The Scriptures clearly say:
If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12)
Paul tells the Thessalonians to work and provide for themselves and their households. Being unwilling to work goes directly against basic Bible teachings.
Currently, there is a plan which would rewrite the Bible as if to say, “If anyone is unwilling to work, let us provide for him.”
Freshman congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal” claims that, “it is the duty of the Federal Government to…create millions of good, high-wage jobs and ensure prosperity and economic security for all people of the United States.”[1]
In the original FAQs on her website (which has since been removed), Ocasio-Cortez explains that the New Green Deal means guaranteeing “economic security for all who are unable or unwilling to work.”[2]
The rough estimated cost for this plan is $94.4 trillion, which translates to $653,010 per household.[3] Currently the average American has around $38,000 of personal debt,[4] and the Bible strongly warns against the dangers of debt. People should “owe no one anything” (Romans 13:8), because “the borrower is slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). Nowhere does the Bible approve adding an additional $600,000 of personal debt per individual.
This New Green Deal, however, is actually very old. It even goes back to Plymouth Rock. Yes; the famous Pilgrims were originally socialists.
When those colonists first arrived on the shores of America, they set up a system they believed would ensure their survival and eventual prosperity. Led by William Bradford, the colony operated under a “Common Storehouse” system.
This meant that all were supplied with the same amount of food, clothes, and supplies no matter what work, or how much of it they did. The Pilgrims guaranteed jobs and equal shares to every colonist, even if they were unwilling to work.
This had terrible consequences. The people began to “allege [fake] weakness and inability” and this “was found to breed much confusion and discontent.”[5] Many Pilgrims suffered hardship, starvation, and disease due to the lack of supplies they produced.
Seeing this, Bradford and the other leaders decided to change the way they ran Plymouth. They began to apply economic principles they found in the Bible.
For example, Proverbs 12:11 says, “He that tills his land shall be satisfied with bread.” So the Pilgrims purchased land from the Indians and designated parcels for every family to individually grow food for themselves. After all, 1 Timothy 5:8 declares, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Bradford reported that this change “had very good success; for it made all hands very industrious.”[6]
When we follow the principles God delivered in the Bible, we can stay out of debt—we can “lend to many nations but not borrow” (Deuteronomy 15:6). However, if we are drawn into the socialism of the New Green Deal, whether as individuals or the nation, we will end up contradicting and disobeying many Biblical standards laid out in Scripture.
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[1] H. Res. 109 (1)(B), ll. 8-1, 2019.
[2] “Overview,” Frequently Asked Questions (February 7, 2019).
[3] Douglas Holtz-Eakin, et al., “The Green New Deal: Scope, Scale, and Implications,” American Action Form (February 25, 2019), here
[4] Meagan Leonhardt, “Here’s How Much Debt Americans have at Every Age,” CNBC (August 20, 2018), here
[5] William Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856), 135.
[6] William Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856), 134.
