Disclaimer: This is NOT a political post. Really, it’s not.
I recently read an article by Christian blogger Tim Challies titled “Is Soft Totalitarianism Coming to America” and you can find that blog post here. In the blog Tim reviews a new book called Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents by Ron Dreher. The book review is well written, but in it Challies identifies what is probably the core difference between capitalism, what America was founded upon, and soft communism, where American seems to be headed.
Both are founded upon the idea of equality. Both have been abused. Both have inherent problems… not necessarily in the ideologies themselves, but it the sinful hearts of people who are able to use just about anything for wrong ends. I say this because I am genuinely not advocating for either. Whether you believe that communism is superior to capitalism or capitalism to communism, fallen and sinful people will devise means to use either sinfully.
To get to the point, capitalism is built on the idea that every person should have an equal opportunity for success in the world. Whether or not this actually happens is beyond the scope of our attention today, but that is the goal of capitalism. Communism is built on the idea that every person should have an equal outcome in the world, thus all the resources in a community are used to provide everyone with an equal share. Equal opportunity vs. equal share.
As I am not an economist, I am completely unqualified to speak to which one is superior to the other. I will however say that there is something commendable about both. I have met, talked with, and read books by people on both sides of this equation, and both sides hold to their beliefs because they genuinely believe that their views are what is best for people.
But let’s get to the point, what do these two political ideologies have to do with the gospel? Here is the answer: neither capitalism nor communism ever truly result in equal opportunity or equal outcome, but the gospel of Jesus Christ does. In the gospel there is equal opportunity and outcome for all.
Equal Opportunity
Mark 16:15-16 record some of Jesus words to his disciples after his resurrection. As the risen Jesus appears to them he says:
“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.””
Jesus words here are to be taken seriously by every believer apart from the outcome. Every person in the whole of creation is to be told by Jesus’ followers that Jesus is the eternal Son of God who took on flesh, lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, and was resurrected from the dead to offer eternal life to all who would believe in him. Everyone is to have equal opportunity to hear the gospel and believe the gospel regardless of the outcome.
Yet there is also promised equal outcome to all who believe.
Equal Outcome
In Matthew 20:1-16 Jesus tells a parable of a landowner who hired workers to work in his vineyard. The landowner went out and hired three different groups of people. One group he hired at 9:00 am, one group at noon, and one group at 3:00 pm. At the end of the day they were all payed the same wage no matter how long they worked for.
The point of the parable is this, whether you believed the gospel as a child, a teen, young adult, midlife or even on your death bed, the gospel offers the forgiveness of sins and an eternity in perfection with God for all who believe.
What’s the Point?
The gospel of God far exceeds the beauty, worth, and value of anything on earth. In it God demands equal opportunity for everyone to have a chance to respond. And in it God gives equal outcomes to all who believe.
Who do you know who needs to have the opportunity to hear the gospel? Pray, tell them what Jesus has done for them, and then leave the rest to God.
May those to whom you share the opportunity partake in the outcome as well!