The Spirit of Capitalism: Proverbs 30:7-9 and More Wisdom

Why take a spiritual perspective on capitalism, and especially why talk of a Spirit of Capitalism?

From my perspective, there’s an elegantly simple answer. We’re each a spiritual being having a human experience; and because of that, we unavoidably impart our spirit into our every human activity, including our human-created system of capitalism.

For those who wonder about my logic, here’s a quick summary. While ‘spirit’ is a term used to mean different things in different cultures, the way The Free Dictionary by Farlex defines and provides examples of ‘spirit’ reflects familiar uses. For example, the first grouping and listing of definitions and examples under the word ‘spirit’ include:

“1.a. A force or principle believed to animate living beings. b. A force or principle believed to animate humans and often to endure after departing from the body of a person at death; the soul.

. . .

6.a. An inclination or tendency of a specified kind: Her actions show a generous spirit. b. A pervasive or essential attitude, quality, or principle: the spirit of 1776.”

The spirit (1.a., 1.b.) that we humans choose to embrace and develop becomes the spirit (6.a., 6.b.) reflected in the actions, attitudes, qualities and principles of our daily lives, including our human-created system of capitalism.

I didn’t grow up in the Church or with any religious training to speak of, so how did I arrive at recognizing this spiritual need to fix capitalism? Fair question, and to address it I’ll share a piece of my spiritual backstory, which started in one of my engineering undergraduate courses long before I attended law school to earn my Jurist Doctor (J.D.) or seminary to earn my Master of Divinity (M.Div.). This engineering professor opened the first class with an overtly religious perspective that I felt dismissed and discounted me. Feeling dismissed and discounted, my petty reaction was to become angry. My revenge plan was to get and read a Bible and then prove him wrong.

Image Credit: Gary Yagel

That plan didn’t pan out as I envisioned, but it did introduce me to Wisdom Literature, starting with the Book of Proverbs. Wisdom is the path that is leading me–and hopefully all of us sooner than later–to recognize the spiritual need to fix capitalism.

The Book of Proverbs and Capitalism

Capitalism isn’t specifically mentioned in the Bible for obvious reasons; it didn’t arrive until many centuries after the last scriptural text was penned. Money, wealth and possessions, however, are referenced in more than 2,300 verses throughout the Bible. In this regard, what the spirit of our economic exchanges should look like is well described. Many of these references are found in the Book of Proverbs.

[Quick sidebar: I speak here of the spirit of capitalism with Judeo-Christian references because that’s my primary training and experience. Nevertheless, what I reference has common ground with most philosophical and faith traditions. See, for example, the book Wisdom is One by B.W. Huntsman, the works of the 1st Century stoic Epictetus (Enchiridion and Discourses), and the book The Art of Worldly Wisdom (aphorisms by Baltasar Gracian translated by Martin Fischer), just to mention three wisdom volumes on my bookshelf. Countless more examples abound on bookshelves around the globe.]

Here and now, I’ll share four sets of verses from Proverbs that were instrumental in my early adult personal and professional development and that still serve me well. These are particularly instructive to those who want to embrace and develop a healthy spirit about money, wealth, and possessions. As we individually bring a healthy spirit to how we deal with our money, wealth, and possessions, we help heal and fix the spirit and practices of the economic system we call capitalism.

Proverbs 30:7-9

Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

Understand that the term “my daily bread” doesn’t literally mean the meager scraps needed for sustenance living. Rather, the term is a representation of all the physical, material, and spiritual resources you need to flourish in your life consistent with cosmic laws. In our modern perspective, this most likely looks like a happy, upper middle-class life.

Proverbs 13:11

Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.

In my role as a lawyer, I’ve counseled a great number of people on a great number of issues. These days my counsel is usually directed to business succession planning and estate planning, helping clients figure out what to do with the wealth they have accumulated. One of the lessons I’ve learned is that wealth legitimately earned over time lasts, often because the owner’s skill in learning to manage his or her wealth has grown with it. Get rich quick schemes don’t last, particularly when it means extracting from someone else rather than creating new value. The old story of the tortoise and hare race is still accurate: slow and steady wins the race.

Proverbs 16:8

Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.

How often do you think to yourself, “I have enough” or “I’m content with what I have”? Have you ever? A younger neighbor shocked me one day when he told me he was going to retire. I asked, “Why”? He answered simply, “I have enough.” I laughed and pressed with, “No, really.” He responded again with the same but more seriously. In that moment, the reality of “enough” became a mind-blowing revelation for me. “Enough” is a revelation I’m constantly growing into and that we all need to grow into.

 Proverbs 25:16

If you find honey, eat just enough–too much of it, and you will vomit.

The plain meaning of this analogy is easy. We all know the pain that follows over-eating, over-drinking, over-spending, and generally over-indulging. Why would anyone think damaging ourselves or others only to eat too much honey (accumulate more wealth than we need) is ultimately any less painful for everyone involved in the pursuit of too much?

Research, study, and meditate on these verses. What do they mean to you? How do these small slices of wisdom fit into your personal economics, and how much better would our bigger world of capitalism function if more of us operated with these ethics?

Our Spirit Drives the Spirit of Capitalism

To Max Weber’s point in his book, The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism, the spiritual dimension of 19th century Protestants–those voices and ethics that included community, hard work, and frugality–are the fertile soil in which modern capitalism grew and populations prospered. The principle hasn’t changed even if the times have. The question remains, “What spiritual dimension are we bringing to capitalism?”

The spiritual dimension calls us to measure the economy not only by what it produces, but also by how it touches human life and whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person. Economic decisions have human consequences and moral content; they help or hurt people, strengthen or weaken family life, advance or diminish the quality of justice in our land. Our capitalism needs a renewed spirit, and that renewal will only come about through people of goodwill bringing the best of their spiritual dimension into their economic decisions.

We’re building Better Capitalism for those seeking to live their spiritual dimension in the marketplace–in homes, offices, factories, and school; on farms and ranches; in boardrooms and union halls; in service agencies and legislative chambers. And for those who don’t yet understand that engaging their spiritual dimension in the marketplace is mission critical for a life well lived, we’re here for them when they’re ready.

We’re also building Better Capitalism from the perspective of economic theologians. We’re more behavioral guides and teachers than classical economists. Why? Because classical economics is comparatively easy; it’ll follow whatever behavioral guidelines you feed it, and the math isn’t that hard. What’s harder and necessary is convincing people that until we connect our heads and our Spirits to our wallets, we’ll continue to serve capitalism rather than capitalism serving us. 

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We write this series about the spiritual dimension of capitalism to encourage you to bring the best of your spiritual values into everyday economic decisions. This is the path to successfully balancing profit and purpose in our individual lives and in our greater economy. If you're inspired to learn more and want practical ideas for living out your spiritual dimension in the marketplace, we’d love for you to join us on this journey of renewing capitalism. You can begin by reading our book, Better Capitalism, and by signing up for our weekly blog post.

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