Sermon Central
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Is The Lord A Socialist Or A Capitalist?
Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Sep 2, 2020 (message contributor)
Summary: One of the great debates in America today is socialism versus capitalism or a free market economy. What does the Bible have to say about this issue if anything at all?
Is God a Socialist or a Capitalist?
Please stand as we read our newest memory Scripture together
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
And our memory refresher verse(s) for today is(are) …
“Jesus said, ‘I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you know Me, you will also know My Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.’”
Today we will be reading from Genesis 2:15 - 17 & 3:17-19
Today there is a great debate in America between two competing economic ideals.
Currently America has an economy that is commonly known as a capitalist or free market economy. In a capitalist economy the means the companies are privately owned. In this case the owner of the company decides what they will produce, how much they will produce and how much they will charge for their products.
In a capitalist, free market economy, the privately owned companies compete with each other in order to increase their sales.
On the other hand there are those who would argue that a socialist economic system is to be preferred. In a socialist system the means of production, or the companies, are government owned. In this case the government decides what will be produced, how much will be produced and how much will be charged for what is produced.
In a socialist economy there is no competition because there are no competing companies, the government owns all of the companies and therefore they have a monopoly.
Of course this is talking about a true socialist country and not like Sweden which has socialist social policies but industry is privately owned. They are a hybrid of the two forms.
Now, let’s try to look at this from the perspective what we find in the Bible.
First of all, we are actually designed to work.
1) The Lord designed us to work
Let’s read Genesis 2:15 - 17 & 3:17-19
“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’”
“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
There is no indication whatsoever that taking care of the Garden of Eden was difficult or unpleasant at all.
God is a worker. We were created in the image of God. We are to be workers too and that work should be joyful.
But then, after Adam and Eve sinned by rebelling against the one command the Lord had given them and just look what happened.
“To Adam (Yahweh) said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are
and to dust you will return.’”
Wow! Look at that curse:
Apparently, prior to the fall and the curse there was no painful toil, there were no thorns and thistles, and, there was no labor that caused a man to sweat.
Pretty sweet deal, right? Not so sweet now, right?
Never the less, one of the purposes we were created for was to work and if you are created for a purpose you need to be fulfilling that purpose; especially if the Creator is watching … and He is!
So, what does the Lord God think about someone who is lazy.
What does the Lord God think about someone who CAN work but who WON’T work?
“Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.”
“The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.”
(We think of hunting as a pastime or hobby now but back then it was work!)
