Unexpected Visitors and an Unexpected Assignment

Sunday I was asked to translate for a couple visitors, a father and daughter. They really enjoyed the service, and I had opportunity afterward to speak with the father at length.

He had been working in Germany for three years as a truck driver in a nearby city. His hours were long, and he was often on the road, making it impossible to study and learn German. What I found surprising, was how good his English was.

As it turned out, he’d earlier spent a couple years in Cleveland, Tennessee, not far from Chattanooga, and of course, he took time to visit much of the eastern United States. I’m guessing that is why his English was so polished.

As we spoke, I quickly learned he was a committed Christian and had raised his three daughters to love God. Each of his daughters had come to Germany to visit him. His youngest was currently there.

Capitalism’s Broken Promises that Forced him into Migrant Work

Macedonia doesn’t have much of an economy and is full of government corruption. But I was still curious to hear his story and what brought him to Germany. He told me how optimistic Macedonians were about capitalism after decades under authoritarian rule. But that that optimism quickly faded due to government corruption.

He had a successful business, owning three car washes. One day, his bank account was blocked, and all his money taken. No one could (would) tell him where the money went or why the account was blocked.

He soon learned it was the head of Macedonian intelligence, a son-in-law of the Prime Minister who could operate with impunity. Either he paid him or lose his business. As a Christian, he refused, and that was the end of his business. He was not alone.

He came to Germany seeking work, paid just over minimum wage, driving a truck. His complaint is a common for many that lived in the former east: under communism, everyone worked 8 hours per day, earned enough and everything was always taken care of. Even under Tito, he said it was better, though acknowledging one couldn’t criticize the government.

He then spoke of abuses he’d suffered in Germany: broken promises, long hours, unfair demands and unachievable schedules. Here was a Christian man, persecuted by his own government, living in exile ito make a living, yet struggling to see the benefits of capitalism.

And what could I tell him? Corruption is endemic with all governments, and capitalism is a dog-eat-dog system in which the winner takes all at the expense of everyone else?

A Biblical Perspective

The ancient economies were brutal free market systems where the rich and powerful wrote the rules . . . and things haven’t changed over the centuries. Rome’s economy was a market economy, and Greece’s, Persia’s, Assyria’s and Babylonia’s. Their systems were surprisingly advanced.

If we miss that, we fail to grasp prophetic warnings about wealth of these kingdoms and the commerce they conducted. Christians often believe our economic system is godly, but it’s anything but.

It’s why John tells us in Revelation 18 that God will destroy the system. It abuses workers, enslaving them (Revelation 18:13). But it should be obvious. Just look at the wages and hours people work in countries like China or India. It’s so bad one company had to install nets to stop suicides by jumping from the windows!

Money was the creation of mankind. God didn’t create money. It’s why Jesus was so negative about the evils that result from those who pursue it. The love of money, its power and privilege, immunize us to its abuses. The system persecutes the saints (Revelation 17:6).

My heart goes out to this man. He only wants to serve Christ and raise his family. But to do it, he had to leave his homeland and work as a foreigner living in a foreign land. And though my prayer is that he can one day return to his land and family, I rejoice that I’ve met another person from another land that loves Jesus. It’s so cool to be an eyewitness to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise.