God Is Not A Socialist

I heard something that set my mind to wandering around thinking. This Jewish Rabbi named Daniel Lapin was talking about the Hebrew language with his wife on a streaming video I was watching on his website. He made the comment that socialism did not come from God and that indeed He doesn't mind us having things, why else would He have put Exodus 20:7 in the Bible.

Now for those of you who don't know what Exodus 20:7 says, let me tell you:

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Rabbi Lapin's comment got me to thinking. Of course, how had I never seen this before? If we are not to covet things, then we must be meant to have things. Because if we have nothing, or if everyone has exactly the same things, then there is nothing TO covet. Now I know what you are going to say, but what about in the New Testament over in Acts where all the believers had everything in common. (Acts 2:44-45)

I see in this Scripture that they did indeed sell their possessions and property, but apparently not all of it because in verse 46 it says that they continued to eat in their homes. So, they didn't all sell their homes. They must of still had some stuff.

I see the tendancy for people to say, "Well everyone should have the same thing, and we should all share what we have." To which I say, "Nope. We should not all have the same thing. We should be able to go and work and buy the things that we want, and if someone looks at us and says that's not fair, then they should get up off their backside and go work so they can get some stuff too."

God is not a socialist, He doesn't say anywhere in Scripture that everyone should have the same amount of stuff. He does tell us to give to the widow, the orphan and the poor. We should give out of our abundance, and help those in need. That is a command, not a suggestion. But to say that the way that is done is by redistributing the wealth of everyone is ridiculous. God never said that.

Those who think the redistribution of wealth is the answer, almost always are talking about the other guy sharing his wealth with others, not their own. You know you can tell a lot about a person by what they do with their money; it's a real good indicator of what kind of person they are. This is one of the reasons employers now look at a person's financial records instead of former employer references.

I say go out and make as much as you can, tithe off of your increase and help the widows, orphans and the poor. Buy what you desire to have and bless the Lord the whole time that you are doing it. But when people try to make you feel guilty for the Lord's blessings, don't let them. Show them what you are doing and encourage them to do the same...that's what will change the world. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!