The glorious absence of comparative advantage and colds

[Originally posted: 12/05/05] It hit me in prayer one day this past week that there in the kingdom of God there is no such thing as the notion of “comparative advantage”. This is basically the idea that for one reason or another a person has an advantage in comparison to another person. I am not speaking in the economics sense of the term (i.e., that a nation should specialize in producing certain goods and trade with others who specialize in other things which actually works out for the better for both nations). Rather, I am speaking in the more political science sense of the word in that one nation can produce a good more efficiently (at a lower opportunity cost) and therefore has a certain kind of leverage over another nation. So, for instance, a person with a master in English has comparative advantage over another person with just a bachelor in English when searching for a secondary school teaching job. Anybody who has ever thought about trying to write or reformat their resume (as I did this past week) is faced with this ghastly thought of, “what makes this resume better than anybody else’s who is applying for the same job or position.” “What kind of leverage do I have over another person in getting this position”. The idea has distinct implications of one person (or entity) triumphing or leveraging himself over another, of competition, of comparison. You get the point (I know, I am speaking as if someone is actually reading this…. I know, that’s funny…).

This past week it hit me that comparative advantage is a completely worldly notion. Who has the leverage in the Kingdom of God? Who has a better resume in the Kingdom? Anyway, is there even such a thing of triumphing over another in the Kingdom? It seems to me that we are all equal at the foot of the Cross. There will be no competition in heaven. No leveraging. No human-to-human comparisons made. What a glorious thought.

This past week I also have battled with a cold. Let me just be clear: I hate colds. I hate allergies. I am pretty much allergic to most everything. I think that colds exist to humble people and to remind them of our impending death. I mean, there is no one whose life is not just rocked by a cold, from the healthiest person on earth, to the guy at the Arby’s window tonight, to me. This past week it hit me that in the final Kingdom of God there will be no more colds because colds are a direct result of the Fall.

I think colds, therefore, are to remind us of heaven and to make us yearn ever more for the day when, “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 7:16-17). For me, at least, this is a glorious thought.