John Winthrop was stressed out. Imagine being on a wooden ship in 1630, bobbing around the Atlantic with a group of people who are essentially bettting their entire lives on a radical religious experiment. He wasn’t a preacher by trade; he was a lawyer. Yet, standing on the deck of the Arbella, he delivered a lay sermon titled A Model of Christian Charity that basically set the DNA for American social thought.
It’s famous for the "city upon a hill" line. You’ve heard politicians use it. Everyone from Reagan to Obama has quoted it to talk about American exceptionalism. But if you actually sit down and read the text, it’s not really about being a superpower or a global beacon of political liberty.
It’s about money. And community. And how not to let greed destroy a society before it even gets off the ground.
What Winthrop actually meant by "A Model of Christian Charity"
Winthrop starts with a premise that honestly feels a bit uncomfortable to modern ears. He argues that God made some people rich and some people poor. He wasn’t saying the rich were better. In fact, he was saying the opposite: the disparity exists so that people have to depend on each other.
If everyone had everything they needed, why would we talk to our neighbors?
He was trying to solve a practical problem. The Massachusetts Bay Colony wasn’t a vacation. It was a high-stakes survival situation. If the wealthy colonists didn't cough up their resources to help the struggling ones, the whole colony would collapse. That’s the "Model" he was proposing. It wasn’t a suggestion; it was a survival strategy based on a very specific interpretation of "brotherly affection."
He lays out two rules: Justice and Mercy. Justice is about the "law of nature"—basically, don't steal and do what's right. But Mercy? Mercy is the "law of Grace." That’s the part where you give even when it hurts. Winthrop argues that in times of peril, like a new colony or a community crisis, the rules of giving change. You don't just give from your surplus. You give from your necessity.
The "City Upon a Hill" wasn't a brag
We get this part wrong all the time. When we hear "city upon a hill," we think of a shining trophy. Winthrop meant it as a warning.
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He was telling his fellow Puritans that the whole world was watching them. If they failed—if they got greedy, started hoarding wealth, or treated each other poorly—they would become a "story and a by-word through the world." Basically, they’d be a massive embarrassment to their faith.
It was about accountability.
Think about it like this: if you tell everyone you’re starting a "radical community of love" and then you immediately start suing your neighbors over property lines, you look like a hypocrite. Winthrop was terrified of that hypocrisy. He believed the "ligaments" of society were love. If those ligaments snapped, the body fell apart.
The three reasons for inequality (according to 1630)
Winthrop wasn't a socialist, but he wasn't a modern capitalist either. He believed God ordained variety in human condition for three specific reasons:
- To hold "conformity with the rest of His world." Nature has mountains and valleys; society has different ranks.
- To give the Spirit a chance to manifest. The rich get to practice moderation and charity; the poor get to practice faith and patience.
- To force men to need each other. This is the big one. Winthrop says no man is made "more honorable" for his own sake, but for the good of the whole.
It's a weirdly communal way of looking at private property. You own it, sure, but you hold it in trust for the community's survival.
Why this 400-year-old sermon is trending again
We are living in a time of extreme wealth gaps. Sound familiar?
People are looking back at A Model of Christian Charity because it addresses a question we still haven't answered: what do we owe the person living next to us? In the 1600s, "charity" didn't just mean a tax-deductible donation to a 501(c)(3). It meant caritas—the Latin word for a deep, sacrificial love.
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Modern philanthropists like those involved in the "Giving Pledge" are, in a weird way, echoing Winthrop’s sentiment. When Bill Gates or Warren Buffett talk about the responsibility of the wealthy to give back, they’re swimming in the wake of Winthrop’s ship.
But there’s a difference. Winthrop wasn't just talking to the 1%. He was talking to everyone. He expected the person with two coats to give one to the person with none, even if they didn't know where their next coat was coming from.
The tension of the "model"
Let’s be real: the sermon is tough. It’s dense. It’s full of "thous" and "thees."
And it has its critics. Some historians point out that while Winthrop preached this beautiful vision of communal love, the colony itself was often exclusionary and harsh toward those who didn't fit their religious mold. Ask Roger Williams or Anne Hutchinson about Puritan "charity" and you’ll get a very different story.
There is a gap between the ideal and the reality.
But the text itself remains a masterpiece of social theory. It suggests that a society is only as strong as its weakest members. It rejects the idea that "I got mine, so you get yours."
How to actually apply the "Model of Christian Charity" today
You don't have to be a 17th-century Puritan to get something out of this. The core mechanics of Winthrop's argument are actually pretty practical if you strip away the theological jargon.
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Look for the "ligaments"
Winthrop says love is the "bond of perfection." In your own life, what are the things that actually tie you to your community? It’s probably not your LinkedIn network. It’s the neighbors you help when their tree falls down or the local pantry you support. Focus on local, tangible connections.
Give until it’s a bit uncomfortable
The "Model" suggests that giving shouldn't just be from your "excess." If you only give what you don't need, you aren't really invested. Try supporting a cause or a person in a way that actually requires you to change your own spending habits. That’s where the "charity" Winthrop talked about actually happens.
Stop viewing success as a solo achievement
Winthrop’s whole point was that if you’re doing well, it’s not just for you. It’s so you can be a resource for others. If you’ve had a "win" lately—a promotion, a bonus, or just a streak of good luck—ask who else can benefit from it.
Check your "accountability"
If your life was a "city upon a hill," what would people see? This isn't about being perfect. It's about whether your private actions match your public values. If you talk about "community" on social media but don't know your neighbor's name, there’s a disconnect.
The takeaway
A Model of Christian Charity isn't a museum piece. It’s a challenge.
It asks us to consider if we are living as individuals who happen to live in the same place, or as a body where "if one member suffers, all suffer with it." Winthrop knew that the "experiment" of his colony would fail if they didn't learn to love each other practically.
Maybe our modern "experiments"—our cities, our neighborhoods, our online communities—are facing the same risk.
To live out the model today, start by identifying one "necessity" in your immediate circle. Don't look for a global problem to solve; look for a local one. Give something—time, money, or even just genuine attention—without expecting a return. That is the essence of the work Winthrop was trying to inspire on that boat in the middle of the ocean.