You have heard it say, “Taxation is theft.” You have also heard it said, “Jesus approves of taxes.” I say to you that both of these are partly true and partly false, and it is important that we get it right. Neither point undoes the other.
First, taxation is theft. How is that true? Well, if theft is taking the property of another by force than all taxation is theft because it is all taking the property of another by force. How is it not true? In the same way that not all homicides are murder. That is, while murder is taking the life of another, and while capital punishment is taking the life of another, capital punishment is not murder. Taxation is just under certain limitations, just as taking the life of another is just in under certain limitations.
What are those limitations? Let me posit three. First, any taxation that is progressive is unjust. When God established a kind of “tax” for His kingdom, the tithe, He made certain that the more prosperous would pay more than the less. Ten percent of lots is more than ten percent of less. But the rate is the same. Second, any tax beyond ten percent is unjust. To demand more than God is to place oneself above God. Third, and perhaps most important, any tax taken to finance illegitimate functions is itself illegitimate.
When God established civil government He commissioned them to punish evildoers, giving them the power of the sword. He did not call them to be in the business of building empires, of educating citizens, of redistributing wealth. The cost of punishing evildoers is minimal compared to policing the world and providing cradle to grave security. Taxes taken to finance governmental interference where it does not belong are indeed theft.
Jesus commands that we render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and Paul commands us to give taxes to whom they are due. Amen. This does not mean, however, that all taxes are legitimate. Jesus also commands us, when someone strikes us on the face that we turn the other cheek. Would anyone honestly argue that such means that it is okay to slap someone’s cheek or that it would be wrong to object to cheek slapping?
Jesus approves of legitimate taxes, and commands that we pay even illegitimate taxes. But He no more approves of illegitimate taxes than He approves of theft. So we ought to pay our taxes, knowing some of it is theft and some of it not, while maintaining our liberty to object to those taxes that are theft. In turn, there is not a thing in the world wrong with minimizing one’s taxes, so long as one does so within the constraints of the law. Using legal “loopholes” or deductions is not only not sinful but is simple good stewardship.
Another tax day is nigh upon us. It’s frustrating and objectionable. I get that. But let us pay and object from a posture of obedience and of peace. Let us remember that the living God provides our daily bread, even when His rivals seek to take it from us.
I liked your post. However, you need to use a different illustration, for this statement is way off base.
“When God established a kind of “tax” for His kingdom, the tithe, He made certain that the more prosperous would pay more than the less.”
A tithe was not a tax.
Tithing According to Scripture
It only applied to God’s covenant people-Israel
• No gold, silver, coin, currency, or money of any kind was tithed;
• No increase from wages, a job, or business activities was tithed;
• If an Israelite raised animals, only cattle and sheep were tithed;
• Only the tenth animal was tithed, not the first;
• The tithe could only come from crops grown on the land promised to Abraham, and nowhere else;
• If an Israelite did not grow crops or raise animals, there was no tithe;
• Tithes must be given to a Levite;
• An Israelite partakes of the tithe given;
• Every seventh year was tithe-free;
• Tithes must be taken to the city of Jerusalem;
• Priests did not tithe.
“Unlike gravity, tithing is neither law, mandate, nor a spiritual principle irrevocably invoked in the beginning upon all of mankind by the Creator. Even when tithing was commanded under Mosaic Law, it did not apply to everything or everyone, many were its exceptions. Time was not tithed, nor was money or wages under its authority. All occupations, activities, and endeavors were not treated the same, and most need not heed the requirement to tithe. Only those involved in tithable occupations or activities were compelled to do so.
Every tenth fish from a fisherman’s catch was not tithed, nor what he received from its sale at the market. The tenth brick of a mason was not given as a tithe to the Levite, nor was a tenth given from what he earned from its sale. The artist’s tenth painting or sculpture was not brought to the Levite to be placed inside the storehouse. In addition, if you were a laborer, blacksmith, weaver, midwife, or craftsman, and received wages or payment in the form of weighted metals, coins, or goods, a tithe was not extracted from you, for the law of the tithe as commanded by Moses did not apply to you.”
– From soon to be published book: “A Scriptural Tithe: A Study of Christian Giving & Structure of the Church.”
Excellent point. My own point wasn’t so much about the tithe but that any ruler demanding more than our Maker is already way out of line. I look forward to this book. Is it yours?