Hi Friend,

There is a lot we can learn from the early settlers that came to America and the Thanksgiving celebration that followed. The good intentions of the early colonists were not always combined with diligent effort.

Hardship followed hardship for the first Pilgrims to land at Plymouth Rock. The winter of 1620 saw the death of fifty percent of the colonists, including the wife of Governor William Bradford. Things didn’t improve much for those that survived. The next problem was with the colonists themselves. A few were lazy and would not work. Some were thieves. In his “History of the Plymouth Plantation” Bradford reported that the colonists went hungry for years because they refused to work in the fields. The food that was grown was stolen by other colonists. The lesson was that it was easier to steal from a brother than work in the field. So thieves abounded and food was scarce.

For the first few years they lived with famine and death.

Then something changed. In 1623 “instead of famine now God gave them plenty,” Bradford wrote, “and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God.”  Thereafter, he wrote, “any general want or famine hath not been amongst them since to the day.”  In fact, in 1624, so much food was produced that the colonists were able to export corn.

What change occurred that produced these bountiful results?

Prior to 1623 the colonists used a communistic economic system. That is, “all profits & benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing, or any other means” wrote William Bradford, were placed in the common stock of the colony and each colonist would draw from it as he needed. On the face this seemed like a workable and fair arrangement.

But it never worked. In fact, it only encouraged laziness and theft.

So Bradford was forced to go back and look at a biblical model. What was that?

The example Bradford found was exemplified by the Year of Jubilee that was proclaimed in Israel every fiftieth year. (Exodus 25) It was the time when all property was returned to the owner. No matter how badly a man had mismanaged, how incompetent he had been or how much of a sluggard, when such a man lost all the family possessions his children were offered a chance to start over. The family could have a new beginning.

At the core of this new beginning was the right to own property. God returned the property to the family and He intended it should remain with them. This included the obligation to be responsible for it.

Bradford realized that the example of ancient Israel entering the Promised Land was what God intended for the founding of America. Each man should have his own land and live under his own vine and his own fig tree. (Micah 4:4) The Bible contained the answer for ancient Israel as well as for modern America.

And so, in 1623 Bradford gave each household a parcel of land and told them they could keep what they produced, or trade it away as they saw fit. In other words, he replaced the communistic system with free-market enterprise and that was the end of famines.

The turning point for America was the recognition of the biblical concept that each man should own his own property.  This concept created a sense of responsibility and reliance on God. From then on, the colonists prospered.

When a man looks to other men to supply his need, he inevitably ends up with little for which to be thankful. When men look to God, the result is a bounty of blessings for which to give thanks.

Until next time,

Jim O’Brien