Man hauling firewood on a bicycle in Malawi, Africa.
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Those men who have turned the world upside down!Paul and Silas in Thessalonica
Acts17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews[a] were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
The focus of this world is distribution of physical wealth, power, and control. Satan uses the desire to feel good and look good to focus our interest on temporary things. Satan encourages us to think that our way is the way. Physical wealth enables selfishness. But true wealth comes from giving. Upside down.
James, brother of Jesus, says that God has chosen the poor as to this world to be rich in faith. Thus the man riding the bicycle in Malawi has an advantage over the wealthy tycoon when it comes to trusting God. The rich have a tendency to trust in themselves, while the helpless cry out to God for help.
James 2:1 My brothers,[a] show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
Our focus on physical wealth is at best misdirected. Consider the story of Flukey Stokes. Being buried in a Cadillac with hands stuffed with $100 bills is not a blessing.
Our greatest blessings are in our family relationships. First place is our relationship to God in His family. All spiritual blessings, those that really count, are in Him.
Next, the blessings of the nuclear family are treasured by those of us so blessed. The liberal movement to destroy the nuclear family and replace it with the community family goes against God's plan. Hillary's statement that it takes a village to raise children has a dangerous context. The destruction of the patriarchal structure of family goes against our Judeo-Christian heritage. Families with no father are the bitter legacy of the Great Society welfare arrangements that penalize families with fathers. Time to wake up. "Woke" is not cool.
Family is the foundation of our culture as God intended. Using our own efforts to provide for our own and others is a blessing. Having government take from others and give to me may be a curse, if I lose my desire to do good works. Jesus taught that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Those of you who are interested in communal living should study the history of the Kibbutz settlements in Israel.
The basic problem with socialism is that human nature is basically selfish. Once converted to faith in Jesus Christ, and united in His family, communal living might work. But Satan's brand of worldly socialism is doomed to failure. As they used to say in the USSR, "We pretend to work, and they pretend to pay us."
On the other hand, the blessings that God has planned for His children make the sufferings of this life a small thing.
Rom 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved.
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