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As of late many Americans have been hearing an explosion of the word “socialism.” But what is socialism? The Myriam Webster dictionary defines it as: “Any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.” Now, that is the socialism that we are hearing on our devices, but did you know that Jesus Christ was a socialist? Before you either run in the streets and say that our Lord and Savior was with (God forbid) Hitler and Stalin or that he condoned taking from the rich and giving to the poor, let me correct that quickly… You see, there is a second definition that is not politicized but most would welcome it at its core. The Myriam Webster dictionary defined it as: “A system of society or group living in which there is no private property.” This is the type of socialism Jesus Christ more aligned with, and I do as well, where the government has nothing to do with it, moreover it is done on a grass roots level alone.
In the beginning of the church, (the primitive church) believers sold their possessions, did social programs, and cared for one another without the need of an all-encompassing government. You see, they lived under Roman rule paying taxes and lived under threat. Yet, by they (the primitive church) caring for each other, it made sure that those locally in need would get what was needed. Jesus instilled in his people that the things of this world are not what matter, instead the people alongside them, was what mattered. I understand that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and the democrats maybe trying to help the world with social programs (I will not diminish this) but at what cost?
Socialism as viewed in the first definition (from Myriam Webster dictionary), is riddled with vipers and pitfalls that even if the people doing it start off with a good intention, (history has shown that) it will never go well. Bishop Mandell Creighton once said, “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (1887). When power is centralized, the weight of it crushes the soul of the people wielding it, but instead of them crying out for help, something dastardly occurs: the person dies inside and what is left is a former shell of who they were, driven much like a vampire to continue to feed on more power to feel alive. Socialism, with a centralized government is far from what Jesus wanted. He wanted humanity to be their brother’s keeper; to look out for each other and to supply the needs of those near and far. There is some room for political socialism, such as taking care of the widows, the sick, the invalid, etc. Nevertheless, even that should come with limits. The point of help is to aid, and its goal is: where if that person does not know how to work, they learn to be self-sufficient. If they were hungry, to teach them how to find food, thus much like a baby being weaned, they grow till self-sufficiency levels are obtained.
Instead, there are people currently running for office who are dead inside, taken over by lust for power… and how are they doing it? By offering free things, taking away the will of the individual to do for oneself, and much like a drug dealer, keeping us depended on their will to feed us, while our liberties are trampled on bit by bit. Once we wake up from the lies were fed (if we do!?), we would be so weak and defenseless that fighting will be the last thing in our capabilities. Jesus showed that taking care of our fellow man is an honorable thing for which to strive, but He warned that loving the tool (money) and not the one being helped was where the root of the evil was spawned.
We can see how socialism is once again destroying communities, when it, like the Black Death was thought eradicated, instead, it reemerged and with it a sort of delirium. Instead of us running from it, we are allowing it to envelop our hearts and forgetting, that within its awaken state, we’ll only find death. The only ones living through it (for now) are the carriers of it. They believe themselves immune as they are the incubators of it. But, when all is said and done, this disease will consume them as well (case in point Venezuela).
Jesus Christ came to heal the sick, and this nation is sick. I understand this page is political, but I need to speak truth to wake us all up. Socialism, done by the people for the people is a great thing, but when placed in a centralized manner in the hands of few, the power it creates is far too great to give away. Let’s do it the right way, much like when my parents were children where the church, community, and neighborhood would collect and feed the needy, assist them in getting on their feet, and the government was laid back. I saw a recent example by a group of people lead by a man named Scott Pressler, who got together and cleaned the streets of Baltimore; that, my friends is the real socialism, done correctly. Americans helping Americans…. People helping people; color, gender, political parties, etc. be damned. Together we stand, divided we should fall! (But not if we help each other.)
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