Sitting in our home office this the sunning is shining brightly, and our bird feeders have been quite busy. They are preparing for a storm heading our way. The Creator is guiding His creation. Oh, if only we were so attuned to Him!
Acts 4:32-37 (<<click here to read the passage)
A prickly point of ideology in our society today is socialism. I have made it very clear before that overall, I am not one to share my stand on particular political or sociological viewpoints, but I want to put out a simple comparison – one that brings to light one of the big differences between socialism and communism.
I found this to-the-point explanation, and it seemed that most other sites agreed. It stated, “…under communism, most property and economic resources are owned and controlled by the state (rather than individual citizens); under socialism, all citizens share equally in economic resources as allocated by a democratically-elected government.” (source – ThoughtCo.com)
The reason I bring this up at all is that I’ve often heard it spouted that socialism is a biblical mindset and those who proclaim it point at today’s Scripture to drive home their point.
Now the company of believers was of one heart and soul, and not one [of them] claimed that anything belonging to him was [exclusively] his own, but everything was common property and for the use of all… There was not a needy person among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them, and bringing the proceeds of the sales and placing the money down at the apostles’ feet. Then it was distributed to each as anyone had need. vs32, 34-35 AMP
What needs to be made clear is that both of the aforementioned governmental mindsets are of humanity. Period. God can factor in, as much as He is allowed to, in either one but obviously, both are a human-driven way of doing things.
The early church was full of humanity but the heart and drive of what they did and how they did it definitely used their humanity but was driven, motivated, and inspired by the Holy Spirit. What they were able to accomplish and the great impact they had on the world was most assuredly Spirit-driven!
I realize that there are a lot of good people in the world. People who love and care for others and go far above and beyond to not just love and care but to actually do something about the need so blatantly visible around them. But they are greatly outnumbered in our world by those who care only for themselves.
Remember there was a great spectrum of people that made up the early church. Among the apostles alone, there were fishermen, a zealot, and a tax collector. In the 5,000+ that they now numbered there were the wealthy and the poor, those well-educated and many others were unlearned, priests alongside the common man, and we can’t forget the slaves and slave-owners. All in all a pretty even slice of society.
The only thing they really had in common was the Holy Spirit – but that was more than enough! The love that filled their hearts was enough to even the playing field. Those with far more than they needed willingly gave out of their plenty to help those who were lacking in any way. A Spirit-driven heart, soul, and mind ruled the day! And as it says in the passage, “There was not a needy person among them…”
I know of no communist, socialist, or any other form of society that can claim to have accomplished anything even close on such grand a scale!
Lord Jesus, may we be open to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives today. May we, like the early church, impact the world around us, so as to make them stop in their tracks and realize that we are a part of something supernatural! Amen.
Feb 1st, 2022, Tues, 12:53 pm
