Facebook meme: Why, when Jesus talks about feeding the poor, it’s Christianity but when a politician does it, it’s Socialism?
- Jesus is perfect, so anything He does will be perfect.
- Politicians (and we) are not. Anything we do, despite best intentions and efforts, will always be imperfect (which is a spoiler alert for those fooled into believing they/we can create Utopia, aka Heaven-on-Earth, without God. Proven Fact: there is no God in Socialism).
- Jesus IS God.
- Politicians (and we) can only be gods in our own minds.
- Jesus encourages generosity that emerges as a result of love for Him and as agape love for our fellow man that arises from our ever-deepening relationship with Him. This allows us to be as generous as our budgets, time, health, and so forth allow.
- Socialism, however, means … let’s let a world-renowned economist explain it. Milton Friedman, 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize winner in Economic Sciences, said in response to a young man who, decades ago, commented that capitalism is so unfair and that what we really should pursue is equality:
“The society that aims first for liberty, will not end up with equality, but it will end up with a closer approach to equality than any other kind of system that has ever been developed. Now, that conclusion is based both on evidence from history, across history, and also, I believe, on reasoning, which if you try to follow through the implications of aiming first at equality, will become clear. You can only aim at equality by giving some people a right to take things from others. And what ultimately happens when you aim at equality is that A and B decide what C shall do for D. Except that they take a little bit of a commission off on the way.” [Video found at www.freetochoose.net ]
Socialism is a law-based system rather than one of grace. Forced “generosity” by those who take but never suffer in “equal” measure as those they take from. Forced sacrifice on your part, not theirs, all done under the guise of compassion—because “control” is too obvious a word. God said He prefers compassion over sacrifice (reread #5 above). The thing about we citizens of this great nation, this Constitutional Republic, is that we are and always have been the most generous people on the planet, despite how certain politicians muck around with our ability to thrive and, therefore, give.
A a general rule, most Christians give at least 10 percent of all monies they receive, along with other acts of generosity. Most people in office, and not in office, who yelp the loudest for Socialism, fall short—far short—in their giving (based on income they report). These are known as Champagne Socialists, defined online as, “a person who espouses socialist ideals while enjoying a wealthy and luxurious lifestyle.” A lifestyle removed from what’s described in the next paragraph.
Dennis Prager wrote a timely article, “The Torah Versus the Left,” in which he included the following:
The left advocates judging the poor differently. A poor man who commits almost any crime, including a violent crime, is not to be held to the same legal or moral standard as other people. As reported last week in the City Journal: “In October, the Seattle City council floated legislation to provide an exemption from prosecution for misdemeanor crimes for any citizen who suffers from poverty, homelessness, addiction, or mental illness. Under the proposed ordinance, courts would have to dismiss all so-called ‘crimes of poverty’ – which, according to the city’s former public-safety advisor, would cover more than 90 percent of all misdemeanor cases citywide.” [https://dennisprager.com/column/the-torah-versus-the-left/ ]
Prager also said this: “The Left knows the Bible and the Judeo-Christian values that emanate from it are its enemy. The rest of us should, too.” I’ll add this personal observation: Too many are misusing Scripture against Christians and well-meaning non-Christians who do not know the Word as they and we should. Reminds me of Hosea 4:6, where God said His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Case in point: A pastor running for office, as so many who do not walk in Kingdom Covenant too often do these days, cited Matthew 25 in order to support his Socialist goals, with him occupying an “Elite” seat, of course. He, however, is up against God Almighty, Who said in Leviticus 19:15 (CJB), “Do not be unjust in judging – show neither partiality to the poor nor deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor.” And Jesus said in Mark 7:6-7 (CJB), “… ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. Their worship of me is useless, because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines.’”
God included in the 10 Commandments, Thou shalt not covet and Thou shalt not steal, both of which are the underlying motivators of Socialism in the minds and hearts of potential recipients and ideologues. The sad truth is that politicians pushing it generally have power and control foremost in mind, and fit into the Champagne Socialist category. And, lest I forget, Thou shalt not murder, which always, inevitably happens when Socialist and Communist regimes take over.
Some well-meaning individuals now believe everything is broken and they are the ones to fix the imperfect system created by imperfect people. They’ve been indoctrinated to believe they have the answers, failing to realize they are also imperfect and, therefore, can only create imperfect systems. They ignore the only perfection there is because – there is no God in Socialism, other than the government and those who deem themselves our they-know-best government gods. Sadly, they are too often willing to cause equality in suffering, rather than encourage and support the only thing that makes a true and lasting difference: freedom to improve oneself and one’s contributions in life.
Socialism (aka Communism-lite): What’s love got to do with that? As I write this (12.22.20), so many of our citizens are battered by covid lockdowns and lay-offs, many of whom have had to receive unemployment compensation and wait in food lines for the first time in their lives. To get a sense of how our “wise leaders” perceive best use of our tax dollars included in the 5,593-page $2.3 trillion “covid-relief” bill, here are a few examples of what’s included.
-$10M for gender programs in Pakistan
-$1.5M to watch lizards walk on treadmills
-$50K to study whether people who take smiling selfies feel happier when they later look at the selfies
-$?M to address gender inequality among statues – those things they enjoy tearing down
Again, What’s love got to do with that?!
Who knows what this “relief” will finally be when you read this. In the meantime, or for the sake of history, watch President Trump’s 12.22.20 4-minute message about this and more: https://tinyurl.com/y7k2djfc
Says the Left to the Right: You’re the problem.
Says the Right to the Left: You’re the problem.
God says: You’re both the problem, and you both need Jesus.
(Borrowed from Mark Driscoll, Pastor –and I add, Amen!)
Visit Joyce’s Blog for prayers of grace to take with you and share with others in the new year at
https://choosingbeautyoverashes.blogspot.com/2020/12/a-prayer-for-reign-of-grace-over-your.html
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I’ve attached a photo of a shop owner in his shop in Venezuela before and after Socialism “succeeded,” as it always, inevitably does. The shelves are bare and the owner about 30 pounds or so lighter:
Let us work to keep our Constitutional Republic instead of allowing a creeping Socialist Wasteland.
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