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Loyalty, a Tiny Virtue for a Changing World

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What would Ruth be without Naomi? That’s how many people view the story. The real question is, “What would Naomi be without Ruth?” Mara. Bitter. (Ruth 1:20). Kind of a jerk, actually. Blaming God, shipping her loved ones back as rejected returns to the Moabite store, whining, playing the victim card, and then as the quintessential pessimist, seeing her future as “Life is hard. Then you die.” It takes significant time for her to see the glorious tiny virtue of loyalty exemplified in Ruth.

tiny virtues loyaltyWe’re looking at the slide of friendship under the theological microscope and turning the magnification up to 100x. Loyalty. Why didn’t we see it before, among those Tiny Virtues for Exemplary Christian Living?

Maybe it’s because Loyalty is a stationary virtue best seen when everything else moves.  It’s a tiny virtue for a changing world.  It’s kind of like the North Star to guide us well.

Have you ever wondered why the North Star (Polaris) never moves?

It actually does, but only a fraction. We use it for guidance because its alignment is so close to the line of Earth’s axis projected into space. Therefore it seems to be the bright star that never changes. All the other stars appear to move greatly by comparison.

In the story of Ruth and Naomi, it is Ruth who refuses to move from her position of loyal love in order to be a help, to guide, to be a friend, a daughter even, to Naomi. Who I might add doesn’t deserve her at that time.

Who can forget Ruth’s famous oath of loyalty?

Ruth 1:16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

Yet as the story unfolds, Ruth’s loyalty is seen by her future husband and kinsman redeemer Boaz.  It is Ruth’s exemplary loyalty that provides the vastly needed change of heart and rise of hope in Naomi. The Book of Ruth is a mere 4 chapters and a great story. It’s well worth the read for those who like to see the reward for loyalty, a tiny virtue for changing a bitter world.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (Romans 12:10-11)

Ponder today: Loyalty

Bible character of the day: Ruth

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Availability in Friendship-a Tiny Virtue

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Do you ever feel like that guy from the Comcast commercial who is moving and he checks on the availability of friends to help him move? Everyone has an excuse for not being available…when it’s something they don’t really want to do. Had it been free tickets to the World Series, or front row seats to see Clapton in a small venue, or skybox seats at the 50 yard line, they’d have been available, front-and-center, yes?

tiny virtues availabilityWe’re in a series on the Tiny Virtues for Exemplary Christian Living.  Today, we’re going to take a magnifying glass to the tiny virtue of friendship and go even smaller.

Let’s magnify those traits within friendship to discuss the first of those even tinier virtues: availability.

Cornelius and Peter demonstrate this idea of availability…to God, to God’s work, and to each other. They are exemplary in it.

Both Cornelius and Peter in Acts 10 are surprised by visions. It’s like that call out of the blue that interrupts what you’re doing. But they make themselves open and available. Cornelius responds by sending the men just as the angel asked. Peter receives the men just as God had prompted him to do.

Could either of them come up with excuses? Sure. But they didn’t.

How are you at being available for others?

I ask that a lot, reminding myself that there’s a difference between being available and being an enabler. Between availability and armchair quarterbacking.  Between availability and becoming a hindrance or downright annoying.  How do we keep from the negatives?  By being available first to God.  It will help you to know if availability has become a one way street for you or for people you know.  Availability with Cornelius and Peter went both ways. They each had to sacrifice things to be exemplary in the tiny virtue of availability. If you get a chance, read Acts 10 and think about the obstacles to availability which are amply present in the passage.  How did they set an example for us that mirrors this Scripture?

Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Ponder today: Your availability to God and friends

Bible characters of the day: Peter and Cornelius

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The Tiny Virtue of Biblical Friendship

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Think about a friend you have who is your best friend. What characteristics define that person and the bond of friendship you share?

True friends are hard to come by.

tiny virtues friendshipOh it’s not like the half a million friends some people have on Facebook that they managed to secure with the email address “friend finder.” I hesitate to see what “friends” might turn up if Facebook looked at email addresses to find friends for me. I’ve received emails from businesses, church leaders with whom I’ve disagreed, spammers, Internet trolls, Christ haters, etc., by answering Bible questions via email over the years. Yes, some would be genuine friends with whom I’ve had correspondence for a decade or more. Others, well, let’s just say the word “friend” would involve quite a stretch of the imagination.

Friendship cannot be mistaken for the cheap imitations of popularity and patronage.

It’s like the social media warping of Kennedy’s thought to make it “Ask not what your friend can do for you (popularity), ask what you can do for your friend (patronage).” Popularity and patronage are highly visible.  True biblical friendship is deep and more hidden than wide.

People with genuine friendship skills are a rarity. This kind of biblical friendship is a tiny virtue that we see exhibited in exemplary Christian lives.

In the Bible, King David (before he was king) and Jonathan had such a friendship. It was a covenant of love in spite of Jonathan being the elder son of Saul who was the present king of Israel. Jonathan would have had accession rights to the throne as the firstborn son, but he saw God’s hand upon David ever since David returned victorious from the Goliath encounter. Jonathan gave David symbolic testimony of his covenant of friendship and devotion.

1 Samuel 18:1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

Jonathan exemplifies characteristics of friendship. While he could be known as a daring man, one unafraid to place himself in harm’s way for the sake of his country Israel, it is his exemplary friendship that forms his most enduring legacy. He had an ardent brotherly love, an unselfish devotion to his friends, a willingness to sacrifice his right to be king, and he placed himself in danger to intercede for his father’s change of heart. In death, he was loyal to his father yet steadfast in friendship to David.  It reminds us of Christ’s words,

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12-13)

Ponder today: the distinction between popularity, patronage, and genuine friendship qualities.

Bible character of the day: Jonathan –see 1 Samuel 13:2-31, especially chapter 20.

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Tiny Virtues for Exemplary Christian Living

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tiny virtues for Christian living1It’s easy to be mediocre.  It’s hard to be exemplary … especially at the virtues for Christian living.  After all, we’re following Jesus–a guy who was perfect–and we’re trying to be like Him.  I’ve been thinking a lot about what it takes to be exemplary, what virtues are required? 

Looking at lists of virtues, there’s the usual big ticket items on every Christian list:
  • Love,
  • Grace,
  • Hope,
  • Compassion,
  • Church Attendance.

Actually the last one isn’t there.

I was just checking to see if anyone reads my posts anymore after 15.3 items on politics.  But part way through this new series, you’ll see why I did all 15.3.

Happily I now turn my mind to other things.  One of which is that my husband and I both have annoying movie watching habits when it comes to DVDs.  I watch everything for theology and when I spot it, I make him stop the movie and replay it so I can ponder its value as a sermon illustration or something.  I can watch the same movie a bazillion times, even have parts of the script memorized (OK, the whole script memorized) and still enjoy it every bit as much.  My husband has different movie watching habits.  If he’s seen it once, he has already picked out what his favorite scene is and will use the scene selector option to skip over all the other scenes just to see his favorites.  What makes them favorites, I don’t know unless there’s a car blowing up or something.

One of those scenes has no explosions, just really good acting and a script worth hearing.

They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? – – Carpe – – hear it? – – Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.  (John Keating, a role by Robin Williams from Dead Poets Society)

Make your lives extraordinary.  Exemplary.  What does that mean to you?

So we begin a more interesting series today on Tiny Virtues for Exemplary Christian Living.  Exploring the tiny little details that move a life from just good or even excellent in a Christian walk to being one that is truly exemplary. One worthy of the Savior we follow.

Ponder today: the particular value of details

Bible character of the day:  Daniel

Daniel 6:3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

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Comparing Political Platforms (15.3) Not an Open Border God

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God is not an open border GodGod is not an open border God. Heaven is not an open border place. That’s hard news for many modern Christians to hear, particularly as we consider nations and immigration in the earthly realm. There is a reason why Immigration is such a hot election issue: it’s spiritual. And what we believe about an open border actually reveals more about our sincerity and purity of faith than we’d probably like to acknowledge.

Heaven has diversity, you say. Diversity of surface things, yes, but not when it comes to faith. There’s only One God and He is not the least bit divided about borders and walls. They exist from Genesis to Revelation and God’s purpose with them is (1) security, protecting what is good from what is evil, (2) boundary for promise and preservation, and (3) separation. Even in creation, God began by separating.

I know some of the things I’ve written in this series have been provocative, even difficult, and you may have a certain umbrage at reading them.

I have been conflicted writing them and have many times thought of removing or softening certain things, to which the Spirit has said, “No. Leave it in.” Christians need to be provoked out of their comfort zones to see beyond the surface, the sentimental, and the sound-byte … and to set their eyes on the spiritual.

So for those of you Christians who think a wall is nothing short of sin, consider this:

Revelation 21:10 “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates… 17 [The angel] measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man’s measurement, which the angel was using… 22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Described here is a physical wall, capable of being measured.  It has gates that are open, but it’s guarded by angels.  Border security.  No one impure will ever enter.  Only those whose names are in the Lamb’s book of life will be able to enter.  Immigration control.

Heaven: You can’t come in just because you want to.  There is no open border.

Yes, there will be a diverse multitude of people… united by one identity, one singular belief: Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

All genuine Christians belong to Christ…but not all people belong to Christ just because they’re human or just because they call themselves Christian all the while rejecting Christ’s supremacy.

Don’t you see that an open border kind of thinking parallels the false religious teaching of universalism?

That false doctrine that says what you believe isn’t important, that God doesn’t care how you live and what you do. The false notion that Jesus died so all men—irrespective of what they believe, how they act, and what they worship—can enter heaven.

It’s a resident thought in many of our churches. It’s preached from their pulpits. Some denominations even have that as their hallmark. Sin isn’t sin and their leaders lead the way in it.

Certainly regarding borders, we can all agree that the United States isn’t heaven. Not even Iowa. But even in the Field of Dreams, there were borders and ground rules. Heaven’s hallmark will be discernment of truth, belonging, belief, and action, not the color of one’s skin, the ethnicity in one’s DNA, whether one was an unaccompanied minor or a dreamer.

It comes down to this: Did you believe Jesus and show it by obedience to Him?

Consider the words of the Risen Lord Himself: Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

What is the testimony of our churches? We are called as missionaries to go into all the world. And I suppose if the Church fails to go to the nations with the Gospel, God will bring the nations to us so they can hear it.

But what testimony will the nations receive from American Christians?

A Church proclaiming to those unrepentant sinners who will be outside the wall of heaven that it will all be okay, they’re in…that breaking laws and engaging in sin is no barrier? Uh, hello.  That’s not the Gospel. God won’t bring the nations to hear that.

Or will it be to hold the Light of the Gospel to each person in darkness? Offering compassion even if no open border exists because practical help can occur on either side of a closed border, offering asylum for those yearning for the freedom of Christ, but most importantly by preaching God’s Word?

Frankly, way too many churches are happily demanding an open border with nothing to offer spiritual refugees by way of truth. Way too many Christians are happily proclaiming open borders for all nations and all religions as sanctified syncretism. God won’t bring the nations to hear that.

banishedadameve.jpgThe first border in recorded history was keeping sin out of paradise (Genesis 3:24). The final border does the same thing (Revelation 21:10-27). Let’s make sure our preaching honors that principle so we don’t find ourselves outside the walls with a whole lot of weeping and gnashing in a spiritually, morally, religiously, and ethnically diverse hell.

Here are a few passages for further study.  If you have time for only one, do John 10.  Identify the “wall” in each instance and what it was designed to do:

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Today’s was the final installment in the series which also contained:
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Comparing Political Platforms (15.2) Immigration and National Security

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The Christian has a conundrum in immigration and national security that requires discernment. In Part 1 of Comparing Political Platforms (15.1), we examined the beliefs of each of the three major political parties. Volumes of words. And it’s both clear…and clear as mud. Christians need discernment to sort it all out.

Think immigration and suddenly we have romantic ideas of hope.  But for all the hope, Ellis Island was feared by those seeking to come here—even the honest, healthy, hardworking, and moral immigrants still knew it as a barrier to entry. It has an interesting history that includes deportation and imprisonment.  It was a barrier an immigrant was never assured of getting through. Just like The Wall.

Frankly, The Wall presents emotionally-charged issues that move Christian hearts with compassion and justice. After all, we’re a nation of immigrants. However, it’s also more complex than feelings and there’s a spiritual dimension Christians must acknowledge exists even if the secular world cannot see it.

Do you find it odd that the removal of political boundaries in Europe coincided with the precipitous decline in Christianity and has resulted in massive migration of followers of Islam?

Is there a parallel with the US and where we are spiritually today?

Discernment on immigration. We need it.  We need it now. 

Because the decline of Christianity is happening in America and the “Nones” who have no religious belief at all are becoming the fastest growing demographic. 

Nones Immigration and the rise of IslamAccording to the National Geographic, the source of the photo,

There have long been predictions that religion would fade from relevancy as the world modernizes, but all the recent surveys are finding that it’s happening startlingly fast.

Do you believe America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles? Do we still uphold those or have we become a melting pot of no religious inclination? Is that what God intended? 

  • Is it compassionate, for example, to allow young girls being trafficked or the beleaguered foreigner forced to smuggle opioids to be exploited on the way to the border, at the border, and then on US soil as a wide open market for these “products”?  Is that what Jesus would do?
  • Is it compassionate toward the citizen Hispanics or others working as ranch hands to be assaulted for their vehicles or murdered because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and encountered smugglers?  Would the Father approve?
  • Is it hospitable to allow anti-Christian followers of other world religions to invade, recruit, and proselytize on American soil with anti-Christian and anti-Semitic “Death to America” ideology, harming the host that let them in?  What does the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob think about that?

The Christian Conundrum:

Love without justice isn’t love at all. Justice without truth and love isn’t really just. And freedom without love, truth or justice jeopardizes all.

There are 2 problems intersecting in this issue which further complicate this conundrum for Christians:

  1. Identity politics, which is a dangerous game since not all Hispanics are the same, not all migrants are the same or even Hispanic, and not all those crossing the southern border have honorable intentions.
  2. Confusing language because Satan, the architect of confusion, wants Christians to get sucked in by terms like immigrant, evoking romantic images of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and America as the great hope of freedom…instead of having Christians use a more factual term like lawbreaker. We are a nation of immigrants who followed our immigration laws.  But those who break the law are lawbreakers, not the innocent sounding “illegal immigrant” as if their only crime was stepping over an imaginary line for a loaf of bread or a day’s wages.  What is compassion and how do we discern what to do with lawbreakers?

Put it all together and here’s the deal: Each and every Christian must begin to look at individuals instead of groups. The Church must step up from the confusing political slurry of language and develop some discernment.

From Christ’s Church we need “men of Isaachar” (1 Chronicles 12: 17-38) who understand the times. We do not need Satan’s Welcome Wagon with goods to peddle in his hand-basket for hell on the wide, well-trampled path of tolerance with no narrow gate of Christian discernment.

Discernment: Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. 15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

Why did Jesus connect the two?  The whole passage of Matthew 7 is about judging well, using discernment regarding open doors when it comes to matters of faith and truth.

There’s a strange little passage in 2 John that ought to scare the socks off of any Christian who wants to throw the gates wide open as a testimony of their social tolerance and hyper-piety.

2 John 1:6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. 7 Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. 11 Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.

Do your efforts advance the Gospel or are they just giving other world religions (false prophets) a foothold for advancing their own beliefs unchecked? If you’re advancing theirs, according to 2 John verse 11, you’re sharing in their wicked work.  Go ahead.  Read the verses again.

There’s a way to make sure that you’re advancing God’s work and God’s Kingdom.  Move beyond group thought and unaccountable government. Make it personal and personally accept responsibility for what each and every one under your supervision does. You’re sharing in it, remember?  And God knows the difference between giving the enemies of the Gospel a foothold for advancing their own beliefs versus compassion and witness–which is our ideal!–as we advance the Gospel until all evil of this world will be made Christ’s footstool.

There is probably no greater illustration and modern example of the spiritual battle in American culture than the debate over The Wall. Is it the Original Sin of Trump? Don’t take the “Nones” word for it if you’re a Christ-follower!  By understanding the times with discernment, it is the Christian’s opportunity to dig deep, to decide which side of the spiritual battle we’re really on, to choose whether the wide road or the narrow gate is the better path, and to display with our actions which kingdom we’re truly interested in advancing. 

the wall immigration freedom and discernment* * *
This series contains:

 

 

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Comparing Political Platforms (15.1) Immigration & National Security

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immigration and the wallIs The Wall the Original Sin of Trump?  Many US Christians who are concerned about immigration and the plight of refugees believe the idea of The Wall has been the genesis of everything evil in America.

But is it in the eyes of God?

What does the Bible say about immigration, security, and the nations?  It says much and presents the Christian with quite a conundrum.

In this final installment of our series Comparing the Political Platforms, I’ve grouped together these interconnected issues. Let’s see what the platforms say about national security and immigration in Part 1.  In Part 2 we will define the conundrum, and then we’ll look at the Bible’s clear instruction about walls in Part 3.

Part 1: The Platforms:

(I know it’s long, but please read it if you care about immigration, refugees, and national security.  I included every idea each party says and removed words only to have comparable word counts between DNC and RNC, as a testimony of my fairness.)

DNC

SECURITY: Democrats believe that climate change poses a real and urgent threat to our economy, our national security, and our children’s health and futures (p.2). [We] will oppose trade agreements that do not … improve our national security. (p.14) We will support a national commission on digital security and encryption …to address the needs of law enforcement, protect the privacy of Americans, assess how innovation might point to new policy approaches, and advance our larger national security and global competitiveness interests… Democrats will be informed by a new Nuclear Posture Review in determining continued ways to appropriately shape our nuclear deterrent, with the aim of reducing our reliance on nuclear weapons while meeting our national security obligations. (p.44) Climate change poses an urgent and severe threat to our national security (p.45).

IMMIGRATION: The United States was founded as, and continues to be, a country of immigrants from throughout the world… Democrats believe immigration is not just a problem to be solved, it is a defining aspect of the American character and our shared history. The Democratic Party supports legal immigration, within reasonable limits, that meets the needs of families, communities, and the economy as well as maintains the United States’ role as a beacon of hope for people seeking safety, freedom, and security (p.16). People should come to the United States with visas and not through smugglers. Yet, we recognize that the current immigration system is broken… More than 11 million people are living in the shadows, without proper documentation. The immigration bureaucracy is full of backlogs that result in U.S. citizens waiting for decades to be reunited with family members, and green card holders waiting for years to be reunited with their spouses and minor children… And there are real questions about our detention and deportation policies that must be addressed …We will work with Congress to end the forced and prolonged expulsion from the country that these immigrants endure when trying to adjust their status … Those immigrants already living in the United States, who are assets to their communities and contribute so much to our country, should be incorporated completely into our society through legal processes …we will defend and implement President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans executive actions to help DREAMers, parents of citizens, and lawful permanent residents avoid deportation …We will support efforts by states to make DREAMers eligible for driver’s licenses and in-state college tuition. … We believe immigration enforcement must be humane and consistent with our values. We should prioritize those who pose a threat to the safety of our communities, not hardworking families who are contributing to their communities … We disfavor deportations of immigrants who served in our armed forces, and we want to create a faster path for such veterans to citizenship. We should ensure due process for those fleeing violence in Central America and work with our regional partners to address the root causes of violence. We must take particular care with children, which is why we should guarantee government-funded counsel for unaccompanied children in immigration courts. We should consider all available means of protecting these individuals from the threats to their lives and safety (p.17)   We will also vigorously oversee any programs put in place, to make sure that there are no abuses and no arbitrary deportation programs…We will work to ensure that all Americans—regardless of immigration status—have access to quality health care… We reject attempts to impose a religious test to bar immigrants or refugees from entering the United States. (p.18)
LP

The protection of individual rights is the only proper purpose of government. Government is constitutionally limited so as to prevent the infringement of individual rights by the government itself. The principle of non-initiation of force should guide the relationships between governments.

3.1 National Defense: We support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United States against aggression. The United States should both avoid entangling alliances and abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world. We oppose any form of compulsory national service.

3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights: The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence to detect and to counter threats to domestic security. This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens. The Constitution and Bill of Rights shall not be suspended even during time of war. Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the nation must be subject to oversight and transparency. We oppose the government’s use of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it should have, especially that which shows that the government has violated the law.

3.3 International Affairs: American foreign policy should seek an America at peace with the world. Our foreign policy should emphasize defense against attack from abroad and enhance the likelihood of peace by avoiding foreign entanglements. We would end the current U.S. government policy of foreign intervention, including military and economic aid. We recognize the right of all people to resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights. We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.

3.4 Free Trade and Migration: We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade. Political freedom and escape from tyranny demand that individuals not be unreasonably constrained by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital across national borders. However, we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals who pose a credible threat to security, health or property.
RNC

[It] is the vigor of our economy which makes possible our military strength and our national security (p.1). The digital revolution has transformed … how we live. Technological change drives our positions with regard to… privacy, cyber and national security (p.5). Protecting intellectual property is also a national security issue. (p.15) Energy is both an economic and national security issue. We support the enactment of policies to increase domestic energy production (p.20). The federal fiscal burden threatens the security, liberty, and independence of our nation. (p.23) In a time of terrorism, drug cartels, human trafficking, and criminal gangs, the presence of millions of unidentified individuals in this country poses grave risks to the safety and sovereignty of the United States. Our highest priority, therefore, must be to secure our borders and all ports of entry and to enforce our immigration laws. That is why we support building a wall along our southern border and protecting all ports of entry … We insist upon workplace enforcement of verification systems so that more jobs can be available to all legal workers …We reaffirm our endorsement of the SAVE program — Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements — to ensure that public funds are not given to persons not legally present in this country. We demand tough penalties against those who engage in identity theft, deal in fraudulent documents, and traffic in human beings. The Department of Homeland Security must use its authority to keep dangerous aliens off our streets and to expedite expulsion of criminal aliens. Gang membership should be a deportable offense. Any previously deported illegal alien who continues to show a lack of respect for our borders and rule of law must be penalized… In light of both current needs and historic practice, we urge the reform of our guest worker… programs to eliminate fraud, improve efficiency and ensure they serve the national interest…From its beginning, our country has been a haven of refuge and asylum. That should continue — but with major changes. Asylum should be limited to cases of political, ethnic or religious persecution. As the Director of the FBI has noted, it is not possible to vet fully all potential refugees. To ensure our national security, refugees who cannot be carefully vetted cannot be admitted to the country, especially those whose homelands have been the breeding grounds for terrorism. (p.26)

Republicans continue to support American military superiority which has been the cornerstone of a strategy that seeks to deter aggression or defeat those who threaten our vital national security interests. We must rebuild troop numbers and readiness and confirm their mission: Protecting the nation, not nation building. The United States should meet the Reagan model of “peace through strength” by a force that is capable of meeting any and all threats to our vital national security… To keep our people safe, we must secure our borders, enforce our immigration laws, and properly screen refugees and other immigrants entering from any country. In particular we must apply special scrutiny to those foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States from terror-sponsoring countries (p.42). With North Korea in possession of nuclear missiles and Iran close to having them, an EMP [Electromagnetic Pulse] is no longer a theoretical concern — it is a real threat. Moreover, China and Russia include sabotage as part of their warfare planning. Nonetheless, hundreds of electrical utilities in the United States have not acted to protect themselves from EMP, and they cannot be expected to do so voluntarily since homeland security is a government responsibility. (p.54)

Clearly, the platforms address these issues in their own ways.  Every reader plants firmly between each line, their own beliefs about the political parties, their preconceived ideas about compassion, the law, and a worldview that is either globalist or American.  It calls for discernment.

So we look to the Bible to see how God sees walls and immigration, compassion and the law.  What you find will surprise you.

The Christian’s Conundrum is outlined in Part 2 which will lead us to ask the question,

What does the Bible say to Christians about the purpose of walls and Christian responsibilities for immigration, hospitality, separation, and security? 

We’ll address that and provide questions and verses for a little Bible Study in Part 3.

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Comparing Political Platforms (14) IRS and Government

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Are you planning on sitting out this election? You might want to think again about what the Bible says about communities, individuals, and how it speaks to the question, “Does God distinguish between the community and the individual?”  And while we’re at it, “How big should government be? How far should its reach extend? Where does the Church’s role end and the government’s role begin?”  No one serves two masters.

As we continue our series Comparing the Political Platforms, today we circle back to cover the IRS in relation to the overall concept of the size and scope of government.

DNC

(Note: The DNC platform does not mention the IRS even once, although paying one’s “fair share” of taxes is mentioned 9 times. Words like funding (23x), investment (12x), revenue (2x), resources (27x) and incentives (4x) replace the word taxes in many instances.)

We will increase investments to make quality childcare more affordable, boost wages for childcare workers, and support the millions of people paying for, coordinating, or providing care for aging relatives or those with disabilities…We will preserve and increase the supply of affordable rental housing by expanding incentives to ease local barriers to building new affordable rental housing developments in areas of economic opportunity. We will substantially increase funding for the National Housing Trust Fund to construct, preserve, and rehabilitate millions of affordable housing rental units. (p.5) We will dramatically increase federal infrastructure funding for our cities—making significant new investments in roads and bridges, public transit, drinking and wastewater systems, broadband, schools, and more. (p.19) We reaffirm our commitment to eliminate poverty. Democrats will develop a national strategy, coordinated across all levels of government, to combat poverty. We will direct more federal resources to lifting up communities that have been left out and left behind, (p.20) That is why we will implement the National HIV and AIDS Strategy; increase research funding for the National Institutes of Health; cap pharmaceutical expenses for people living with HIV and AIDS; (p.48)
LP

2.3 Energy and Resources: While energy is needed to fuel a modern society, government should not be subsidizing any particular form of energy. We oppose all government control of energy pricing, allocation, and production.

2.11  Libertarians would phase out the current government-sponsored Social Security system and transition to a private voluntary system. …civil society will be strengthened as government reduces its activity in this realm.

2.7 Marketplace Freedom: Libertarians support free markets … We oppose all forms of government subsidies and bailouts to business, labor, or any other special interest. Government should not compete with private enterprise.

2.4 Government Finance and Spending:   All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor. We call for the repeal of the income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution. We oppose any legal requirements forcing employers to serve as tax collectors. Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced Budget Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution, provided that the budget is balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, and not by raising taxes.
RNC In a free society, the primary role of government is to protect the God-given, inalienable rights of its citizens. (p.9) Our most urgent task as a Party is to restore the American people’s faith in their government by electing a president who will enforce duly enacted laws, honor constitutional limits on executive authority, and return credibility to the Oval Office. We need a Republican president who will end abuses of power by departments and agencies, like the IRS and the EPA, and by the White House itself. (p.10) We will fight for Congress to adopt, and for the states to ratify, a Balanced Budget Amendment which imposes a cap limiting spending to the appropriate historical average percentage of our nation’s gross domestic product while requiring a super-majority for any tax increase, with exceptions only for war or legitimate emergencies. .. Republican budgets will prioritize thrift over extravagance and put taxpayers first. We support the following test: Is a particular expenditure within the constitutional scope of the federal government? If not, stop it. (p.23) Many good civil servants work at the IRS, but the agency itself is toxic. Its leadership employs known tax delinquents, rehires workers previously fired for misconduct, … Worst of all, the IRS has become an ideological attack dog …systematically targets conservative, pro-life, and libertarian organizations, harassing them with repeated audits and denying their tax exempt status. Its commissioner has lied to Congress, hidden evidence, and stonewalled investigations. He should be impeached by the House of Representatives and convicted by the Senate. … We also support making the federal tax code so simple and easy to understand that the IRS becomes obsolete and can be abolished. (p.27)

The Bible says nothing about the size and scope of government in the US. It does say much about community and about the individual’s role in it.

Consider this: Joshua and Caleb wandered in the wilderness along with the faithless ones who would die there and never see the Promised Land. They would be judged as a community and as individuals, with God distinguishing between the faithful (Joshua and Caleb), the innocent (the children), and the faithless within the community.

Numbers 14: 20 The LORD replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times– 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.” 26 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: 29 In this desert your bodies will fall– every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But you– your bodies will fall in this desert. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. 34 For forty years– one year for each of the forty days you explored the land– you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die.” 36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it– 37 these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived. 39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly.

The government, the shepherds, and the leaders will be called to account in an especially profound way because of leadership. But each one is treated as an individual within that group when the real government spoken about in Isaiah 9:6-7 arrives in the very last day.

Ezekiel 34:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. …7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock … 17 “‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats …20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, 22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.

size and scope of governmentManmade government, though instruments of God, will vanish someday.  Every leader will be held to account as an individual, for the good and the bad.

But there’s more: The community of followers will be judged within and as a whole…both for our individual role as well as the impact we had upon our community.

1 Peter 4:17 “For it is time for judgment to family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Don’t be deceived: The fate of the disobedient spies displays that in God’s sight, sitting it out is faithless.

Your vote likely counts more in the eyes of God who gave you the candidates, who sees your heart, and who knows your true motives, than your vote actually counts in any election.  Our accountability begins as the family of God, extends inward to the individual heart, and outward to the nations.

Will God not know or care that we were dissatisfied with God’s choices for us?  Will it matter to Him that we refused to pray, responding with faith in action knowing His ways are not our ways?  Will God be pleased with our predetermined path of sitting it out?

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Comparing Political Platforms (13) The Environment

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Good Christians and good Americans care about the environment. That we can agree on. Less certain is how to show that we care. As we continue our look at the political party platforms to move beyond personalities to ideas, here is what the Democrat, Libertarian, and Republican parties believe about the environment.

DNC Democrats will increase funding to support the next generation of farmers and ranchers, with particular attention given to promoting environmentally sustainable agricultural practices. (p.20) We are committed to principles of environmental justice in Indian Country and we … call for a climate change policy that protects tribal resources, protects tribal health, and provides accountability through accessible, culturally appropriate participation and strong enforcement. (p.23) Climate change is an urgent threat and a defining challenge of our time … The best science tells us that without ambitious, immediate action across our economy to cut carbon pollution and other greenhouse gases, all of these impacts will be far worse in the future. We cannot leave our children a planet that has been profoundly damaged. (p.27) The impacts of climate change will also disproportionately affect low-income and minority communities, tribal nations, and Alaska 29 Native villages—all of which suffer the worst losses during extreme weather and have the fewest resources to prepare. Simply put, this is environmental racism. (p.28-9) Democrats oppose efforts to undermine the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act to protect threatened and endangered species … we support efforts by the EPA under the Clean Water Act to establish proactively science-based restrictions on discharges of dredged or fill material … we believe that in order to be effective in keeping our air and water clean and combating climate change, we must enlist farmers as partners in promoting conservation and stewardship. (p.30) Climate change poses an urgent and severe threat to our national security, and Democrats believe it would be a grave mistake for the United States to wait for another nation to take the lead in combating the global climate emergency … In the first 100 days of the next administration, the President will convene a summit of the world’s best engineers, climate scientists, policy experts, activists, and indigenous communities to chart a course to solve the climate crisis. (p.45)
LP Competitive free markets and property rights stimulate the technological innovations and behavioral changes required to protect our environment and ecosystems. Private landowners and conservation groups have a vested interest in maintaining natural resources. Governments are unaccountable for damage done to our environment and have a terrible track record when it comes to environmental protection. Protecting the environment requires a clear definition and enforcement of individual rights and responsibilities regarding resources like land, water, air, and wildlife. Where damages can be proven and quantified in a court of law, restitution to the injured parties must be required.
RNC Conservation is inherent in conservatism. As the pioneer of environmentalism a century ago, the Republican Party reaffirms the moral obligation to be good stewards of the God-given natural beauty and resources of our country. We believe that people are the most valuable resources and that human health and safety are the proper measurements of a policy’s success. We assert that private ownership has been the best guarantee of conscientious stewardship, while some of the worst instances of degradation have occurred under government control. (p.20-1) The environment is too important to be left to radical environmentalists… using yesterday’s tools to control a future they do not comprehend. The environmental establishment has become a self-serving elite, stuck in the mindset of the 1970s, subordinating the public’s consensus to the goals of the Democratic Party. Their approach is based on shoddy science, scare tactics, and centralized command-and-control regulation. Over the last eight years, the Administration has triggered an avalanche of regulation that wreaks havoc across our economy and yields minimal environmental benefits. The central fact of any sensible environmental policy is that, year by year, the environment is improving. Our air and waterways are much healthier than they were a few decades ago… we have drastically reduced pollution, mainstreamed recycling, educated the public, and avoided ecological degradation. Even if no additional controls are added, air pollution will continue to decline for the next several decades due to technological turnover of aging equipment. These successes become a challenge for Democratic Party environmental extremists, who must reach farther and demand more to sustain the illusion of an environmental crisis. That is why they routinely ignore costs, exaggerate benefits, and advocate the breaching of constitutional boundaries by federal agencies to impose environmental regulation. At the same time, the environmental establishment looks the other way when environmental degradation is caused by the EPA and other federal agencies as was the case during the Animas River spill. (p.21)

 

comparing platforms environmentAs Christians, should we hand over responsibility for the environment to the government?

That’s not what God did.

He handed the environment over to Adam and Eve and blessed their ruling and subduing it.

It seems to me that we’ve gotten so good at giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s (Matthew 22:21) and demanding that our neighbors give “their fair share” to Caesar, that we’ve moved right along to giving to Caesar what is God’s. Look at the all the ways we’ve allowed the unaccountable and ungodly blob of government to infiltrate every blessing that God gave to Adam and Eve as two individuals.  Here’s the blessing:

Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground– everything that has the breath of life in it– I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

  • The blob of government has inserted mandated insurance coverage for birth control into the “be fruitful”
  • abortion into the “increase in number” with special needs babies and minorities considered the most deserving of death-by-mom-and-Uncle-Sam instead of helping to fill the earth.
  • The blob of government has inserted regulation upon regulation
  • and tax upon tax to tell everyone how to fill, rule, and subdue the earth.
  • There is no more ruling over the fish of the seas and birds of the air without having a higher court, an Endangered Species Act, or an EPA telling us what to do and how to do it.
  • And then taking us to court and establishing a fine for causing climate change.
Didn’t God give stewardship of the environment to responsible individuals, not to some unaccountable and political bureaucracy?

That’s why I’m still watching the Upper Des Plaines Watershed like a hawk as part of my ongoing ministry. I am an individual caring about our environment…just like my Lord and Savior Jesus did… ever since He created it in the beginning.

About Jesus, we read, Colossians 1: 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Maybe the world would be a better place if we all received God’s blessing with the individual responsibility for stewardship attached
… and we received it as individuals held accountable by God for it
… and didn’t just hand it off to the blob to do it for us,
thinking that giving it to Caesar was just good as each man or woman loving the Lord and doing it for God’s glory. 

Maybe we’ve just gotten too good at giving it all to Caesar so we don’t have to be bothered lifting a finger to care about the environment ourselves.

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Comparing Political Platforms (12) Taxation

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There are 3 things never to discuss in polite company: Money, Politics, and Religion. So today, we’ll go 3 for 3, and violate the entire etiquette trifecta to discuss taxation.

taxation comparing political platformsThe 16th Amendment. Few know the history, but everyone who works for a living, or did at one time, knows the consequences of taxation. “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”

It was adopted on February 3, 1913, and became a ratified part of The United States Constitution on February 25th of that year.

Who spends the money at your house? How does it get spent?

Take that and put it on steroids, this is what the power of taxation does for (or against) a country. This power has become increasingly complex and divisive and yes, political. Here are what the party platforms say about taxation:

DNC We will make sure Social Security’s guaranteed benefits continue for generations to come by asking those at the top to pay more, and will achieve this goal by taxing some of the income of people above $250,000. (p.4) The Democratic Party ..will cut the red tape that holds back small businesses and entrepreneurs. We will open up access to credit because we know that small businesses are some of the best job creators in our country. We will provide tax relief and tax simplification. And we will expand access to new markets because every American small business should be able to tap new markets — whether across their city, across their state, or around the world. (p.10) We support a financial transactions tax on Wall Street to curb excessive speculation and high-frequency trading, which has threatened financial markets. (p.11) At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, we believe the wealthiest Americans and largest corporations must pay their fair share of taxes…We will end deferrals so that American corporations pay United States taxes immediately on foreign profits and can no longer escape paying their fair share of U.S. taxes by stashing profits abroad (p.12-13) We will ensure those at the top contribute to our country’s future by establishing a multimillionaire surtax to ensure millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share…Democrats believe that no one should be able avoid paying their fair share by hiding money abroad, and that corrupt leaders and terrorists should not be able to use the system of international finance to their advantage. We will work to crack down on tax evasion and promote transparency to fight corruption and terrorism. And we will make sure that law-abiding Americans living abroad are not unfairly penalized by finding the right solutions for them to the requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). We will offer tax relief to hard working, middle-class families for the cost squeeze they have faced for years from rising health care, childcare, education, and other expenses. (p.13) We will protect and expand the right of Americans with disabilities to get the accommodations and support they need to live in integrated community settings. We will improve access to meaningful and gainful employment for people with disabilities. We will provide tax relief to help the millions of families caring for aging relatives or family members with chronic illnesses or disabilities. (p.19) Democrats believe that we need to end corruption worldwide and increase transparency. We will fight corruption, promote good governance, and support the rule of law. We will also seek to close offshore tax havens, which corrupt rulers, individuals, and corporations exploit to shelter ill-gotten gains or avoid paying taxes at home. (p.47)
LP Libertarians want all members of society to have abundant opportunities to achieve economic success. A free and competitive market allocates resources in the most efficient manner. Each person has the right to offer goods and services to others on the free market. The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society….

 

All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor. We call for the repeal of the income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution. We oppose any legal requirements forcing employers to serve as tax collectors. Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced Budget Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution, provided that the budget is balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, and not by raising taxes.
RNC Republicans consider the establishment of a pro-growth tax code a moral imperative. More than any other public policy, the way government raises revenue — how much, at what rates, under what circumstances, from whom, and for whom — has the greatest impact on our economy’s performance. It powerfully influences the level of economic growth and job creation, which translates into the level of opportunity for those who would otherwise be left behind. Getting our tax system right will be the most important factor in driving the entire economy back to prosperity. The current tax code is rightly the object of both anger and mockery. Its length is exceeded only by its complexity. We must start anew. That will be an enormous undertaking and, if it is to succeed, it must command the attention and approval of the American people. It cannot be engineered from the top down, but must have a common sense approach, and be simplified. (p.1) Our proposal is straightforward. Wherever tax rates penalize thrift or discourage investment, they must be lowered. Wherever current provisions of the code are disincentives for economic growth, they must be changed. We will not divide the American people into winners and losers. We will eliminate as many special interest provisions and loopholes as possible and curb corporate welfare, especially where their erosion of the tax base has created pressure for higher rates. We will be mindful of the burdens on families with children and the impact on an aging population. We will seek simplicity and clarity so that every taxpayer can understand how much of their income is consumed by the federal government. We will welcome all to this enterprise — to discuss, debate, challenge, and amend — so that together we can restore economic growth for the American people and, even more important, renew their faith in the future. To ensure that past abuses will not be repeated, we assert these fundamental principles. We oppose retroactive taxation. We condemn attempts by activist judges at any level of government to seize the power of the purse from the people’s elected representatives by ordering higher taxes. We oppose tax policies that deliberately divide Americans or promote class warfare. Because of the vital role of religious organizations, charities, and fraternal benevolent societies in fostering generosity and patriotism, they should not be subject to taxation and donations to them should remain deductible. To guard against hypertaxation of the American people in any restructuring of the federal tax system, any value added tax or national sales tax must be tied to the simultaneous repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment, which established the federal income tax. (p.2)
In this series, we’ve been comparing the political platforms and what the Bible says about each topic because it moves us beyond personalities to ideas.  The bottom line is that it speaks to how a Christian can be in the world but not “of it.”

Using the simplicity of the Libertarian Platform as our structure, we will discuss the IRS under the topic of government, but for now let’s just look at what the Bible says about taxation.

In Genesis 41:33-38, we see the first recorded taxation.  It was designed for national security and the public good so that all might survive the famine.  It involved setting aside a portion of the harvest.

Next we see in Genesis 47:13-26, taxation under the rule of Pharaoh (v 26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh.)

The Bible records also a system of tithe (a tenth) that went for the Lord’s use (Lev 27:30-31) and to support the Levites whose living was made from serving the Lord (Num 18:21-24).

John MacArthur explains it this way: 

“The Israelites paid a tenth for their government, a tenth for their festivals, and another three and a third percent for welfare, or approximately 23 percent a year in taxes. That is not unlike the original tax that was begun in Egypt, which was twenty percent. The three tithes were important. The first one paid for the needs of those who governed the nation. The second one cultivated national life. And the third one took care of the poor, the orphans, and the widows. It was a welfare tithe. Those three tithes were collected off the top of everyone’s blessings and were used to strengthen the nation.”

Everyone’s blessings. Yes, even the poor’s.

It’s like what Jesus says about the poor widow. After talking about the evils of political financial and religious exploitation, Jesus says, Mark 12: 38, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.” 41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything– all she had to live on.”

Jesus didn’t stop this poor widow from contributing, but rather commended her actions. Why? Because money wasn’t her priority. Love for God and trusting Him is what motivated her.

So yes, the Bible tells us to pay our taxes. Romans 13:6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

It’s not just what we owe the government, though. When Jesus was asked explicitly about taxation, Matthew 22: 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

If the Church in America hadn’t been doing such a deplorable job of caring for the poor, we wouldn’t need Uncle Sam—the world’s worst replacement father and provider—to take far more than he needs to give far less than he could to actually helping the poor. Fifty years after the “war on poverty” was declared, the history confirms there are still poor among us.  Jesus was right when He said,

Mark 14:7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.

Christians in America must move beyond simply writing a check to the IRS and believing an increasing obligation there is good enough.  We must “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

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