Ofttimes in Scripture there are what on the surface appear to be contradictions yet in fact are nothing of the kind. Rather, they are illustrations of both sides in areas where one cannot live solely in one place.
For example, in Galatians Paul writes:
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.
So which is it? Carry each others burdens or carry your own load?
The answer, to put it simply, is yes. You do both, helping others while pulling your own weight. The person who spends their entire time helping others without tending to their own walk with Christ and life responsibilities is headed straight to the burnout pile. Doesn’t matter if you’re effectively preaching and teaching the Word if you treat your wife like part of the furniture. Or for that matter yourself.
Another area where this comes into play is in how we should interact with each other. At the beginning, the church was very much a communal movement. Okay, good. But was this a mandate on how all believers should act? No. The command to share and directly minister to others is often emphasized throughout the whole of the New Testament. However, nowhere along the line is owning personal property prohibited. Also, it bears mention that this mandate to care for one another physically as well as spiritually is one aimed solely at the believer. There is no “take care of only other believers” thought; in fact, the opposite is true. It is up to the individual believer to put this into place by their own actions.
Also, woven throughout Scripture is the directive of personal responsibility. The believer is commanded to do the work necessary to earn their keep and not be lazy. While there is no shame in asking for help, there is a problem when someone expects others to provide for them when said individual has the capability to do so.
Shall we lateral this over to the political realm?
One of the fundamental building blocks of a capitalistic society is the individual bearing responsibility for themselves coupled with the enablement of the individual to succeed. In such an environment, should they fail it’s up to the individual to rectify the situation. While the government’s preferred role is that of protector, defending the individual against those who would deprive them of their ability to succeed via unfair or blatantly evil business practices, it is not a guarantor of success. Nor can it be without destroying capitalism, instead adopting an at best statist and at worst socialist role in the lives of the people.
Although it can be said there is no issue with the government acting as a charitable entity to a degree, given the routine inefficiency of its efforts in this area one begins to wonder whether said efforts are worth the tremendous expenditure incurred by such efforts. There is also the clear danger of such efforts becoming aggressively proactive, dictating to the people how they should conduct their personal affairs rather than offering assistance for those unable to presently care for themselves.
Returning to the theme of faith, the Christian life is the act of empowering an individual to serve God and man. Granted, empowerment is usually thought of in terms of enabling the individual to do as they please. However, as they grow in their knowledge of Christ the believer comes to realize that true empowerment comes through embracing servanthood. Again, a seeming contradiction; yet in fact appearing to be so only to those who have no understanding of Jesus and His teachings.
Any government is, to put it mildly, a poor substitute for walking with Christ. It can adopt the outward trappings and mechanisms of individual responsibility along with charitable outreach all it wishes, but lacking the foundation of servitude to God it can do no better than assuming the forms of these things.
More later.
