Jesus is not a socialist — or a capitalist
Christian theology is (not surprisingly) a lot of “both/and.”
As I was searching for a meme to use for a previous article, I was surprised to find so many memes of the Sermon on the Mount that either condemned or praised Jesus for being either a socialist or a capitalist. I’ve similarly seen the same verses used on both sides to justify their economic preferences.
![Both memes are the Sermon on the Mount. On the left, Jesus says, “Help the poor and take care of your neighbor.” Crowd says, “Can’t we just give our money to the Romans and let them do it for us?” Jesus replies, “OK, I’m going to start over from the beginning. Let me know where I lost you.” On the right, Jesus says, “Sell your possessions and give the profits to the poor!” One man in the crowd says, “Sounds like liberal socialism to me.” Another says, “Easy to say for someone [with no] job.”](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:2000/format:webp/1*BJfIjNwr6KZDSJySwPVVbA.png)
Jesus’s commands to give generously are often cited as proof that Jesus believes in socialism and to show that he meant personal giving, not government intervention (inferred to support capitalism). Naturally, reality is more complex than those two options.
When people use the word “socialism” in these memes, they usually don’t mean “nationalizing the means of production” but rather a taxpayer-funded social safety net. Same with “capitalism” — they mean to criticize social welfare programs, not specifically advocate for “privatizing the means of production and letting markets set prices.” But the distinction between voluntary charity and tax-funded government programs is still worth discussing.
So I’m doing it again… I’m writing a whole post about a meme. Well, multiple memes. Most of this is written for people who believe the Bible has authority, but I hope it will also give non-Christians insight into the Christian mindset.
To my progressive readers: I hope you’ll learn which Bible verses are usually interpreted as applying to individuals so that you can better advocate for progressive policies.
To my conservative readers: I hope you’ll see that God cares about societal justice as much as personal charity, which means if personal charity isn’t helping enough, government programs should be a tool we can use.
No Christian is off the hook for personal giving
The Bible states — to me, plainly — that God’s people should use their personal wealth to help others. The Apostle John wrote,
But if someone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but refuses to help — how can the love of God dwell in a person like that? Little children, let’s not love with words or speech but with action and truth.
Some verses talk about helping our own families, but we’re also called to help strangers, as in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and people we consider our enemies. Jesus spoke of a judgment at the end of days where he would welcome those who had helped “the least of these” by feeding the hungry or giving shelter to those who need it.
Similarly, in the collected writings of James the brother of Jesus, we read,
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
I don’t see any way that these commands don’t apply to individuals. From that perspective, the left meme at the top is accurate — a government program cannot replace personal giving.
The purpose of giving
I think that’s because God doesn’t need your money, but he does want your heart. Personal giving is how we demonstrate to ourselves and to God that we trust him. Jesus tells his followers not to worry about clothes or food, because God knows we need those things. If you’re depending on your wealth, then you’re not trusting God.
Especially in a country that is generally safe and well-off, Christians with means might believe deep down that they’ll be fine on their own. Giving money away reminds us not to get too attached to wealth, because it won’t save you in the end. Our challenge is to not get complacent, thinking that we’ve given away enough and need not give more. I have truly found joy in giving, and my donations have never been what broke my budget.
Conversely, if you’re scraping by, you might feel like you neither can nor should give money. I struggle with a story like “The Widow’s Offering,” because it seems to approve of being irresponsible (giving everything away). But God will know if an offering is given out of fear or faith. The Apostle Paul also emphasizes that the spirit of a gift is more important than its amount.
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Food for thought: If you only give what you think you can afford, you leave no room for God to surprise you. While I was growing up, my family had a very tight budget, but my parents still tithed (gave 10% to the church). On several occasions, our family received gifts beyond what we could have afforded even had we not given anything away. That taught me that God is generous and can use others’ generosity to bless those who have less. I don’t believe Christians will always be rich, but neither do I think it’s a coincidence that my parents made sure to give what they felt was the right amount, even when it was a little scary, and were blessed with enough and sometimes more.
God cares about justice
Although personal giving remains important no matter your culture or personal circumstances, I don’t think one could read the Bible and not see that God wants a just and merciful society. Trusting God builds your faith, but it doesn’t absolve you of your duties to society.
For example, after the prophet Amos lists God’s complaints against Israel’s neighboring countries, he lists those of Israel itself:
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
They trample on the heads of the poor
as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
In the book of Proverbs, King Lemuel (quoting his mother, I might add) writes:
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
The prophet Jeremiah gave similar warnings to Judah, the smaller kingdom after Israel split into two:
The Lord proclaims: Do what is just and right; rescue the oppressed from the power of the oppressor. Don’t exploit or mistreat the refugee, the orphan, and the widow. Don’t spill the blood of the innocent in this place.
These prophets aren’t speaking about individuals breaking specific laws. God sent judgment against Israel and Judah as societies because their leaders and the general behavior of the citizens didn’t uphold the spirit of the Law. Through the prophet Hosea, God says,
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
To be fair, many laws from the Old Testament are no longer followed by Christians. However, Jesus made it clear that he intended to fulfill the law, not abolish it. In the New Testament, he reiterates that the spirit of the law is more important than keeping its letter.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”
So where does that leave Christians?
- We have a clear Biblical mandate to be personally generous.
- We have a clear Biblical picture of God caring that we, both individually and as a society, treat the poor and oppressed with mercy and justice.
We cannot offload our personal responsibility — which makes sense if giving is important to our individual spiritual formation. But God also desires a just and merciful society, without exploitation or oppression. Can personal charity alone accomplish that?
Well… At the risk of sounding flippant, look around. So far it has not. Poverty and injustice can still be found everywhere.
Of course, that means government assistance hasn’t solved poverty, either. But if a tax-funded government program is helping the poor, I’m hard-pressed to find a theological argument against it.
There’s also a very practical argument for government assistance. A few years ago (when I had occasion to know), a single person who couldn’t work received about $1,500 a month from SSDI, plus a little extra for Medicare. How many people could your church support at that level? Or even in the equivalent — food, housing, clothing, medical care, everything? Now take a look at your area on the map below. Could the churches in your area coordinate to help all the people who need it?
If we did, it would be glorious. If Christians were meeting all people’s practical needs, then other programs would shrink until they simply had no more recipients. Such generosity would be uncontroversial, reflect well on the body of Christ, and be the most effective evangelism the modern world could ever see.
So I could see an argument that government programs are needed only because Christians aren’t doing that. If that’s as far as we agree, that’s great!We’d still have plenty to argue about. Christians are called to be shrewd (wise), so we’d have lots of room to debate the wisdom of different programs and strategies.
But I also think you can’t bring about a better society without addressing the government, because government determines the shape of society. If the poor are fed, clothed and housed, but the society still has astronomical wealth inequality, it might be merciful, but it’s not just. If people in power think, “We should have small government and private charity,” it seems like either they believe they can induce generosity by cutting back on spending, or they don’t care what happens to the people who used to receive the cut spending. That society might be equal, in a way, but it’s not merciful.
In an article about how Christians can approach democratic governments, I wrote, “It seems clear that we have a responsibility to follow, protest and support laws in ways that honor God.” I think “laws” here must also include assistance programs. Christians in a democratic society should politically support assistance programs as a way to reduce both poverty and inequality more than individuals can on their own.
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