Pastor Bo WagnerUnderstanding what the Bible says about things like people working (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, 2 Thessalonians 3:10), owning private property (Leviticus 20:24, Luke 11:21) and even being allowed to accumulate great wealth (Job 1:1-3, Matthew 27:57), I have always counted myself among those in favor of capitalism. But recently, especially with the rise of socialists like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic party, and the American public's wider acceptance of the tenets of socialism, I have begun to question whether or not I was holding the most advantageous view of things.
All of this was on my mind recently when I received several emails of a very negative nature.
Surprisingly, not everyone agrees with everything I write, and people often email me to tell me just how much they do, in fact, disagree with me.
That kind of thing hurts.
But then I realized that such hurt is absolutely unnecessary. With a handy tool like socialism at my disposal, I simply redistributed all of those negative emails on to other columnists. I have no idea if they approve or not, but by changing a name and clicking "forward," it really was not so hard.
Instantly, I felt immeasurably better. And with that proving to be such a rousing success, why, I reasoned, should I stop there? So I then went on to redistribute a few positive reviews as well. They are as follows:
-"'War and Peace' may prove to be Pastor Wagner's crowning achievement in literature; it is a towering epic, written by a towering master of the genre." - Time Magazine
-"With 'Hey Jude,' Pastor Wagner has proven himself to be the preeminent songwriter and composer of our time, a genius by any measure of the word." - Rolling Stone
-"The coy smile of the 'Mona Lisa' must surely be credited to her recognition of the skill of her creator, Pastor Bo Wagner." - Art Forum
Thrilled with my success, I have begun to contemplate other ways in which socialism may be advantageously applied. In the political arena I have settled, for now at least, for redistributing a sizable number of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' votes to myself, which has rather surprisingly resulted in me being the new Democratic nominee for New York's 14th congressional district. I am humbled by the honor; and I pledge to serve my unwilling constituents well should I be able to redistribute enough of the votes in the general election to attain the win.
But I dare not neglect the spiritual either. What kind of a pastor would I be if I did not also do the work of a great soul winner? As such, I have graciously redistributed a few hundred thousand of the souls that the late great Billy Graham won to the Lord to my own account. I very much look forward to having the world honor me upon my death and am awed by the realization that I will lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.
Clearly I am making all of this up. But it makes just as much sense and is exactly as appropriate as anything else that socialism affords.
Theft is theft, even if done by those in authority. The "Thou shalt not steal" command of Exodus 20:15 did not add the qualifier "unless you are the government and you intend to redistribute what you have stolen." Socialism is absolutely theft, albeit wrapped in the bright paper and adorned with the glittery ribbon of good intentions.
In a world of sinful humans, no economic system will ever be perfect. But socialism goes beyond merely the imperfect; it promises utopia that it cannot deliver using wealth is does not own to give to people it cannot motivate causing problems it cannot correct. And in the process of all of this it removes any incentive to greatness and divides people into factions competing for a piece of the pie rather opening their own bakery and producing pies.
God's way will always be best: 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
Bo Wagner is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, North Carolina, a widely traveled evangelist and the author of several books available on Amazon and at www.wordofhismouth.com. Email him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.