The Ditches of Socialism and Capitalism
Our family had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends, and we hope you had a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving as well! We hope you took the time to thank God for all the blessings He gave us in the midst of many storms and tragedies this past year, before the beautiful and yet hectic Christmas season begins.
Today is another Black Friday, the official start of the Christmas season. The day when businesses get out of the "red ink" of debt and hopefully receive enough revenue to put the books in the "black ink" of profit. Now that's not a bad thing per se, but the focus is on the "Almighty Dollar" instead of the dollar being used to worship the Almighty. It's become twisted. It's a day where we witness the full fledged craziness of capitalistic consumerism depicted in the picture below. It's a stressful frenzy that, at the end of the season, leaves people feeling empty and broke.
In the other ditch is socialism. It sounds good until you dig a little and see that the government is an insatiable god, the political elites live like kings, and the taxpayers are forced to foot the bill. This too, at the end of the tax year, leaves people feeling frustrated and unmotivated to work passionately and creatively for their own betterment and the betterment of others. Why work hard if the government is going to take everything and destroy the country in the process? The rapid decline of Venezuela is a current example of this horrible system.
On this blog we like to talk about how the devil is in the ditches and how there is a better way. The road runner way. There are many counterfeits, but we want the truth! Well, in this case, Eph 4:28 shows us the way and the truth. I call it philanthropic capitalism, and a beautiful example is found in the history books. Actually, the true story of Thanksgiving comes from William Bradford's detailed journal. Bradford was the leader of the Pilgrims when they came to America in 1620. To read more about the outcome of the real experiment of Socialism vs. Philanthropic Capitalism, click here, or listen to the audio version here.
Years ago I heard Rush Limbaugh talk about this story, and I've enjoyed re-reading it many times. I love Thanksgiving and I love to see God's way being manifested, the true circle of blessing. God provides us with abundance and sometimes unlikely friends, so that in difficult circumstances we can be blessed to be a blessing. Today, may you experience the blessings of Philanthropic Capitalism, the road runner way, so that you will be blessed, and be a blessing to others In Jesus Name!