What if We Hit the Reset Button on Wealth?
What would happen if, every 50 years, the economy gave everyone a fresh start—land returned, debts erased, and the playing field leveled?
This isn’t utopian fantasy. It’s the biblical concept of Jubilee, a radical social and economic system outlined in Leviticus 25. Every 50th year, God commanded Israel to return land to its original owners, free indentured servants, and forgive debts. Jubilee wasn’t about erasing hard work or punishing success; it was about preventing generational poverty and systemic wealth accumulation that left the poor perpetually stuck.
Contrast that with today’s reality. Around the world, especially in advanced economies, inheritance—not effort—is becoming the key driver of wealth. People are passing down property and capital in staggering amounts. In 2023 alone, people in wealthy countries stood to inherit about $6 trillion, around 10% of total GDP. In France and Germany, inheritance flows have doubled or tripled since the 1960s and 1970s.
This rise of “inheritocracy” is troubling. It's not just billionaires who benefit. In cities like London and New York, even modest estates can be worth hundreds of thousands, passed down to children who are already advantaged. Meanwhile, high earners without inheritance find themselves unable to afford homes, no matter how hard they work. The result? A rentier class grows richer, while others fall behind—not for lack of effort, but for lack of family wealth.
Jubilee, on the other hand, envisioned a society where no one could permanently monopolize wealth. Every generation had a chance to begin again, free from the crushing weight of debt or the unfair advantage of birthright. It disrupted the slow grind of inequality and reminded Israel that the land—and all wealth—ultimately belonged to God: “the land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers” (Leviticus 25:23).
The New Testament echoes this ethic of economic compassion. Jesus opens his public ministry by proclaiming “good news to the poor” and “freedom for the oppressed” (Luke 4:18), invoking the language of Jubilee. The early church embodied these values too, sharing possessions so that “there were no needy persons among them” (Acts 4:34). Stewardship, not hoarding, was the model. Which system reflects God’s heart? A society where wealth piles up in family dynasties, or one that regularly resets the balance to give everyone a fair shot? Today’s inheritance-driven reality is drifting toward a world where the rich get richer and the poor get left behind. Jubilee, while ancient, offers a prophetic alternative.
The question isn’t whether we can replicate Jubilee exactly—but whether we’re willing to challenge a system that rewards birthright over effort. What would it look like to build an economy that values justice, generosity, and shared flourishing?
Maybe it’s time to rediscover the wisdom of Jubilee—and to ask: "What it would take to press 'reset’ in our own world?"
