To many people, socialism is an economic system based on the idea that society as a whole should share in all goods produced, in other words, transferring wealth from those who earn to those who don’t.
It all sounds so self-sacrificing, so noble… that is until one understands what socialism really is.
Winston Churchill once called socialism the “gospel of envy.” Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, brought about by "those who have what we ought to have”. Bertrand Russell said that envy was “one of the most potent causes of unhappiness…. And that person may also wish to inflict misfortune on others to reduce their status”.
Socialism itself is not a sin, but envy is…
Envy, at its very core, is the love of self. Envious people are often selfish, bitter, and resentful individuals. It will affect a person’s physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being… ultimately leading to estrangement from God and others. Galatians 5:20-21 puts envy in the same category as idolatry, jealousy, anger.
Envy’s first cousin is covetousness mentioned in the tenth commandment. To covet means to crave or desire, especially in excessive or improper ways.
It is God who gives a person their skills and the wealth that comes from it, not the government:
18 Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. 19 Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his [e]reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. (Ecclesiastes 5:18–19 NASB).
Socialism is not a biblical concept. Instead, the Bible promotes the idea of private property. The eighth commandment (Thou shall not steal) demands we respect other’s property. God instructs us as individuals to share and be generous with what we have. But when socialists rule, the “elites” decide how to tax and spend the wealth generated as a result of your labor. All too often, they use the money to support anti-God causes, violating traditional moral values such as abortion on demand and LBGTQ organizations.
Socialism is one of the biggest lies of the twentieth century. It promises prosperity, equality, and justice, but has delivered nothing but poverty, common misery, and tyranny. In history, socialism has always proven to be a blueprint for economic and social disaster. Socialists don’t build up… they destroy.
Recent Marxist Antifa and BLM rioters aren’t trying to improve anything by burning down their local Walgreens or looting the nearby Apple Store. What they really want to do is to force you to give in to their agenda. They envy the wealth others have and believe they have a right to take what others have. They seek social justice by shifting the blame for their own failures and frustrations onto something or someone else.
Those who buy the lie of socialism see themselves or others as innocent victims of injustice… while avoiding any responsibility for their own actions.
Socialism is not a sin in itself… but acting out in envy and covetousness are!