People often suppose that the Bible and Christianity support socialism. Unfortunately, many times pastors and priests seem to espouse this theory. It seems on the surface to be reasonable, especially if you don't understand how God loves his creation. They often cite as examples Jesus parable of the rich young ruler in Luke Chapter 18. Jesus tells the rich young ruler that in order to get to heaven, he should sell all he owns, give it to the poor, and come follow Jesus. But notice Jesus does not condemn the rich young ruler's wealth, but his attachment to his wealth. Jesus does not condemn wealth or private ownship. That is because Jesus did his Fathers will at all times.
What? God endorces private ownership? As a matter of fact, the 10th Commandment states:
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Again, what most people focus on is what you shall not do: covet. What one doesn't notices is that these are all privately owned items. Wives were "owned" by their husbands in those days, as were servants. God doesn't tell people to pool their resources and distribute them to the poor. He tells you not to covet them. At it's core, socialism is a philosophy of envy. In essence, the philosophy is that someone has more than you do. The socialist asks you to vote for him because he will take what the other guy has and give it to you. This envy is a form of covetousness, and is from the Devil. while we are allowed to "own" property while here on earth, we must always understand that everything we supposedly own is really God's. We can think of it as if God lends them to us, but we should use them wisely.
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