2 Corinthians 8 - The Difference Between Equality and Socialism
The Best Solution for True Economic Equality
Today, Paul teaches the church on the "grace of giving". It is the best chapter on the reason, motivation, and way by which one should give generously to those in need, in response to all God has given us in Christ. It not only has relevance for the church 2,000 years ago but is equally true today.
Churches often have Stewardship Sunday, which usually caps off a month of emphasis on where the church is at financially and what it needs to do the things it wants to do the next year. Stewardship Sunday is when everyone puts their pledge commitments in the offering plates and the church gets an idea of the budget can sustain for the following year.
What some members of the church sometimes don't know is that most churches give outside their four walls to help the needs of the wider church and/or other Christian or charitable organizations. The churches I have pastored have always given 10% for what we call "benevolence" which helps those both locally and globally with their "felt needs" . This is essentially what Paul is talking about when he writes to the Corinthians today.
Importantly as Paul writes about this, he addresses the issue of equality from a church standpoint which I believe has larger implications the larger disussion in our country about what true equality looks like.
Here is the specific quote from the passage,
Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered li tle did not have too little.” 2 Corinthians 8:13-15
The historical context was Paul receiving offerings from churches in Corinthians and Philippi to help the church in Jerusalem. Importantly he uses this word "equality" to exhort the churches in Philippi and Corinth. He urges them to be willing to give to mother-church in Jerusalem, which had become very poor and unable to feeds it widows. He reasons that the gospel had come from Jerusalem to the ends of the world, so they should be concerned for their welfare.
I stumbled upon this quote from the great Reformer, John Calvin, who was a briliant man who lived in the 16tn century. He points out the difference between what Paul meant when he uses the word "equality", and the ideas of "communism" and "socialism" which were put forth as economic theories of government in his day. Ironically many today feel that the best way to create equality today is through socialism, which some believe will lead to communism.
"The equality Paul mentions here isn’t meant to imply socialism or communism, where all are said to live at the same economic level, and none are supposed to be richer than others are. Utopian, forced collectivism has done great evil, being noble ideas in theory but violent tyrannies when sharing is commanded by state power. But this is not the kind of equality Paul means anyway. “I acknowledge indeed that we are not bound to such an equality as would make it wrong for the rich to live more elegantly than the poor; but there must be an equality that nobody starves and nobody hoards his abundance at another’s expense.” (Calvin)
Paul's teaching on generous giving includes these main themes.
1. Everybody should give from a willing heart in response to the great gift God has given us in Christ. Jesus gave us a gift we didn't deserve and could never repay. But we can live our lives in gratitude by loving others they way he did, which includes how we use our financial resources.
2. God is not as concerned as to what we give but why we give. Paul says the Philippian church was willing to give far beyond its means and also kept the promises they made in supplying the church in Jerusalem with their sacrificial giving.
3. Meanwhile the church iu Corinth which had ample resources had also pledged to give generously to the church in Jerusalem. They had promised much but had not completed their promise of what they would give. Paul encourages them to complete their pledge as a sign of their commitment to Christ. They excelled in many ways and now Paul enjoined them to excel in the gift of giving.
Many churches don't talk about giving a lot because they are afraid to turn people off. But the fact is the giving our financial resources to our home church and those outside our church is an essential part of what it means to be a follower of Christ.
Martin Luther said the last thing to be converted was the "pocketbook".
Does your giving reflect your commitment to Christ? Does your church use its offering to causes outside its four walls? I.e. Locally and globally.
If you make commitments to the church do you follow through on them? Remember what Jesus said in Luke, "To whom much is given, much is required." Jesus uplifted the "widow's mite" as the greatest gift of all because she had given all she had!
May we all have hearts like the widow so we can have TRUE EQUALITY in this world. I don't believe this is the government's job but each and every one of us and through the church and other organizations that exist to bless those outside its four walls.
Jesus, thank you for the indescribable gift you have given us. May we be sacrificial in our giving so that everyone who ihs hungry, poor, or in need will be fed by someone. One day we will give an account of what we did with what we have been given. Amen.
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