Following Judah's Lion

Is God a Capitalist?

Lk.12:16-21 - And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

If you can interpret Jesus’ endorsement of capitalism in this parable, you're a better man than I, Gunga Din. Perhaps you do not fully understand the English language. Maybe this is another open support for capitalism:

Matt.6:19-21 - Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Ok, not really a ringing endorsement of capitalism here either. Maybe this will clear things up:

I Tim.6:8-10 - And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Alright, another teaching that seems at odds with capitalism. There has to be something in the scriptures to suggest we should work hard to make more money and be sure and save up much for our own personal use. Try this one on for size:

Mark 12:41-44 - And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

How unwise for that widow. I mean to give all that she had, how will she live. And what in the world was she doing all these years to only have two mites? Oh but we extol her sacrifice in church, but we eschew any similar action in our own lives. Of course this parable, as well as many of Jesus’ teachings, are meant to entertain us with principles but not real a pattern for us to follow. I get it. But what about this?

Acts 2:44-46 - And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

What kind of leftist socialism is that? Sounds like some welfare state, doesn’t it?

Acts 4:33-35 - And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

Of course the Greek says that they sold things for the building program. And Jesus also taught that the rich should be taxed sparingly since they create jobs for the other poor slobs, even believing slobs who have no Heavenly Father of whom they can depend.

Lk.12:13-15 - And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.
14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Actually this teaching supports the “American dream”. Prosperity is God’s way of showing who He is, and God desires us to buy a home, fill it with televisions, stuff it with modern accoutrements, and have two cars in the driveway. And if it requires being in debt to achieve such a dream, so be it. Forget about the believers in Darfur, or India, or Central America, God’s will for those poor slobs is different because of their geographical position. Let them eat cake.

Well class, I could go on but I think I have presented an air tight case for prosperity and the capitalist system. By the way, if you object to the government taking your money from you, I have a great solution. Give all your money away to the poor and the propagation of the gospel. But do not worry, it will be safe and you can visit one day in a bank not made with hands. Until then you are forced to trust God. I know, a little radical. Maybe too radical. So let us retire once again to our tepid and unremarkable revelation of faith which is revealed mostly by words and a faith that is quite comfortable in a hedonistic culture.

I guess the first step in aligning ourselves with the teachings of the New Testament is coming to this realization:

“Heaven (Houston), we have a problem.”