One would have to have their head in the sand to miss what is going on in the world right now. One of the biggest is the protests going on in Greece.
Watching the news the other evening. there they were, at the wall under the Parthenon on May 4, unfurling their giant banners urging "Peoples of Europe - Rise Up." The banners were emblazoned with a red-colored communist hammer and sickle.
The location, was fitting, since they were standing beneath one of the most famous ruins in the world. After years of socialist policies, Greece is in economic ruins and is threatening to bring down the European economy with it. The government has been forced to announce austerity measures that are not sitting well with a people accustomed to socialist illusions.
It doesn't matter to them that the budget deficit is as high as 14 percent of the gross domestic product -- a whopping 11 percent higher than the European Union requires its members to observe. Led by the public employee unions, a general strike ensued on May 5, and it quickly turned murderous. Three people burned to death inside a bank that protesters had torched and then had blocked firefighters from saving them.
Socialism is an ideology built on illusion and envy. It's about "spreading the wealth" by taking from some to give to others. And its inevitable result is poverty, accompanied by force. That's because socialism is based on dishonest assumptions that transgress economic laws that are as immutable as gravity.
In Greek mythology, there were a lot of ornery personalities among the gods on Mt. Olympus. Life for the folks down below could be quite arbitrary.
The Bible, by contrast, assures us that there is only one God to answer to -- the Creator of the universe. The Scriptures present a wealth of guidance about economics and every other aspect of life, and make it clear that faith, strong families, and hard work are at the heart of economic success.
The Greeks, like the Romans, thrived when their pagan philosophers at these societies' zeniths most closely championed the precepts found in the Bible. Aristotle, for instance, preached natural law and virtue and warned of the misery spawned by the "'tribeless, lawless, hearthless one,' whom Homer denounces." And Rome's Cicero warned of the power of corrupt elites, that "the men of upper class who do wrong are especially dangerous to the State, because...not only are they corrupt, but also because they corrupt others."
Many of the Greek elites bought into the easy lies of socialism and wound up corrupting the populace with the promise of a free ride.
Hummmm....does that sound like America, today?
Because God's laws -- including the laws of economics and the consistency of human nature -- do not change, people and societies thrive if they follow biblical advice about safeguarding property rights and inheritance, working hard, and pursuing honesty in business dealings.
The Bible acknowledges healthy self-interest as well as the sinful nature of man. At war with God since it began metastasizing in the 19th century, socialism began with the mistaken assumptions that man is on his own here, is basically good, and needs only a strong government to perfect him.
Until we return back to God, socialists can actually believe that governments created by flawed men will solve all the flaws. And that government authorities are inherently altruistic (with other people's money), and are not subject to the corrupting influence of envy -- wanting what is not yours.
In the midst of all of this, there is hope. But that hope is only found in God's Son, Jesus Christ.
Every day, it looks more like "a good day to fly."
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