you, and you tell me to also bring some bread. I don’t have any bread. All I have left is a handful of flour in the bottom of the barrel and just a bit of oil in a jar. As you see me, I am collecting an armload of dry sticks in order to make one last fire. I am going to mix and bake the last little oil and flour into a little cake of bread. My son and I are going to eat our last meal of that bread and sit down and die.” 

Elijah looked straight into her eyes and said, “Go and do as you have said: make the fire, stir the flour and oil, and bake the cake. But make for me a cake of bread first. And afterward there will still be enough for you and your son to eat . . . until the famine is completely over.” In other words he was saying to subtract the rights to that which you possess and then watch what God will do with it.

“Well, I’m amazed,” said Shaul. “I didn’t realize you knew our history that well!”

So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat from her supply of flour and oil as long as it was needed. For no matter how much they used there was always plenty left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. (1Kings 17:15-16)

But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt 6:33)

All mankind scratches for its daily bread, but your heavenly Father knows your needs. He will always give you all you need from day to day if you will make the kingdom of God your primary concern. (Luke 12:30-31)

The old woman had hit on a revolutionary aspect of economics of the interior and the way God’s economic system works in real life. Her inventory was limited. If she had relied on her supply alone, she and her son would have certainly died of starvation. But she discovered that as she subtracted her rights to the things she possessed, God had the opportunity to bless and multiply it for his purposes. Through her surrender she had tapped into a never-failing sufficiency. God’s supply knows no shortage. 

Next Week: The Cost of Success

         (Research ideas from Dr. Jackson’s new writing project on Cultural Economics)

© Dr. James W. Jackson   

Permissions granted by Winston-Crown Publishing House

  

www.drjameswjackson.com  

 

Dr. James W. Jackson often describes himself as "The Happiest Man in the World." A successful businessman, award-winning author and humanitarian, Jackson is also a renowned Cultural Economist and international consultant, helping organizations and governments to apply sound economic principals to the transformation of culture so that everyone is "better off."

As the founder of Project C.U.R.E., Dr. Jackson traveled to more than one hundred fifty countries assessing healthcare facilities, meeting with government leaders and "delivering health and hope" in the form of medical supplies and equipment to the world's most needy people. Literally thousands of people are alive today as a direct result of the tireless efforts of Project C.U.R.E.'s staff, volunteers and Dr. Jackson. 

To contact Dr. Jackson, or to book him for an interview or speaking engagement: press@winstoncrown.com

ECONOMICS of the INTERIOR Part 6 You Can't Manipulate God

by Dr. James W. Jackson

Founder, Project C.U.R.E.
Author, The Happiest Man in the World: Life Lessons from a Cultural Economist

Many people throughout history have whole-heartedly accepted the invitation to take from their possessions and share with those who have needs. They discovered that when they obeyed the admonition to give to others, they themselves somehow ended up better off.

For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more, and he shall have abundance. (Matt. 25:29)

Of course, human nature has a way of putting a spin on a particular truth, and people end up dealing with half-truths. The problem with dealing with half-truths is that we almost always end up with the wrong half. The tendency is to conclude that since God’s principles are predictable, the circumstances and applied motives relating to the principles are open for manipulation. For situations such as that we need to be reminded of this truth:

Principle #4: God Always Repays When You Give . . . But You Don’t Give to Get

Several years ago we heard a lot about the gospel of prosperity and the theory of give to get. The deal was that if you wanted to become rich then all you had to do was to give a little to God and he would be obligated to make you wealthy and give to you the items on your wish list.

I listened to a fellow whose religious endeavor was in financial trouble. He quoted some of the references like, give and it shall be given to you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. His proposition was for his listeners to quickly send him one hundred dollars in cash, check, or credit card and by the end of the year God would guarantee to give them back at least one thousand dollars, in cash, check or money order. It was a half-truth and his greed had promoted him to get hold of the wrong half.

Recently, I had to chuckle at the story dealing with even another religion. There was a nicely dressed man standing at a very busy intersection of our city. But he was not begging with a forlorn countenance. His hand-printed sign on a piece of cardboard box said that he was the intersection angel. He was there to collect your money. In exchange for your money he would guarantee to upgrade your Karma report. And people were handing him money like crazy! Charlatans need not to be much more removed from the truth than a few degrees. But they are removed, none-the-less.

In my reading assignment I ran across an interesting statement, “And who could ever offer to the Lord enough to induce him to act?” (Romans 11:35)

The simple answer to that question is no one. If God created everything and owns everything already, he cannot be bribed, manipulated, or blackmailed! We can count on the fact that God always repays when we give; that is a characteristic of his economic system. But the selfish motive of giving to get is not part of the deal. Like any other aspect of greed, the product received through selfishness will always be different from that which we had anticipated.

The true joy of giving begins when we can give to others in need and see them become better off, but expecting nothing in return.

Next Week: Subtracting Your Rights

           (Research ideas from Dr. Jackson’s new writing project on Cultural Economics)

© Dr. James W. Jackson   

Permissions granted by Winston-Crown Publishing House

www.drjameswjackson.com  

Dr. James W. Jackson often describes himself as "The Happiest Man in the World." A successful businessman, award-winning author and humanitarian, Jackson is also a renowned Cultural Economist and international consultant, helping organizations and governments to apply sound economic principals to the transformation of culture so that everyone is "better off."

As the founder of Project C.U.R.E., Dr. Jackson traveled to more than one hundred fifty countries assessing healthcare facilities, meeting with government leaders and "delivering health and hope" in the form of medical supplies and equipment to the world's most needy people. Literally thousands of people are alive today as a direct result of the tireless efforts of Project C.U.R.E.'s staff, volunteers and Dr. Jackson. 

To contact Dr. Jackson, or to book him for an interview or speaking engagement: press@winstoncrown.com

ECONOMICS OF THE INTERIOR Part 5 An Invitation to Give

by Dr. James W. Jackson

Founder, Project C.U.R.E.
Author, The Happiest Man in the World: Life Lessons from a Cultural Economist

Earlier we discussed the fact that everything we possess today was either given to us as a direct gift from God or is in our personal portfolio as the result of a gift exchange. We have traded from the inventory we were first allotted for the acquired possessions we now have. But the basic commodities that we used as trading materials for everything else were given to us.

We did not purchase our time allotment which we now hold as a possession; it was given to us. We did not negotiate for our physical characteristics; we inherited them. We did not bargain on the open market for the basic intellectual capacities; we received them as a gift. We did not ardently go to battle and finally win the power to choose; indeed, that power was given to us. Even the environment in which we move and perform our trading activities came to us as part of our inheritance.

Ultimately, there is only one source of all possessions, one sole proprietor of all that exists whether ordinary or yet to be discovered. That makes for a very interesting economic model. But isn’t it amazing how quickly and how completely we presume that we are totally entitled to all that is in our portfolio? Our daily behavior reveals that we totally own it all without encumbrance.

Then comes the interior economic admonition for us to take that which is in our portfolios and give it to someone who is in need so that he can become better off.

Everything we have has come from you, and we only give you what is yours already! (1Chron. 29:14)

Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. (1 Timothy 6:18)

Your care for others is the measure of your greatness. (Luke 9:48)

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. (2 Corinth. 9:11)

In my research I discovered that the practice of selfless giving to the needs of others was not just a suggestion, but an integral characteristic of the economics of the interior model. The expectation to give generously, however, was accompanied by a residual benefit:that which you gave away would be replaced with even more, in the form of a heavenly compensating deposit from God’s economy, so that you could duplicate the experience again and again.

For God, who gives seed to the farmer to plant, and later on good crops to harvest and eat, will give you more and more seed to plant, and will make it grow so that you can give away more and more fruit from your harvest. (2 Corinth. 9:10)

Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (1 Corinth. 4:2)

For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more, and he shall have abundance. (Matt. 25:29)

Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. (Luke 6:38)

During my reading assignment of the Holy Scriptures I became abruptly aware of why it is necessary to label it God’s economy. There would be no other way in all the earth to keep track of how all this was to work out. For example, if we were to respond in obedience and give away out of our earthly portfolios to some situation of need, how would we, or anyone else, ever know what would be needed to be deposited back into our account as a compensation? I learned that the things that are deposited back into our portfolios are exactly the things needed for our next episode of giving out. The compensation is determined by the next situations of need. God determines the amount, kind, and timing of the compensating deposits. We are responsible only for the current inventory in our portfolio.

In the early 1970s, when Anna Marie and I decided to give our wealth away and start over on the economic model of the interior, we gave away what would in today’s values be worth approximately one hundred million dollars. Did God deposit back into our portfolio prime real estate, financial instruments, and cash? No, he was much wiser and more creative. He did, however, deposit into our portfolio the concept and inspiration for an entity of goodness called Project C.U.R.E. that has saved thousands and thousands of lives around the world, and has donated in excess of one billion dollars’ worth of medical goods to needy hospitals and clinics in nearly 150 countries.

If you are really eager to give, then it isn’t important how much you have to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you haven’t. (2 Corinth 8:12)

Day by day the Lord observes the good deeds done by godly men, and gives them eternal rewards. He cares for them when times are hard; even in famine, they will have enough . . . I have been young and now I am old. And in all my years I have never seen the children of the godly go hungry. Instead, the godly are able to be generous with their gifts and loans to others, and their children are a blessing. (Psalm 37:18-19, 25-26)

It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the generous man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself. (Proverbs 11:24-25)

Is it possible, in this model of the economics of the interior, that all the stuff I possess has been given to me and I simply have the power of attorney, along with a fiduciary responsibility, to see to it that I do not hoard that inventory, but utilize it to see that other people in this world end up being better off?

The Lord will give you an abundance of good things in the land, just as he promised: many children, many cattle, and abundant crops. He will open to you his wonderful treasury of rain in the heavens, to give you fine crops every season. He will bless everything you do: and you shall lend to many nations . . . (Deut. 28:11-13)

Those who love and follow me are indeed wealthy. I fill their treasuries. (Proverbs 8:21)

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple: if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in!
“Try it! Let me prove it to you! Your crops will be large, for I will guard them from insects and plagues. Your grapes won’t shrivel away before they ripen,” says the Lord of Hosts, “and all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land sparkling with happiness. These are the promises of the Lord of Hosts.” (Malachi 3:10-12)

Tell those who are rich not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone, but their pride and trust should be in the living God who always richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. (1 Timothy 6: 17-18)

We have been given a marvelous invitation. The one who has given first and is the sole proprietor of everything that exists has asked us to join him in a life-changing adventure of giving. It is the basis of the economics of the interior model.

In the earlier chapters we agreed that people succeed in a free enterprise system only to the extent that they make other people better off. So it is likewise true when it comes to success regarding the economic system of the interior. You, personally, as well as the entire model, will be successful to the same degree that other people become better off. And we have the opportunity through our management of living and giving to see other people become better off.

Goodness is the created wealth of God’s economy, and we get to be a part of that!

Next Week: You Can’t Manipulate God

(Research ideas from Dr. Jackson’s new writing project on Cultural Economics)

© Dr. James W. Jackson   

Permissions granted by Winston-Crown Publishing House

  

www.drjameswjackson.com 
 

Dr. James W. Jackson often describes himself as "The Happiest Man in the World." A successful businessman, award-winning author and humanitarian, Jackson is also a renowned Cultural Economist and international consultant, helping organizations and governments to apply sound economic principals to the transformation of culture so that everyone is "better off."

As the founder of Project C.U.R.E., Dr. Jackson traveled to more than one hundred fifty countries assessing healthcare facilities, meeting with government leaders and "delivering health and hope" in the form of medical supplies and equipment to the world's most needy people. Literally thousands of people are alive today as a direct result of the tireless efforts of Project C.U.R.E.'s staff, volunteers and Dr. Jackson. 

To contact Dr. Jackson, or to book him for an interview or speaking engagement: press@winstoncrown.com

ECONOMICS of the INTERIOR: Part 4 What about Greed?

by Dr. James W. Jackson

Founder, Project C.U.R.E.
Author, The Happiest Man in the World: Life Lessons from a Cultural Economist

In considering the subject of God’s economy, we have already looked at the fact that God has given . . . and has given first . . .; and we also discussed that he is looking for a people who will live out their lives in accordance with his economic principles. But additionally, we need to recognize that

Principle #3: God’s Economy is Not Based on Greed

The word greed is a slippery word and needs to be tacked down at the beginning of our discussion. Traditionally, greed is defined as an excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions. That kind of greed, however, is not to be confused with, or allowed to splash over negatively onto, the rational concept of the pursuing of one’s own personal interests.

The desire for humans to pursue their own personal interests could be, but is not necessarily, greedy or selfish. To possess the desire to make good decisions and have the experience of you and your family ending up better off in this life may actually display the admirable quality of accountability. Good stewardship of life regarding those things we possess reveals our willingness to accept and practice personal responsibility.

Greed or selfishness, however, is the attitude and spirit where an individual insists on his or her own arbitrary demands on other people and their surroundings, regardless of cost or consequence. It is the whole idea of me first . . . it’s all about me. That spirit of greed or selfishness is counterproductive to goodness because everyone does not end up better off in greedy situations.

The negative spirit of greedy selfishness is in direct opposition to the spirit of God’s economy. Sometimes it is difficult to discern greed in the beginning. But you can be assured that harbored selfishness will sooner or later surface into observable and destructive behavior.

The kingdom of Christ and God will never belong to anyone who is impure or greedy, for a greedy person is really an idol worshiper – he loves and worships the good things of this life more than God. (Eph. 5:5)

In my reading assignment I ran across some extremely interesting examples of how, in the end, greed actually delivers a far different result than the person had anticipated in the beginning. Some of the examples are very dramatic and well worth the reading. I will give you the references and know that you will enjoy the research:

Eve . . . in desiring the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6)
Lot . . . in choosing to live in the lush, green valley (Genesis 13:10
Jacob . . . in defrauding Esau (Genesis 27:6)
Saul . . . in sparing King Agag and the livestock (1Samuel 15:8)
David and Bathsheba . . . in cheating on Uriah (2 Samuel 11:2)
Achan . . . in stealing and hiding the loot taken from battle (Joshua 7:21)
Gehazi . . . in falsely taking the gifts from Naaman the General (2 Kings 5:20)

The last story I listed, regarding the fellow Gehazi, is just too on point to let go without telling. Not only is it on point, but I personally relate to the story, because I have spent time in Samaria, located in Israel, and also worked in Amman, Jordan, and traveled all by myself in spooky Syria, and stayed alone in dangerous Damascus. In my mind I know right where this incident took place so many years before.

Naaman was the commander-in-chief of the Syrian army, and a dear friend of the King of Syria. He had won many battles and was a great hero, but had tragically contracted leprosy and his skin and body parts were beginning to rot off. On one of his military raids against Israel, he had taken captive a young Israeli girl whom Naaman had given to his wife as a servant. One day the young girl told her mistress, “I wish the master would go back to Israel and find the prophet Elisha. He could heal him of his leprosy.”

The King sent Naaman back to Samaria with a letter of introduction and sacks of gold and silver and suits of clothing. When he arrived at Elisha’s house, Elisha didn’t even go out to greet the great commander. Instead, he sent his servant Gehazi out with a message for Naaman to go wash himself seven times in the Jordan River and the leprosy would go away. Naaman was insulted and became very angry. “Aren’t the Abana and Pharpar Rivers of Damascus better than all the rivers in Israel? If I need to wash, I’ll go to a nice river to wash.” So, he left in a huff.

But some of his faithful men talked him into doing what Elisha had told him to do . . . since they just happened to be in the neighborhood. When he came up out of the river water the seventh time his skin was like a baby’s skin, and his lost body parts were all restored . . . an astounding miracle! Naaman and his entourage returned to Elisha’s house and declared that there was no other God except Israel’s God and said, “Please accept all my gifts.” Elisha answered, “I swear by Jehovah that I will not accept them.” Naaman turned and headed back for home.

Gehazi the servant had been observing all that was going on. After Naaman had traveled a distance, Gehazi caught up with him. Naaman came down out of his chariot, “is everything ok?”

“Yes,” Gehazi said, “but my master made a mistake and remembered that he was in need of the sacks of silver and several suits of fine clothes.”

“Not a problem,” Naaman told him, and gave him twice as much silver as he had requested, plus the fine clothes. Gehazi went back and hid the silver and clothes in his house. The next time Gehazi met up with the prophet, Elisha asked him where he had been. “I haven’t been anywhere.” Thereupon, Elisha informed him that he had seen everything and that now Gehazi not only had the bags of silver and the fine suits of clothes, “but you and your children and your children’s children also will have Naaman’s leprosy. And Gehazi walked from the room a leper, his skin as white as snow.

When you go after something with the motive of greed that which you receive is different from that which you thought you would get! It is always twisted on you . . . thus, the life of disillusionment and regret.

Sometimes, however, judgment and penalty in dealing with greed is not immediate, and that is confusing to those of us who are observing. Sometimes greed is allowed to run its course and the sad results are only viewed at a later point. But, we can be assured that God’s economy of the interior is not based on greed, because selfishness is not consistent with the characteristics of goodness:

Purity is best demonstrated by generosity. (Luke 11: 41)

God, who has already generously given, is looking for a people who will be characterized by their giving and not their grabbing. 

Next Week: You Can’t Manipulate God 

    (Research ideas from Dr. Jackson’s new writing project on Cultural Economics) 

© Dr. James W. Jackson   

Permissions granted by Winston-Crown Publishing House

  

www.drjameswjackson.com   

Dr. James W. Jackson often describes himself as "The Happiest Man in the World." A successful businessman, award-winning author and humanitarian, Jackson is also a renowned Cultural Economist and international consultant, helping organizations and governments to apply sound economic principals to the transformation of culture so that everyone is "better off."

As the founder of Project C.U.R.E., Dr. Jackson traveled to more than one hundred fifty countries assessing healthcare facilities, meeting with government leaders and "delivering health and hope" in the form of medical supplies and equipment to the world's most needy people. Literally thousands of people are alive today as a direct result of the tireless efforts of Project C.U.R.E.'s staff, volunteers and Dr. Jackson. 

To contact Dr. Jackson, or to book him for an interview or speaking engagement: press@winstoncrown.com