Paying your fair share
Is it morally responsible and Biblically faithful to expect the rich to pay more than the poor? With all the debate over “going over the fiscal cliff”, deficits, entitlements and debt ceilings, it has become increasingly in vogue to beat up on the rich and make them the brunt of national scorn. To be sure the Bible is filled with admonitions to the rich to be careful to not make their riches their God, but the Scriptures are also filled with examples of very godly men and women who were wealthy. Wealth itself is not the problem- only the love of money that is condemned. When a rich man is faithful as a steward of God, his wealth is a great blessing to the kingdom and to others.
Of course the logic behind this redistributive philosophy goes something like this: “They have so much, they wouldn’t miss it anyway!” Since they have made their money and are living so lavishly, wouldn’t it seem plausible to only make them give a little more? And so the Socialist mantra goes- but does this square in the real world? We could examine the economic theories behind all this and analyze the statistics of how much increasing the tax burden on the rich would actually help, but instead lets look at a passage in Scripture to see what God may say.
“The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel…” Exodus 30:15. This verse is part of a statute that God directed Moses to institute in Israel concerning the care of the Tabernacle. The passage directs that everyone over the age of 20, at the time of National census was to bring a “tax” to the Tabernacle for the care of it. This was in addition to the regular tithe that was exacted on Israel for the care of the poor and support of the Levites. In this Theocratic system, there was no separation of Church and State. Instead, the State and Religion were merged into one entity. Therefore, the equivalent of our taxation was the tithe and this shekel offering. The tithe was proportionate to income and the Shekel tax was a flat tax. Both treated the rich and poor exactly the same. Everyone paid their fair share. There were no exemptions and there were no discounts. This is true justice. The rich are not penalized for their initiative nor are the poor incentivized to stay poor by entitlement.
God knows best- Just something to think about.
Tim
It is not ethical to steal and that is exactly what we have, as a society, taught this generation to expect and demand and what this administration is using to accomplish their unethical goals.
Thank you for speaking out!