“No, this is not a political rant. This is a simple “aha” moment I had and would like to share.”
No, this is not a political rant. This is a simple “aha” moment I had and would like to share. Socialism, in theory, is paradise. The government controls basically everything, people don’t own private property, and there are no needy people. It sounds like utopia.
“Socialism has never given what it promises.”
Socialism has never given what it promises. I looked it up and even tried to find a positive slant on how it has ever worked beautifully. I couldn’t find a great example. People who still believe in it, believe it just hasn’t been done right or it would work. When something has a failure rate that high, why do we still fall for it?
“I think we are hardwired for it from God.”
I think we are hardwired for it from God. I think it goes back to how it was meant to be before mankind sinned in the garden.
- They lived in paradise.
- There was no competition.
- Love ruled.
- Everyone had what they needed (granted, there were only two people but everyone would have had plenty).
- No one had better clothes, jewelry, houses, etc…(naked and unashamed).
- Everyone had perfect bodies (I’m guessing since there was no chocolate or gluttony).
- There was no need to hoard toilet paper or anything else; needs were met everyday.
- Work was for fun and purpose, not money.
- God was the only real government
- Only two rules:
- Don’t eat from the tree.
- Have babies and fill the earth.
“It was utopia. That was God’s original plan.”
It was utopia. That was God’s original plan. When mankind sinned and was driven from the garden, everything changed. Our God-centered nature turned to a self-centered nature. That sounds so simple but it is devastating. As soon as Adam and Eve had two children, one killed the other because of jealousy. Our desire to be worshipped and to be number one is now hardwired into us. However, we can’t completely shake our original design.
“We now want something that can never be this side of heaven; utopia while everyone still possesses a sin nature.”
We now want something that can never be this side of heaven; utopia while everyone still possesses a sin nature. Those two things will never, ever be. History has judged socialism. Stalin, Lenin, Mao Zedung, Hugo Chavez, and Fidel Castro are five of the top ten socialists. Numbers don’t lie. We can look at history and see where socialism took those nations. Yet, we fall for it over and over again. Why? It goes back to the good ol’ Garden of Eden. We long for a perfect world because we were created for a perfect world.
What happened when, for the first time in the history of mankind, God’s Spirit filled people after Pentecost? It is recorded for us.
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
Acts 4:32-35
“Christians were the perfect socialists.”
Christians were the perfect socialists. They took care of each other and no one was selfish or self-seeking (for a little while anyway). God’s life in them was leading everything they did and it worked. People saw it and were blown away. People joined the church because of the love, unity, and power they displayed with their lives. It was otherworldly.
Otherworldly; that’s why it worked. Its origin was from another kingdom. It was from God’s Kingdom.
The reason it will never work down here is because its origin comes from man. Selfish ambition and vain conceit rule us. In 1857, Lord Acton (a 19th century British politician) said something profound and very accurate.
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”
There was only one man who could handle power perfectly and it was Jesus Christ. The rest of us are dangerous with it. Because “self” is our center, we exalt what we value; ourselves.
“Give a good man enough power and he will usually turn bad.”
Give a good man enough power and he will usually turn bad. Our only safety is to lay ourselves out before the Living God daily and beg Him to make us willing to walk with Him until we leave this planet. None of us can be humble without truly knowing God. Until we see God, we have no idea the horror that lies within all of us…even your Grandma.
To think demons once lived with God and worshipped Him, makes me shudder. Satan and demons show us what created beings (we are created beings also) without any influence of God have the potential to become. Satan deeply desires power, control, and worship. He is cruel and cares nothing for human life. That describes the famous socialists listed.
Pride made the devil the devil. To think we humans would exalt other humans to powerful positions and think they will be loving and fair is insanity. Most will become monsters.
Yet, we will do it. We can’t help it. We will fall for it over and over again. It’s proof of our origin; the garden. It’s also proof of the fall. It puts human nature on display for the world to see by its failure.
In a nutshell, Romans 3 tells us exactly why socialism will almost always end in death and destruction.
As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
“Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Romans 3:10-18
Those scriptures describe fallen humanity. Tell me you want that person to hold everything dear to you in their hands. That person is you and it’s me (without God). We are not safe with power or money. We have a tendency to love and hoard both.
“When God’s people asked for a king, He warned them in 1 Samuel 8 they would regret the decision.”
When God’s people asked for a king, He warned them in 1 Samuel 8 they would regret the decision. He told them the king would take the best of everything for himself and ended with, “He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.” (1 Samuel 8:17).
Even the king of Israel could not be trusted to do anything other than make God’s people his slaves.
I love my country, but I love the kingdom of God with a love unparalleled. For God’s Kingdom to come and His will be done, we may end up being a socialist country before the end of time. I hope not, but none of us know the future.
“There’s a reason we are called “sheep” in the Bible. If one sheep jumps off a cliff, the rest will follow.”
There’s a reason we are called “sheep” in the Bible. If one sheep jumps off a cliff, the rest will follow. Without the Shepherd to guide us, we will “drink the Kool Aid” of slick politicians.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana). How true that statement is. Most people have no desire to understand truth. As a country, we largely operate on nothing but emotions. The division we see is so dangerous and makes me sad. Jesus said, “If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25).
Before all the conservatives think this is a rant against the left, I could easily prove the point about God’s Word through the success of capitalism. It appeals largely to our pride and greed.
“I’m glad I don’t run the country because I don’t know how a fallen world is supposed to run and neither does anyone else.”
I’m glad I don’t run the country because I don’t know how a fallen world is supposed to run and neither does anyone else. It’s messed up down here because of our hearts, not because of who the president is.
As I said, this is not a rant against socialism. It’s a declaration of the truth of who God is and how laser accurate everything His Word says is. He invites each us to be a part of His Kingdom.
This Kingdom will pass away, God’s Kingdom is eternal.
In a fallen, scary, and unstable world, that makes my spirit soar.
