The Bridge Austin

Every Christmas season, A Christmas Carol returns to our screens and pages as a story of generosity, redemption, and hope. But beneath the familiar narrative, Charles Dickens was also making a powerful argument—one that challenges how society views the poor, children, and human worth itself.

In today’s Christmas episode of Faith & Finance, we sat down with Jerry Bowyer, our resident economist and president of Bowyer Research, to explore the deeper economic and theological message Dickens embedded in this classic tale.

One of the most disturbing lines in A Christmas Carol comes from Ebenezer Scrooge, who suggests that the poor might be better off dying to reduce the “surplus population.”

Jerry explained that this phrase wasn’t casual or poetic—it was loaded with meaning in Dickens’ day. It reflected the influence of Thomas Malthus, an economist whose ideas shaped early 19th-century thinking. Malthus believed population growth would always outpace food and resources, making widespread poverty inevitable. His conclusion? Society should discourage the poor from having children.

Dickens deliberately places this language in the mouth of his villain. Scrooge isn’t just cruel—he’s the embodiment of a philosophy that treats people as economic problems rather than human beings made in God’s image.

Jerry noted that Dickens was, in effect, writing A Christmas Carol as a rebuttal to Malthus.

By the time Dickens wrote the story, Britain was entering what economists now call the Great Takeoff—a period of unprecedented growth in productivity, trade, and human flourishing. Malthus had predicted catastrophe just before abundance exploded.

Dickens highlights this abundance through scenes overflowing with food, trade goods, and celebration. The message is clear: people don’t merely consume resources—they create them.

Dickens doesn’t excuse Scrooge’s cruelty, but he does explain it. Through the Ghost of Christmas Past, we see a lonely boy shaped by hunger, cold, and deprivation.

Jerry pointed out that Scrooge’s scarcity mindset is rooted in trauma. His fear of lack leads him to believe that God—if He exists at all—is stingy. That fear shapes his economics, his relationships, and his resistance to generosity.

The turning point comes when Scrooge encounters the Ghost of Christmas Present. When told the spirit has over 1,800 brothers—each representing a Christmas—Scrooge responds, “What a large family to provide for.”

It’s another glimpse of his scarcity thinking. And it draws sharp rebuke.

Jerry emphasized that Dickens is confronting the idea that more people mean less provision. In contrast, Scripture reveals a God who is generous, creative, and abundant—and who commands humanity to fill the earth, not fear it.

By the end of the story, Scrooge is transformed. He becomes generous, relational, and deeply concerned for others—especially children like Tiny Tim.

Jerry observed that in a Malthusian worldview, Tiny Tim is expendable. But Dickens—and the gospel—say otherwise. There are no surplus people.

Even Jesus Himself, Jerry noted, would have been classified as “surplus population” by such a system—born poor, dependent, and unwanted by the powerful.

The language may have changed, but the ideas persist. Whenever society treats children as burdens, the poor as problems, or human life as expendable in the name of efficiency or sustainability, we are hearing echoes of Scrooge before his redemption.

Dickens reminds us that economics is always moral—and theology always shapes how we view people.

As Jerry put it, A Christmas Carol isn’t just a holiday story. It’s a challenge to scarcity, fear, and dehumanization—

Wondering why faith feels like a duty? Chip explains the secret to finding lasting joy and a deeper relationship with God.

Breakthrough Concept #2: God owns everything. I am His money manager.

The “Oikonomia” Principle: All that we are, and all that we have belongs to God and has been temporarily entrusted to us to manage according to His wishes. -1 Cor. 4:1-2

The Setting: Correction of the Pharisees and instruction of His disciples concerning wealth.

The Story: Luke 16:1-11

• Mismanagement occurs and dismissal soon follows.
• Two options are considered and a third is taken.
• A commendation by the owner, a good lesson from a bad example, “he was shrewd.”

The Teaching: Faithfulness with material wealth is a prerequisite to being entrusted with spiritual wealth and rewards.

The Test: Two basic financial practices that demonstrate God is our #1 priority.

1. Generous stewards give the FIRST and BEST to God. -Pr. 3:9-10

2. Generous stewards give REGULARLY and SYSTEMATICALLY. -1 Cor. 16:2

Three questions wise stewards regularly ask

1. Am I using the money entrusted to me in accordance with the Owner’s wishes?

2. Am I carefully keeping account of where all the Owner’s funds are going?

3. Am I becoming “best friends” with the “Owner” by the privilege and opportunity of managing His resources?

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Hope in the Night-Mentoring

In this episode of The Creative Connection, Ed Young explains that Christmas centers on God’s ultimate gift of Jesus, who meets humanity’s deepest need for forgiveness, urging listeners to stop "shopping" for fulfillment in position, possessions, pleasure, or people, and instead receive this gift by surrendering their lives to Christ.

The people of Jesus' day were ruled by the Roman Empire. Some saw in Jesus the political deliverer that had been foretold. In this message from Isaiah 61, Pastor Lutzer celebrates why Jesus had come to deliver those who needed it most—including the Gentiles. His deliverance is from the very power of sin.

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Moody Church Media [https://www.moodymedia.org/], home of "Running To Win," exists to bring glory to God through the transformation of lives.

Erwin W. Lutzer is Pastor Emeritus of The Moody Church in Chicago, where he served as Senior Pastor for 36 years. He is a prolific author of over seventy books. A clear expositor of the Bible, he is the featured speaker on "Running To Win" and "Songs In The Night," with programs broadcasting on over a thousand outlets in the U.S. and across more than fifty countries in seven languages. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in the Chicago area. They have three grown children and eight grandchildren.

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In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would be a King with a reign like no other. Today, R.C. Sproul considers what this prophecy teaches us about Christ and the kingdom He came to establish.

Request R.C. Sproul's devotional book The Advent of Glory, plus lifetime digital access to his teaching series Coming of the Messiah, with your donation of any amount: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/4514/offer
 
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Merry Christmas from the Renewing Your Mind team.

Meet Today's Teacher:
 
R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was founder of Ligonier Ministries, first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew's Chapel, first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine.
 
Meet the Host:
 
Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of media for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, and host of the Ask Ligonier podcast.

Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

Why the classic Christmas movie should play on repeat in homes this holiday. 

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