Thursday, July 23, 2009

Return from Hiatus

Sorry for the long delay in posting -- I'm sure everyone missed me. :-)

I was recently asked about my ideas about the fact that the majority of humanity's ills seem to stem from the uneven distribution of wealth, and that, therefore, socialism is surely the closest economic system to Biblical principles. My response follows:

While the Bible does, at times, seem to preach a socialistic economic model (Acts 2:45), in reality this passage is more about stewardship than it is about economies. The apostle Paul wrote in his second letter to the church at Thessalonica, "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat" (2 Th 3:10). This is very clearly antithetical to a socialistic model. But it is directly in keeping with one of stewardship.

All that exists owes its very existence to the will of God. It is all His, ultimately. In the book of Genesis, and again in the giving of the Law in Exodus, God has appointed man to be in charge of His creation. In order that man be a better steward of His creation, God has given permission for individuals to "own" pieces of the creation for himself. When people have a vested (ownership) interest in the results of their works, the tendency is for that work to be of a higher quality. In commanding His people "thou shalt not steal" (Ex 20:15), God is clearly teaching that this ownership princple is both recognized in the Godhead and should be respected by mankind.

The free exchange of goods and services is not normally considered to be a hallmark of socialistic societies. In those areas, government controlled monopolies are necessary to ensure the "fair" distribution of goods with no particular care being placed upon the quality thereof. The Bible, however, teaches exactly the opposite. For example, in the purchase of a cave in which to bury his wife, Abraham gives us the very first "guns and butter" illustration in history. Sarah, Abrahams wife, had died in Hebron, and Abraham desired a place to bury her. Heth, grandson to Ham, owned a piece of land which included a cave near Machpelah. Heth valued the cave at 400 shekels of silver. Abraham evaluated his need with the cost, and determined that such a deal was mutually beneficial to both he and Heth. Therefore, he paid to Heth the 400 shekels of silver for the field and the cave and was, ultimately, buried there himself. This is a classic example of a capitalistic, not a socialistic economy.

Examining the socialistic aspect to Acts chapter 2, one does not actually find what one would expect from a socialistic society. The believers were not selling their things and sharing them equally -- as pure socialism would demand. Rather, possessions were being sold and shared specifically "as every man had need." In other words, the believers in Jerusalem were willing to sell their things to meet the needs of fellow believers. This is not a 'vow of poverty', but is, rather, fully consistent with the stewardship principle, in that even we, as human beings, belong to God himself -- and He has called us to take care of His creation -- ALL of His creation.