Acts 5:4
While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal?
A while back I was listening in on a quasi political discussion between a left leaning Canadian friend to whom all things USA are fraught with evil and greed and a conservative American arguing the benefits of capitalism. The Canadian played a trump card, (Trump as in a card game not as in Donald.) quoting from Acts 4:34 (“There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”) and concluding that they were socialists or at least more that way than not. But is that a valid conclusion?
“After it was sold was it not at your disposal?” is the same gk word as dominion. "Was it not within your domain?" Peter seems to be saying, “While it was yours it was yours to do with as you pleased.” In fact before you sold it and after you sold it, it was yours to do with as you pleased. It does not become communal until it is given by choice.
Mt 20:15. “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?” The practice of the Church in Acts was communal, but not communism. The difference seems to be this, ownership and what to do with assets was personal, but personal ownership does not preclude a responsibility, even a moral responsibility to care for and have compassion your neighbors. The property belonged to the individual/family and they could choose to give as they pleased or felt led. The beauty, and the wonder of what we see happening was that the caring for one another’s needs came out the desire of the heart not an outside “authority.” Some one has said, “Compassion is not compassion when you are giving away someone else’s resources. It is not compassion unless it costs you personally.”
There is a significant difference between communism/socialism where assets are owned (By outright ownership or taxation.) by the state and redistributed according to its parameters, be they good, bad, self serving or not. Can the state be relational, can it truly have any assets short of taking them from someone else? Can the state be compassionate? This seems to be some of Samuel’s caution to Israel when they decided they wanted a king. He described how the king would acquire assets, by taking their land, by taxes, and their children, to serve in his house and his armies.
Yes, you may argue that God also taxed Israel, for example the temple tax that even Jesus would later pay. But there is a difference even here. I recall when on giving my son at age 2 an ice cream sandwich, it was mine not his, and then asking if I could have one bite, his responses was, “No, mine.” Asking for a portion back of something given is categorically different than asking/taking/taxing something that was not previously yours. The heart of a two year old unfortunately still seems to color my choices six decades later.
We saw in the making of the tabernacle in Exodus (Blog 3/5/20) that all the resources for the tabernacle were given out of the desires of the hearts of the people in such abundance that they had to be stopped from giving any more. They were not coerced into giving, but gave out of desire. Unless desire is part of the equation there can be no relationship. It is out of desire, or not, that free will is exercised.
There is no doubt that the Jesus way, love your neighbor as yourself, puts a premium on sharing of our assets. As we read through the Bible it is clear that in God’s creation there is always enough. The problem is one of distribution not resources. Governments of all styles, from dictatorships to communism, have their distribution methods and equations, some more just than others. It is clear that because the desires of our hearts are often tied to something other than loving our neighbors as ourselves any and all forms of government will develop their own forms of injustice or unfairness, and lack of compassion. When the kingdom comes and we live as Jesus lives, the abundance of creation will not be distorted by our selfish, fear based, distribution or lack thereof, but will become motivated to live with open hands and hearts as Jesus is.
This is the order if the universe, my abundance given for your need knowing that in a different time or different way, your abundance will meet my need. 2 Cor 8:13-14 “For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.”
The kingdom coming, that is the gospel good news. Do I live it now as Jesus offers, or do live out of scarcity and fear.
The way of the kingdom is a mindset of abundance and a heart of compassion. No one is forced to care for his neighbor, but is likely inclined to do so if one has the heart of Jesus. What is my inclination today with the one given to me or to whom I have been given?
**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog. This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life. I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends. We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes. Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.
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