Socialism and Capitalism are the same....sort of

    It's interesting how 2 very different ideas can find a common ancestry at their core when you look at them.  On their outsides they operate very differently.   Socialism is about control whereas Capitalism is about no control.   But on their insides, they both operate from the same basic human instinct....

GREED

   Greed is inherent in every human being.  Whether you come from an evolutionary direction or from a religious one.   An evolutionist would tell you that greed is a basic form of self protection and preservation.   The human doesn't know when or where their next meal is coming from, so it's better to "stock up" just in case there is a famine coming.   A religious person will tell you that greed is part of the human sinful condition.  The soul wants more for itself and nothing for their neighbor.  Whichever your view, greed is a common thread in all of us.

   But what makes the 2 "-isms" so different, is what you combine it with.   Like in chemistry where

         Sodium (Na)   + Chlorine (Cl) = SALT (NaCl) which the body needs to function.
         Hydrogen (H) + Chlorine (Cl) = Hydochloric Acid (HCl) which is a poison.

So also, it's not the GREED that is necessarily wrong but instead it's what you combine it with. 

  Capitalism combines greed + industriousness = a better world.    Under capitalism you get computers, phones, car, airplanes,  new materials, different kinds of food, and the list goes on..

   Socialism, on the other hand, combines  greed + laziness = theft.    Rather than creating new products and services it merely takes from those who are perceived to have too much and gives it to others it perceives as being more in need of it. 

  Socialism cannot  ever exist on its own.   It must live on the back of the Capitalist in order to survive.   Like a "sucker-fish" that lives its entire life stuck to the side of shark so also Socialism merely rides along taking what it wants without earning it.   Time and time again, we have seen socialist societies die after their parent organism stops providing for it.

What about Democratic Socialism?

  Is Democratic Theft more acceptable than plain old regular Theft?   What if we all voted to have your house ransacked?  Would that make you feel better about having your house broken into?  Democratic Socialism is really nothing new and has already been tried many times before.   The famous Greek philosopher, Plato, once said,  "Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner!".     This could not better illustrate the GREED + LAZINESS factors in Socialism.   The 2 wolves will undoubtedly be wanting more food for themselves (greed) and will want to gain that food using the least amount of energy to do it (laziness).   The same holds true today.  In my opinion, nothing can be more lazy than casting a ballot saying "I WANT MORE!" for a party that will promise you "MORE". 

But don't some people have too much?

   Yes, that may seem to be so.   That is the one danger of Capitalism.   But there is one corrective force in the world that limits this behavior.    That force is of course "death".   It corrects the distribution in 2 major ways.   First of all, none of us is "taking it with us".    Accumulated wealth is often redistributed shared because of death.  Even before the person dies, often they are engaging in lots of philanthropy to either quiet a bothered conscience or to some how insure their name will not be forgotten when they leave this earth.  Whatever the cause, the wealth gets broken down and shared with those who didn't earn it.   Buildings are built, parks are erected, foundations are created, research is funded and scholarships are awarded. 

   But this is not just something that the Uber-rich can afford to do either.   Even my wife and I have had many opportunities to benefit the poor from our "excess".   In recent years, my wife and I have decided to downsize our living arrangement now that our kids are living on their own.   I have made countless trips to Good Will and Salvation Army to unload the many items we have purchased over the years that we no longer have any need of in our lives.   We have given away, beds, dressers, bikes, computers, TVs, tons of cloths, shoes, coats, chairs, and the list goes on.   I estimate that if I had held on to all those items, my 3 car garage would be filled to the ceiling.  Right now, there are countless people out there using items we purchased at full price and are now using free of charge.   Right now those people are benefiting from our "excess". 

Separating the HOLY from the PROFANE

   You have probably seen the news articles about how the Catholic Church ignored problems regarding pedophile priests who preyed upon countless children over several decades.   It has even been reported that there is even a group of homosexual priests who have helped cover each others tracks that have infiltrated the church as well.   The church chose to ignore complaints about these men and are now paying the price.   Why did they choose to ignore?  Only God knows!   Maybe because in the modern era it's hard to recruit men to stay celibate for their entire life and they felt forced to take any and all applicants.  Maybe it was because they couldn't come to grips that leaders in their church could be so vile and the resulting court cases it might bring about on them.  Maybe it was a little of both.  What ever the cause, the effect is destructive none the less.

   Previously I wrote a blog called "Bowling for Sinners!" in which I show how Satan uses leaders to take out a whole host of sinners in one swoop.  Jesus told the disciples before he was to be crucified, "It is written, Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter!".   While he was speaking of his own death to come, I think he was also sending a message to his disciples to be on guard as well.   Their actions can cause the scattering of many of God's flock that they have been entrusted with.  He was informing them that they will have a big target on their backs by Satan to do the most damage....so BEWARE!

   We have all said (or heard it said), "How can a person who claims to be a Christian do such a thing?"   Usually this is followed with, "IF that is what it means to be a Christian then I don't want to have anything to do with it!".   Our problem is that as humans we have a problem of separating the holy from the profane.  We forget that we has humans are all sinners and we seriously mess things up no matter how holy it is.   It's like the GEICO commercial with the sloth playing Pictionary.   The tag line is , "If you're a sloth, you move slowly.   It's what you do!".  In the same manner we might say,

"If you are human, you mess things up.  It's what you do!".

   Let's take the US Constitution for example.   Most would say it was the greatest document ever devised by man.  It promotes the right to speak, the right to assemble, the right to believe, the right to print, the right to not be detained without a warrant or to have your possessions taken from you.  All of these are great ideals, but too often we fall short.   Take for example what President Roosevelt did during WWII.  FDR imprisoned citizens with Japanese ancestry unlawfully during the war because we had a fear they would not be loyal to our country.  Does this mean that the Constitution is flawed?  Of course not!   In fact, these problems only enhance it's need in our lives.  It shows us to be flawed humans who need to be reigned in and held accountable.   It's not the Constitution that needs to be changed, but our hearts and minds.  We later paid the survivors reparations for our misdeeds.

   Likewise, the issue of the pedophiles in the Catholic church should not take away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but in the eyes of those who are outside of the church it does.   Satan does quite a number on those judge God's truth by our actions or in-actions. It's been said that a little knowledge can be dangerous.  In this case, it is eternally dangerous for many have only a "little knowledge" of our faith and so judge it's "truth" as "falsehood" based on our sinful being.  They do not understand that God's GRACE is not changed by inability to conform 100% to his LOVE. 

  God knows this weakness in our nature.   He knows that people will judge HIM by OUR deeds or misdeeds.   It is WHY we should as Christ's Ambassadors "try" to live lives worth of our calling.  It's not to become more worthy in HIS eyes, but instead to not be a distraction to those who are yet to be called by his grace or a stumbling block to those who are "weak in faith".  At the same time we must always point to our own sinfulness and our own need of a savior and not make our lives the centerpiece of our faith.    It is truly a narrow road we must walk.

Saving the children

Most of us recently were paying close attention to what was happening in a cave in Thailand.   12 boys and a coach had gone into a cave and were forced to move further into the cave to escape the rising water from a Monsoon that had come through.  After several days, divers were able to locate them in a chamber that was several miles back.   How those boys must have felt being in that dark chamber thinking no one would ever be able to find them... let alone save them.   They must have felt completely hopeless and alone as they sat on that muddy cave slope.   As a kid, I used to go canoeing on the Current River in southern Missouri.   Every year my friends and I went to the same spots to have freeze-out competitions, cliff jumping, raft wars and then going into a large cave at the end.   This cave would go back almost a quarter mile (there was only one path so no fear of getting lost).   We would go back to the farthest chamber and then turn our flashlights off for 10 seconds.   To this day, that is the blackest darkness I have ever experienced (I still use that memory as a way to thwart a "sneeze" I don't want to come out).   Those 10 seconds seemed like an eternity to me. 

I can't imagine how they must have felt when that first scuba diver appeared.   The shear JOY they must have felt could not be replicated by the most seasoned Hollywood actor I am sure.  The cheers echoing off those cave walls must have been deafening. 

Their plight was not much different from our as humans on this earth.   We were trapped in our sins with no way out and a feeling that no one cared.    We, like these kids, wandered away from God and went places we should not have gone.   We were warned, but we felt we knew better.   Like those rescuers, God went searching for us and risking everything.   Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep and how the shepherd "leaves the 99 and goes searching for the 1 lost sheep".  For these lost kids, the rescuers had to risk it all as well.   I am sure many of the divers who endured the treacherous 3 hour swim to their chamber had their own children to think of too.   The kids trapped in the cave were worth as much, if not more, than their own children sleeping safely in their own beds.   God risked it all too when he sent his son to come and save us.

 Do you think the scuba divers chastised them for being so foolish and stupid?    Do you think the first words out of their mouth was: "You stupid foolish boys!! Look what you put me through!  I could be home with my kids right now, but instead I have to endure 3 hours underwater and difficult conditions to come looking for the likes of you!  I should just leave you here!  You deserve what you get!  But I guess I will take it easy on you and tell others where you are at anyway!"

I doubt that was what he said to them.   I am sure he was calming with them and told them how happy he was to have found them.   He must have reassured them that they will get them out of the cave in due time and all we will okay.

Jesus, too, came and reassured us of what was to come.   He told us, "The Son of Man did not come into the world to condemn the world but to SAVE the world!".   In another verse Jesus says, "I have come that you might have LIFE and have it to the FULL!". 

Jesus, like those divers, just tells us to trust him.   The divers had to teach the boys how to scuba dive and take them though some of the most dangerous and dark water they would ever experience.   This dive was so difficult that even a seasoned Thai Navy SEAL died in the process.   Now they would need to help get 11-16 year boys through the same water.   One person said that in the most treacherous part, the water is like swimming through black coffee.   They needed the boys to trust that they would lead them out.  Jesus too asks us to trust him to lead us out of this world.   He, like the diver, has already "swam through death" for us and we can know for sure we are in good hands and like those boys, joined with our waiting families on the other side.

The divers must have told the boys right before they left the chamber what they would be facing.  They must have reminded them that even in the darkest water, they would be right there with them  and they would be connected to them with a tether-line at all times.    Right before Jesus ascended he said, "Truly I am with you ALWAYS!  Even unto the end of the world!".   In another verse he says, "My Father holds on to his children and nothing can take them from his hand!".    We are baptized in Christ Jesus and we are tethered to him now and into eternity.   

Jesus is with us though the blackest black that life can throw at us.  Failed marriages, lost jobs, cancer, addiction, loss of loved ones, hatred, scorn, loneliness, not being understood, fear.   Through all of these he is tethered to us and can lead us out.

He just bids us to "Come follow me!"

In the long term Hedonism cannot survive

   My wife and I love to watch "Wheel of Fortune" (we almost don't miss an episode).   At the beginning Pat Sajak goes around and interviews each contestant to find out where they are from, what they do, who they are married to, etc..   I personally use this information to choose who to root for.  We don't bet on it but it makes it more interesting.   I have a few deciding factors that help me decide.  If they are from the Chicago area, a government employee or a lawyer I automatically put them in the "don't root for" category.   One thing that used to put them in the don't-root-for list was if they said they were "proud parents of 2 (or more) fur-babies" (cat's, dog's, rabbits etc).   This phase is being used more and more by the Millennial generation.  In fact, research is showing married couples under 35 are more likely to have pets than children.

    This used to bother me but now I see it as a blessing.   I see our country divided differently today.   It's heathen verses non-heathen.   In a hedonistic society everything is about YOU.  It's all about YOUR pleasure.  It's all about YOUR life.  It's all about YOUR career.  It's all about YOUR experiences.  For non-believers the world is a very scary and short-lived place.   It's all about sucking all the marrow out of life that you can before you are turned back into dirt.   This fear guides all your decisions.   You feel you have to get all your ducks in a row before you can even BEGIN to think about kids.  You need your career in place.  You need to get your 401k fully-funded.  You need to get your McMansion set up and see all the major sites in the world because kids take that away from you.  First they date for 5 years, then they live together for 5 years, then they get married and live another 5 years before they start to the process of making babies.   But then you find your 38 years old and your eggs aren't worth crap or his sperm count is diminished to almost nothing because of all the "stress" you endured working for the McMansion and the career.   For many young couples today pets replace children.  They dote on them, train them, feed them, take pictures of them and show them off to others.  They are cheaper too.   No clothes to buy (unless you feel you need to), no college to save for, no piano lessons or dance recitals to go to.   No nasty notes from the teacher that require you to have meetings with them.   If you need to run off to Bora Bora then it's off to the kennel for them.   Easy Peasy!

    I looked around me and made an interesting observation.   The only young couples around me that I saw having kids were Christian couples.    You see, they are not living in fear of the future.  God has their back and their children.   He is with them all the way.   The Bible says, "Perfect love drives out fear!".  That is what God does in our lives.  He drives out fear much like Jesus drove the money changers from the temple who were making God's house a den of thieves.   They are not living in fear of death for they know there is much more that awaits them after death.  God has promised and has made it known to us by the resurrection of Jesus from the grave.

   But that observation showed me that there in lies the answer to hedonism.  Ultimately hedonism is it's own worst enemy.  The heathens encourage their side to not have children.  They tell them that they can have it all without children and the world will be better off too.   But this means that the heathen eventually will die off and it will be the non-heathen (the Christians) who will repopulate society.    It may take 2 generations but eventually things will change.   Currently our country is still dealing with the most Hedonistic generation to have ever lived: the baby-boomer generation.  This generation is now moving into their end-years and are now in it's final convulsions of trying to accomplish all they can before they take their last breath.  Baby Boomer 1.0 gave birth to Baby-Boomer 2.0 which felt families should only have 1 or 2 children.   Now Baby-Boomer 3.0 is being taught to have 0 or 1 child or not get married at all (most 20 year old are living together instead of getting married).   Eventually the hedonist generation and their ill-thought-views will be wiped from the face of the earth like a nightmare that is soon forgotten. 

    Hedonism is really the source of it's own destruction.