Equality 101

I’m not personally a big fan of communism. I’m actually friends with a guy who was kicked out of the former East Germany for his stance against the communist regime.



His crime: illegally distributing copies of Animal Farm, a novel which mocks communist “equality”. The catch phrase of the book: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” In East Germany, as in other communist states, the “more equal” ones lived lives of wealth and privilege, which no one could openly acknowledge without fear of punishment.


Human nature will always try to twist equality into a hierarchy. It’s no surprise that communism doesn’t work among sinners.


But God wants his churches to operate on a level, equal playing field. Of course, we quickly agree. We know about our equal standing in Christ. Verses like Galatians 3:28 tell us: Jews, Greeks, male, female, slaves, free - all are one in Christ Jesus.


But not just that, Paul tells us. What about financial equality?


That’s not in the Bible, is it? Or is it? Paul explained it this way to the Corinthians, who had started with an emotional concern for impoverished churches in Macedonia, but then were reluctant to actually share material goods and money.


In 2 Corinthians 8:13-1, Paul laid out God’s Church Equality plan:


“Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time, your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”


Twice Paul states the goal: that there might be equality among the churches. Financially.


What are we doing as believers, as a body, to “equalize” third world churches? Or Philadelphia churches? What are we doing with what we gather?

~Jan Cooper