My Wise Generation

There have been some ideas around that Jesus Christ would have been adamant about enforcing socialism in government. "We should be," many have been arguing "compassionate and charitable to all people and promote equality in all that we do."

It is important to note that not all socialist programs existent in society today are necessarily a bad thing, but the primary idea discussed here is the complete embracement of socialism as a form of government.

While the statement above is both admirable and true, it does not accurately portray socialism. The structure of socialism is an attempt to regulate equality through the use of the government. In other words, it aims to demolish social injustices by enforcing social justice on the people within that society.

For this reason many advocates of a fully fledged socialist government are eager to enforce laws that, for example, force those who are with more revenue to give up a portion of their incomes to have it redistributed to those who "need it more". This is a classic Robin Hood type mentality, and although it sounds good when stated as a philosophy, the philosophy itself is both un-just and un-Christian.

Most who believe in Jesus will likely agree that those who are better off financially should aim to be more charitable. In fact, the Bible also suggests that all Christians should be charitable even if they are not well off by giving a portion of their earnings to God and God's works. Socialism, however, is equivalent to walking up to a fellow Christian and telling him "It is time for you to be charitable, therefore, hand over 25% of your income so that we can give it to those who need it more than you."

This undermines Jesus Christ's teachings that all men ought to be Charitable because it eliminates the individuals choice to be charitable. As a result, the individual who is 'forced' to be charitable instead becomes bitter because their choice to be charitable is taken from them and they cannot choose what to do with it themselves.

The idea that a government can change the hearts of people is the root behind socialism. This is, of course, a logical fallacy. It is equivalent to saying that rules established by a school will make good children out of students. The reality is that rules are put in place so that individuals can choose to follow them or not - eliminating that choice does not make a child any more moral just as eliminating the choice for individuals to be charitable does not make them more charitable.

Jesus Christ preached of both personal responsibility and societal responsibility. Christians are to love their neighbors as they love themselves, but they are to choose to love their neighbors as they love themselves, not be forced to do so. For this reason it makes sense that Jesus Christ paid little attention to the laws of the society of his time and instead emphasized on changing the hearts of people.

Jesus Christ had realized that changing the hearts of individuals will allow for the laws of the society to change themselves. A Christian nation is not one simply with Christian laws, but one with hearts that embrace the truths of Jesus Christ's teachings and live their lives according to it. As a result, the Christian nation, being of a majority following and believing in Jesus Christ will have laws that reflect those beliefs.

It is very unlikely, in fact, counter-intuitive to believe that Jesus Christ would have emphasized the government attempting to take control of the social injustices that exist within a society. Instead, it is likely Jesus Christ would have placed the responsibility on each individual to come to him so their hearts can be transformed, and after that transformation has taken place in the hearts of a society, their laws will reflect that transformation.

Jesus Christ has always started at the root of the problem, and that root is deep within the heart of each and every individual. Jesus Christ, as the master of the heart, can transform a sinful man to one who strives and desires to do good. Jesus Christ, then, offers himself as a means to be forgiven when the man fails, giving them an opportunity to pick themselves up and again strive and desire to still be good.

Craig Chamberlin





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