Two Fields

Once upon a time there were two fields and two farmers. One field was fertile, and the farmer who lived there worked diligently to plant crops, care for them, and harvest. His harvests were so abundant that he made more than he and his family needed. The second field was sandy and dry. Harvests tended to be small, and many years there wasn't enough to feed the farmer and his family. Their generous neighbors shared some of their excess, and the poor farmer's family didn't starve. 

Then along came a central planner one year. He noted how unfair it was that one farmer had better harvests than the other farmer. To solve this problem, he decided that the farmer with the good field must share half of his planting seeds with the other farmer.

So both farmers set to planting. And they tended their fields. They watered. They watched. When the time came, they reaped. Where before there had been a bounty, there food still grew. It wasn't as much. The first farmer's family would be a little hungry that year. On the other field, hardly any food was harvested. This farmer had grown a tiny bit more than before, but still not anywhere close to enough to feed his family. And the previously prosperous farm had none to share. The second farmer gave all the food he could to his children. He and his wife died that winter. 

Central planners all over are inviting us to repeat this story. 

To God be all glory.