The Voice of God's Economist

Happy New year Friends! 💃 💃💃 It is such a privilege to make it to a new year, with new opportunities awaiting us all by God’s grace! To kick start this new year, the Lord wants us to come to a deeper understanding of what He did for us on the cross. It is not breaking news that Jesus died for our sins, but do we really understand what it means? Sit tight as you read and get a deeper understanding of what Jesus really did for you when he said ‘Tetelestia’ on that old rugged cross. I pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal to you the depths of love He has for you. Yours in Christ, Chidera.  Colossians 2:13-14 says, ‘When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ . He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross .’ What is Debt? Debt is anything owed by one party to another. What is Debt Cancellatio...

  4 minutes read In Year 1, Emma and Tochi both earn $40,000 each. Emma chooses to spend hers on things she enjoys without making any investments, while Tochi chooses to invest $2,000 in a bond with 0.5% interest per year. Suppose they both have a balance of $700 by January of the following year. Tochi has $700 plus her return on investment, which is $2,710, making her financial state better off than that of Emma's. Would you say they are unequal given that they had the same opportunities? One may argue that they are equal, given that they had the same opportunities, while some others may say that they are unequal because Tochi has $2010 more than Emma. Their financial status represents the choices they made. Whilst it may be impossible to explicitly compare people’s life choices because not everyone has the same opportunity, it is different in the kingdom of God In the kingdom of God, everyone has been given similar opportunities. As we established in Inequality 1, God...

5 minutes read. Food for thought:             If you knew there was an investment you could make right now that could give you a financial guarantee forever, would you not be willing to risk any and everything to make that investment?            Whilst there is an actual investment like that called, perpetual bonds , that would not be our focus in this blog.  Image source  What is a Bond? ‘A bond is an investment security where an investor lends money to a company or a government for a set period, in exchange for regular interest payments ’ (Napoletano and Curry, 2020). What are Perpetual Bonds? A perpetual bond, also known as ‘perp’ or ‘consol bonds’, has a steady stream of interest payment  forever without a set maturity date (Chen, 2020). The issuers of these bonds are not forced to repay the bond purchaser’s principal amount . The principal amount is the initial amount that was paid to the...

Food for thought In Year 1, Emma and Tochi earn $40,000 each. Emma chooses to spend hers on things she enjoys without making any investments, while Tochi chooses to invest $2,000 in a bond that gives 0.5% interest per year. Suppose they both have a balance of $700 by January of the following year. Tochi has $700 plus her return on investment, which is $2,710, making her financial state better off than Emma's. Would you say they were unequal? Inequality is the difference in social status, wealth, or opportunity between people or groups.  There are different types of inequality, gender, race, age, class, financial, etc. It is caused by different reasons, circumstances, and the choices we make are not excluded. No matter how much we try to make everyone equal, unfortunately, that is unrealistic because no two people are the same.   Biblical perspective Before Jesus died, although God loved us the same, we didn't all have the right and means to access Him beca...

What is a liquid asset? "A liquid asset is an asset that can easily be converted into cash within a short amount of time" (Chen, 2024).  A company with high liquid assets has a low chance of experiencing liquidation. What is liquidation? ‘Liquidation is a legal process that applies to companies or partnerships in which a liquidator is appointed to "wind up" the affairs of a company. At the end of the process, the company ceases to exist.’ (Department of Economy, 2015) During liquidation, a company must shut down and sell all its assets to generate money, which is used to pay back its creditors and investors. A company with low liquid assets might be forced into liquidation if it cannot meet its financial obligations. The main reason firms liquidate is insolvency, which means they cannot pay their debts or meet their financial obligation as they become due.  In simpler terms, they don’t have enough cash reserved to keep them going. Unfortunately, this...

3 minutes read. Imagine you enjoy canoeing so much that you go at least four times every summer. The initial price was £40 per ride. However, you decide to book a slot for next summer and realize that the price has increased to £80. What will you do? According to the law of demand, if the price of canoeing increases, you are likely to either reduce the number of times you go canoeing or potentially stop canoeing altogether because higher prices lead to lower demand.  "The  law of demand  holds that demand for a product  changes inversely to its price  when all else is equal." (Fernando, 2023) Photo Source Suppose you own a canoeing company, and you notice that the market price has increased from £40 to £80. What will you do? According to the law of supply, you would want to offer more services because a price increase typically leads to higher potential revenue.  "The  law of supply  relates price changes for a product to the quantity supplie...

4 minutes read. Say the government decides to increase its investment in the education sector by £4 billion. This implies that teachers' salaries may increase. Suppose one of the teachers decides to increase his child’s allowance. His child may choose to buy more sweets than he normally does at a local store. The £4 billion investment made by the government in the education sector has increased the income and consumption level of the teacher, child, store owner, and the nation. Like the ripple effect of a drop of water in the sea, this is the multiplier effect. Photo source According to John Keynes, "Any form of government spending could lead to cycles of economic prosperity and increased employment, raising gross domestic product (GDP) to levels higher than the cost." (Andrew, 2024) Therefore, one pound of government spending , will generate more than a pound in the economic growth of a country. Biblical perspective The multiplier effect was first theorized and fo...

  4 minutes read. If you think deeply, the one thing you may want in life is a product that provides you with undiminishing marginal utility. This is a situation where the additional satisfaction gained from consuming one more unit of the good does not decrease, no matter how much is consumed -it rather increases over time. Is this real? You may wonder. The truth is it is. Hopefully, at the end of this blog, you will understand fully.   Image source What is the law of diminishing marginal utility ? Say you went for a run but forgot to bring a water bottle. As you’re heading home, dehydration sets in, and all you can think about is water. In your mind, a single cup won't satisfy you -only an ocean could quench your thirst. You get home and the first thing you do is run to the fridge and get that cup of water that you so desperately needed. But something strange happens after that first cup, you're still thirsty. You pour another and another, and yet another. If you were given ...

H ow is love connected to opportunity cost? I imagine that's what you're thinking. Don't worry, by the time you're done reading, it will be clearer, God willing.                       "God can do innumerable things, but those things don’t define who He is. He can work with our faith , yet He is not faith itself. He can bless us with prosperity , yet He is not prosperity. He can grant us favor , but He is not favor itself. The list of what God can accomplish is inexhaustible, as He is All-powerful . However, while God can do all these things and more, they don’t capture His true essence. At His core, God is Love . Love is His nature." ( 1 John 4:8 ) Origin of Choice God expressed His absolute love for humans from creation when He gave us dominion and authority - the ability to choose ( Genesis 1:26 ). Job 38-41 gives us a glimpse of God's might and power, and a deep study of it will show us that God's dec...