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Socialist politicians are everywhere ranting that all should have free education; free medical care; free housing.  My only question to that is:  “Says who?”  Does God say it in the Bible?  Or is it purely the idea of some man?

God teaches us that He has given to man a system by which his physical and material needs can be met.  It’s quite simple, but very, very effective.  God releases into us at the moment of conception certain abilities which, if we follow His leading, He will later direct into a calling through which our needs will be met.  A surgeon gets thinking and motor skills which will enable him to remove harmful things and reset body tissue so that God’s natural healing can take place.  An automobile mechanic gets the understanding in his mind and skill in his hands by which to diagnose and repair your vehicle.  God then intends for us to be taught by parents, pastors, and other teachers how to work with those skills to better the lives of others.  They, in turn, pay us for our services, which betters our lives.  God’s Kingdom gets advanced in both parties because each realizes that God’s way works; which encourages faith in God’s Word and His calling in other areas of life.

Socialism works just the opposite of this.  It teaches that, “there are just some people who can’t take care of themselves.”  So we give tax-funded food, clothing, and housing to a few in the beginning.  Then politicians (not statesmen, mind you!) see a way of creating more votes to keep themselves in office, so they demand that we help more and more people.  And the expansion never ends.  One great statesman analyzed it this way:  He said, “A republic can last only so long as it takes for the citizens to find out they can vote themselves the public purse.”  After awhile there get to be more “takers” from the tax system than contributors into it—and the “golden goose” is destroyed.  God’s way says, “…that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” (2nd Thessalonians 3:10)  In God’s system, work becomes the dignifying agent by which a nation is spared from drugs, alcohol, immorality, gender confusion, and a host of other “death-dealing” disorders.

So what about the truly poor?  How do the elderly, the mentally retarded, and the injured get their needs met?  In Acts chapter 6, the early church took collections to meet the needs of those who were, in reality, unable to meet their own needs.  God taught His people to meet those needs in such a way that it didn’t discourage working for a living.

This, of course, means these have to be part of the church through the new birth, which comes only through our surrendering “our” lives to the control of Jesus Christ as our Master; and accepting His work at the Cross as our only means of being forgiven by God.  This gives us both encouragement, and accountability.

The “bottom-line” in all this is that we will either learn God’s system of working with the abilities He’s given us—thus trusting Him to meet our needs by “seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (from Matthew 6:33)—or we will look to government as our god, expecting tax dollars from the productive to meet our needs.  God’s system is known as a “free market” economy.  Man’s system is known as “socialism”.  And government servants will encourage one or the other of these systems by what laws they enact.  Ultimately, it boils down to the question, “Will I trust God or man?”, as does every issue in life.

To sum up:  In God’s system, we are all “Givers”.  In socialism, more and more become takers, until there are no more “Givers”, and we all sink into slavery together.

Think about it! Because if you don’t, someone else will do your thinking for you—and for your children!  And you won’t like what that brings to you.  I’m Don Pinson; this has been Think About It.