Is God Socialist?

One of the buzzwords of late is "Socialist." The word describes a supporter of socialism, defined by Dictionary.com as: "a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole." Modern punditry has used the term to describe some of the welfare reforms that the government has done from Roosevelt's New Deal through today. As I watch the evening news, it strikes me at how divisive an issue helping others has become. People becoming enraged at being asked to give money to someone who has none because that person is a "no good drunk" or is "too lazy to get a job" or...or...or. A lot of times, it's we Christian's who become the most incensed about helping others.

A lot of people credit Karl Marx with inventing socialism, and Vladimir Lenin with making is a reality. Actually, the original socialism was created by Christians, and not just any Christians, but Jesus' disciples! Check this out:

And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:44-47)

All the early Christians shared everything they had! If someone had money and someone else was in need, that person was taken care of! They spent time together, helped each other, and praised God for giving them the ability to do so. I don't know about you, but that's a community I'd want to be in! Small wonder new people joined the community daily!

All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need. (Acts 4:32-35)

Did you see that? The people took care of each other! And the last two lines, that there was not one needy person among the believers because those who we blessed with great wealth pored it back into the community! How many churches do that any more?

But this concept of pooling your resources and caring for one another, that's not a New Testament phenomenon. If you take a peak back into Leviticus & Deuteronomy), when God was setting up Israelite society, God commands the people to take care of those among them who have fallen on hard times (Lev. 25:35-38). God tells the people not to be mean-spirited or be tightfisted, but calls them to be generous with those who are poor (Deut. 15:7-11).

In our modern American society, the culture is permeated with "What's mine is mine." If you work hard, you should reap the benefits. Why should you have to share with anyone if you don't want to? If they don't want to work as hard as you, they don't deserve what you have. Sadly, that is the American way of doing business. But that is not what God calls us to do.

God calls us to share our wealth with the less fortunate, to lift up those in need. God calls us to love each other, just as He loves us. Jesus said that the world will know we are His followers by the way we love each other (John 13:34-35). If that means being called a "socialist" then so be it. If God loves me so much He died for me, the least I can do is give some of what He's blessed me with to help out someone else, right? To me, that's the least I can do for God, given all He's done for me!

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. (I John 3:16-19)