If Jesus were a Socialist?

by Joe.

I am a right-winger, a Conservative Christian that believes Jesus was the Son of God, lived, was executed on the cross, and returned from the dead 3 days later. And I believe everyone should know that, though of course the choice to believe it or not is up to them. So I side a lot more with right wing ideas than left, though the better description would be, I side with the Bible and God, no matter what side of the political line it lands on. First of all, if Jesus showed up today, hed have a whole lot of things to be seriously pissed about. Jesus most angry and harsh words were targeted straight at the religious establishment of his day. That would be equally true today, maybe even more so. Corruption, hypocrisy, greed, moral degradation and more (especially among the religious) were very very high on Christs list of hot spots. He tore apart the kiosks in the temple court yard for disgracing Gods holy place and turning it into a shopping mall for the religious. He called the religious leaders, teachers and preachers vipers, liars, hypocrites, immoral, greedy, ungodly, snakes, deceivers, false prophets and more. These guys seriously ticked Him off! The modern church today in general would be no better. In some areas, worse. Jesus came with two very clear messages beyond the message of salvation from our sins with his life and death. 1) In a perfect Godly society without any sin, things would be and should be likes this And He told how it should be. What we should put above all else, how we should live. 2) He was focused on healing societys problems, lowering the amount of suffering and tragedy, building up the innocent and stepped on. However Jesus saying that money is a terrible idol, a major handicap for a persons faith and Godly life does not make Him a socialist. The message was that our wealth was getting in the way of our faith, our connection to God. Money was corrupting and chaining everyone down, both the rich and the poor. So in that regard, it sounds very socialist. Except that Jesus also taught that people who could should work to make their living. He praised in parables people that used their wealth for God and the betterment of mankind. In other words, charity service. Charity is not a mandated tax, its a personal choice, one that should be taken, but one that does no good if its always forced. One parable tells of a businessman that gives a portion of his wealth/business to his trusted servants (people that work for him) for them to take care of. One hides it to keep it safe. Another spends it away. Another goes to work like a good ol capitalist, investing, buying, selling, working, hiring and all the rest, making back five times as much as he was given. When the businessman returns, he chastises all but the last servant. He didnt sit on it and do nothing with it. He didnt waste it. He was productive with it. He earned back even more than he was given, and in so doing, provided jobs and wealth for many other people as well. In that parable, Jesus was the businessman and were the servants. Capitalism is Biblical, as long as it is moral. THAT is the key of it all! Hard work, earning your wealth, being productive, reaching higher, progressing forward, building up and all that is good, just as long as it is done in a moral way instead of immoral way. Without capitalism, most of the

inventions and wonders that our modern world enjoys today would simply not exist. Capitalism pushes forward while socialism stagnates with this right here is fine. The ideas of socialism and communism are great ideas but for the most part impractical and do not fit into reality. Give people free rides and theyll never have the need or desire to work to earn them. Jesus absolutely reached out to the poor and needy, the outcasts, the sick. He also reached out to the rich tax collectors. His message to the poor, the rich, the religious and non-religious was one and the same. Stop sinning! Dont be greedy! Dont lie! Dont hurt each other! Love each other, even your enemies! Dont support sin, but love the sinner despite the sins! Jesus reached out to the adulterous wife that everyone had outcast and told her, I love you. I know you. I forgive you if you want it. Now go and stop sinning. Stop being an adulterer. The poor, the sick and the different were being abused to no end and Jesus came to shake people out of that and make them stop. God loves ALL people. That means God wants the best for everyone, not what THEY think is best or want. Jesus came to heal and to bring everyone back to God and Gods ideals. Everyone is human (everyone sins) and everyone needs God. If everyone did what was right all the time, did what God and Jesus wanted (want), the world would be a much better place. Never mind whats left or whats right. The question should be what is moral? What is Biblical? What is true? What does God/Jesus want? Lets quickly shoot off some of the common left/right platform and see how it stands under the gaze of Jesus and the Bible. Sex outside of marriage (left pushes to support/allow it, right disagrees but does it anyway, God says dont do it! Both lose. The right wants sexual purity in word, but they seem just as happy to disregard Gods laws as anyone else.) Abortion: Left says good, Right says bad. God says ALL life is sacred and that life begins at conception. Life trumps comfort. Consequences (unwanted pregnancy) arise from sinful decisions (sex out of wedlock, underage sex, etc.). Without that sin, the topic of abortion wouldnt even exist. Thats just how God wants it. Here, God leans right. Population Control: Left says we must restrict the number of pregnancies. Some of the more extreme left go so far as to preach forced sterilization and forced abortions. All in the name of population control, reducing and cutting mankinds population. Righties say thats wrong to do because youre destroying Gods created system, killing babies (abortion, morning after pill, etc.), and potentially even discriminating between rich/poor/white/block/etc for who is controlled and who isnt. God says, Be fruitful and multiply. Life is sacred no matter the age of the person/baby/embryo. ALL ethnicities and people are equally special and important in Gods eyes no matter their skin colour, height, nationality or anything else. God leans Right. Restricted Immigration: Left says throw the borders open and let the masses in. Shared culture, religion and traditions are good. Everyone should benefit from our standard of life, not just the rich or natural-born citizens. The Right says the borders need to be controlled with only the acceptable immigrants being allowed in. Otherwise the bad apples of less fortunate nations will come here and cause all kinds of crime and problems for the rest of us. God says ALL people are His. He

loves them all no matter where theyre from and they should ALL have enough food, shelter, health, opportunity and more. That doesnt mean an end to Capitalism, that means an increase in charity. God says culture, art and more is good, so long as it doesnt cross into the realm of the immoral. Bringing the needy in is good. But dont let bad morals pollute you (whether they come from outside [immigrants] or from your own people within [natural-born citizens]). Going to the needy is even better! God runs straight down the middle on this one. Definitely help the needy, but actually help them. And dont let anyone of low morals pull society down. Sometimes people need to be kept out for the good of others, but in that case, GO TO THEM. Leave home base and save the wounded out in the field no matter which side theyre on. Divorce: Left says the family unit is many different things other than a mother, father and children. Marriage doesnt need to be for life. Divorce is not ideal, but very acceptable. Righties say divorce shatters the family, rips children apart on the inside and rips them from having both parents. The best family is a family with a good mother and father. Kids need BOTH. Anything else is going to hurt the parents and the kids more often than not and in more ways than one. Jesus says dont ever divorce. Marriage is for life. Get married if you intend to spend your life together, otherwise dont do it. If you must divorce, than never marry anyone else. You promised yourself to one person, dont break that promise. Leave them if you must, but dont have an affair with someone else. In the eyes of God, your marriage is permanent until death. The best family structure is a consistent mother, father and children. It is how God wants it always and every effort should be made to keep it together and strongly grounded in the morals and standards of God. In other words, an abusive family is bad, NOT within Gods standards. In those cases, whats best for all needs to be figured out and met. I could go on forever, but Ive already gone on for way too long already. Basically, God/Jesus definitely stands right on the political spectrum. He even harshly criticizes tolerating sin and calling it normal or ok. The left tends to try to push the envelope of whats morally acceptable while the right tries to hold on to the moral standard of the day or return it to the standards of their religious/traditional beliefs. Not all traditions and moral beliefs are actually moral or right in the eyes of God. Not all progressive movements are wrong or evil incarnate. The Bible tells us how best to live. Getting that right should be the key of all movements. Whats politically correct isnt necessarily Biblically correct and whats old and traditional isnt necessarily Biblical either. Unfortunately it isnt always easy to know exactly what God wants in any given situation. Thats why a deep and well rounded knowledge of the whole Bible inside and out is key to getting it right. Something must agree with the whole Bible and Gods standards therein, otherwise no matter what side of the political spectrum, it needs to be tossed. Considering more lefties are not Bible believing Jesus believing God adoring students of God and the Bible and more righties are, you can see where Gods standard tends to rest. Of course saying/believing something is one thing. Actually living it is another. Something the religious leaders of Jesus day got blasted for by the Son of God.