Given how much they talk about Jesus, you think politicians would know more about what the Bible really says!
Because there are no flat taxes in the Bible. As far as God is concerned, when it’s time to pay, the wealthy pay more and the poor pay less.
For example, in the book of Leviticus the required offering for sin is laid out in extraordinary detail. The proper sacrifice for a guilt offering is a goat, a male goat, without blemish. A costly price indeed, which a “ruler” is required to give for their sin. An “ordinary” person, however, may give a female goat. Or a sheep. Or if they cannot afford that, two turtledoves. Or two pigeons. Or even one-tenth of an ephaph of flour. Whatever.
Because God’s law knows that not all people are created equal, at least not economically speaking. And in a just society, one modeled after God’s law, it is a given that those who are poor cannot afford the same as those who are rich.
But be not mistaken – this is about much, much more than protecting the poor. Though that is an extremely high priority in God’s reign, there is this other important concern – holding those who have been blessed with worldly riches to the highest responsibility for their position.
Jesus put it this way: “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” (Luke 12:48) Fair share, it turns out, means something entirely different in God’s eyes.
This saying of Jesus is a punch line to a story about an unfaithful servant who, having been left in charge while the Master was away, chose not to pay the other servants but beat them and used the Master’s money to eat and drink and be merry. It is a powerful and confrontational word to a world where the numbers of both truly poor people and truly wealthy people are both increasing, where the very few enjoy the luxuries of life while more and more and more go hungry every
day. We live in a world hurtling toward a devastating judgment, a world on the brink of self-destruction, a world that does not need an economic philosophy which asks merely the same of the rich as it does of the poor.
It is not enough that consumption taxes burden the poor more heavily than the rich, or that decreasing taxes on rich people and corporations will destroy services that the poorest people depend on. It is a question of whether or not we are willing to live up to what is expected of us - not according to our political philosophies or narrow self-interests, but the God from whom our wealth comes.
A world that reflects biblical justice must tilt toward greater responsibility on the part of those who have greater wealth. It is not that God hates wealth or wealthy people (though the Bible seems to not have much good to say about them) – it is
that God despises a world that worships the accumulation of wealth. “For
the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. (1 Timothy 6:10) Flat tax plans exist for only one reason – to protect the interests of wealthy people against the needs of the poor.
When it’s time to pay God, when it’s time to bear the burdens of supporting the needs of the whoe community, the wealthy must pay more. It’s God’s way, after all.
Because there are no flat taxes in the Bible. As far as God is concerned, when it’s time to pay, the wealthy pay more and the poor pay less.
For example, in the book of Leviticus the required offering for sin is laid out in extraordinary detail. The proper sacrifice for a guilt offering is a goat, a male goat, without blemish. A costly price indeed, which a “ruler” is required to give for their sin. An “ordinary” person, however, may give a female goat. Or a sheep. Or if they cannot afford that, two turtledoves. Or two pigeons. Or even one-tenth of an ephaph of flour. Whatever.
Because God’s law knows that not all people are created equal, at least not economically speaking. And in a just society, one modeled after God’s law, it is a given that those who are poor cannot afford the same as those who are rich.
But be not mistaken – this is about much, much more than protecting the poor. Though that is an extremely high priority in God’s reign, there is this other important concern – holding those who have been blessed with worldly riches to the highest responsibility for their position.
Jesus put it this way: “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” (Luke 12:48) Fair share, it turns out, means something entirely different in God’s eyes.
This saying of Jesus is a punch line to a story about an unfaithful servant who, having been left in charge while the Master was away, chose not to pay the other servants but beat them and used the Master’s money to eat and drink and be merry. It is a powerful and confrontational word to a world where the numbers of both truly poor people and truly wealthy people are both increasing, where the very few enjoy the luxuries of life while more and more and more go hungry every
day. We live in a world hurtling toward a devastating judgment, a world on the brink of self-destruction, a world that does not need an economic philosophy which asks merely the same of the rich as it does of the poor.
It is not enough that consumption taxes burden the poor more heavily than the rich, or that decreasing taxes on rich people and corporations will destroy services that the poorest people depend on. It is a question of whether or not we are willing to live up to what is expected of us - not according to our political philosophies or narrow self-interests, but the God from whom our wealth comes.
A world that reflects biblical justice must tilt toward greater responsibility on the part of those who have greater wealth. It is not that God hates wealth or wealthy people (though the Bible seems to not have much good to say about them) – it is
that God despises a world that worships the accumulation of wealth. “For
the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. (1 Timothy 6:10) Flat tax plans exist for only one reason – to protect the interests of wealthy people against the needs of the poor.
When it’s time to pay God, when it’s time to bear the burdens of supporting the needs of the whoe community, the wealthy must pay more. It’s God’s way, after all.
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