15 Jun 2011
Philippians 2:4
Philippians 2:4: “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
One thing the Lord makes quite clear tis that He wants us to serve others, not ourselves. Our lives should be focused on two things: loving God and loving our neighbors (in that order). These, in fact, are the two greatest commandments.
Now, this is a very different thing from Communism. In that system you do not give anything to your neighbors; instead the State takes it from you by force and then gives it to someone else, whether they need it or not. There is a huge difference between freely giving something to someone and having them steal it from you. There is no love in saying “I need this thing so I’m going to take it from you by force.”
These days people think nothing of asking the government to take things from one class of people and give them to another class, as if somehow it’s not stealing if you use the power of the government to arrange the transfer. At the end of the day, however, it really doesn’t matter if you hired a mobster to break into your neighbor’s house, or if you instead wrote to your congressman and got him to pass a law. You are still helping yourself to things that are not yours.
Do you see the difference between love and welfare? Love says “I see that you have a need, and I am going to help you with that need.” Welfare says “You have something I want, and I am going to take it from you.” The two are worlds apart. Christianity is not Communism. In Christianity people give their possessions away; in Communism their possessions are forcibly taken away. It is not a gift if it is demanded at gunpoint.