Render Unto Caesar That Which is Caesar's

Dear Friends:

Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” ”Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. [Matthew 22:15-22]

You don’t hear much from the pulpit about taxes, but we should not forget that it was oppressive taxation which ignited the American Revolution. Sure, we were taught that the war started because of “taxation without representation”, but I ask you, if the taxes were not oppressive in the first place, would our forefathers have even cared whether they were represented?

Let’s review our history. The year is 1765 – eleven years before declaring our independence from Britain. Parliament imposed a small tax on colonial paper. It was called the Stamp Act. Official transactions had to be printed on taxed paper. So did newspapers. So did playing cards. The paper had to receive an official government stamp from tax collectors who were sent to the colonies.

The response was immediate. “We shall not submit to such tyranny!” Tax collectors were chased out of town, tarred and feathered by mobs, and otherwise treated in ways that would get you ten years in jail today. It was a widespread tax revolt. Most colonists decided that they were not going to pay the tax. One year later, Parliament backed down and repealed the Stamp Act. Clearly, the colonists of 1765 saw the tax imposed by the Stamp Act as oppressive.

The very next year, in 1767, Parliament passed the Townsend Act which imposed lots of taxes on imported goods. Unlike the Stamp Act, the colonists did not consider as oppressive the taxes imposed by the Townsend Act and consequently, did not resist.

The one exception took place in 1768, when customs agents impounded one of John Hancock’s ships. Three years earlier, back in 1765, John Hancock had inherited a shipping company from his uncle making him the richest man in New England. In response to his ship being impounded by British customs agents, Hancock organized protests by writing letters attacking taxation and the quartering of British troops in cities. The resulting riots in Boston persuaded the governor to call in the British Navy. The presence of the Navy and British troops in Boston was a constant irritant to the people who lived there. The troops stayed until March, 1776, some eight years later. On the other hand, the Townsend duties lasted five years and were eventually repealed in 1770, except for a symbolic duty on tea.

Sam Adams saw an opportunity for some political mischief and in December, 1773, he persuaded a group of colonial tea merchants to conduct what has become known as the Boston Tea Party. The merchants dressed up as Indians, boarded a ship belonging to the British East India Company, and tossed a bunch of their tea overboard into the harbor of Boston. The British retaliated by closing the port of Boston which gave Adams a chance to organize a national protest. On April 19, 1775, the American Revolution began in Concord, Massachusetts, when colonists shot and killed British troops in a successful effort to protest the tax on tea.

So, what the colonists considered as excessive taxation ignited the American Revolution. The truth is, however, the total tax burden imposed by the British Empire on the colonies at the outset of the American Revolution was approximately 1% of income in the North, and about 2.5% in the South. It was over this “intolerable tax tyranny” that Americans fought and died for seven years.

Now, it is important to note that our forefathers were not poor, oppressed individuals. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Sam Adams – they were all men of means – wealthy men. Yet, they felt so strongly about these “excessive taxes” that they were willing to risk everything they had to oppose them – even their very lives. Think about it, had the American Revolution failed, do you think that the King of England would have allowed these men to carry on their respective businesses? Of course not, the King would have had these men thrown into prison and probably executed.

The fact that our forefathers fought for their independence from England in response to oppressive taxation raises several questions, however. Was the revolution justified by Scripture? If not, then what should be the Christian’s response to oppressive taxation?

Let’s look to our life manual which contains several examples of oppressive taxation. It is important to note that in each instance, the oppressive taxation was a result of that nation’s apostasy. In other words, the Bible teaches us that when a nation rejects God as its provider and savior, the result is oppressive taxation.

You should further take note that oppressive taxation is not the problem, it is a symptom of the problem. It is an indicator that a nation has rejected God.

Let us consider the story of Joseph. He was the favored son of his father, Jacob. And his brothers hated him because of it. His brothers hated him so much that they plotted to murder him, but Rueben convinced the other brothers not to and so Joseph was sold as a slave to a band of Ishmaelites and wound up in Egypt.

Now Egypt was not a Christian nation. They did not worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Rather, the Egyptians worshipped Pharaoh as their god. The people of Egypt looked to Pharaoh as their provider and savior.

As if things weren’t bad enough for Joseph, he was eventually thrown in jail for something he did not do.

But Joseph had a knack for interpreting dreams. And the Pharaoh had some dreams that even the smartest men in Egypt could not interpret. But Joseph did.

According to Joseph, Pharaoh’s dreams meant that Egypt would experience seven years during which food would be plentiful followed by seven years of terrible drought. But Joseph did not merely interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, he also outlined a plan to overcome the disastrous effects of a drought. What an opportunist!

Pharaoh bought into Joseph’s plan and as a result, Pharaoh made him the second most powerful man in Egypt subject only to the Pharaoh. Joseph was only thirty years old at the time. Joseph’s task was to collect food during the seven good years and store it for use in the seven years of drought so that the people of Egypt would not starve.

So, for the next seven years, Joseph confiscated food from the people of Egypt. In fact he confiscated a fifth of all that was produced during the seven years of plenty. A fifth – that’s 20% – two times the tithe. A 20% tax on production. Think about what is happening here. Pharaoh – the government – through his appointed agent – Joseph – forcibly confiscated 20% of all the food produced by the people for seven years – all based upon one man’s interpretation of some dreams. Does that sound reasonable? And remember, Joseph was a Jew – a foreigner – who came to Egypt as a slave. Furthermore, Joseph was a criminal – although wrongly accused – but nevertheless we would consider him a criminal because of his time spent in prison. What if our President declared war on another country based upon a criminal’s interpretation of the President’s dreams? Why, he would be immediately subjected to impeachment proceedings, wouldn’t he? Well, those sort of things happen when you place your faith in the government, rather than our Creator.

As it turns out, however, Joseph was right. After seven good years, a drought hit. And was it a drought. In fact, it was so terrible that the people of Egypt completely forgot about the seven good years. Isn’t it interesting how the bad things in life can sometimes make us forget about the good things in life?

So, Joseph opened up the warehouses and sold grain to the people. Did you catch that? The government forcibly confiscated the people’s property and then made the people pay to get it back! Talk about a win-win proposition for the government!

So how did it end?

There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is used up.” ”Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock. When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. Why should we perish before your eyes – we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.” So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land. Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.” ”You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.” So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt – still in force today – that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s. [Genesis 47:13-26]

So, the people of Egypt ultimately became slaves to the government of Egypt. Why? Because they did not look to God as their provider and savior, but rather looked to Pharaoh – a man. There is no neutrality. Either God is our provider, or man is.

Let’s consider another example of oppressive taxation – the nation of Israel. After Moses led the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, he set up a government consisting of a hierarchy of judges – judges over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. The nation of Israel operated under this hierarchy of judges for about 400 years. During this period, the only tax levied by the government was the atonement tax which was a tax collected only during the taking of a census and only from males twenty years old and older because these were the only individuals counted during a census. The women and children were not counted. Each individual paid the exact same amount – a half shekel (about 28 cents in today’s currency). They each paid this amount irrespective of whether they were rich or poor. [Exodus 30:11-16] In addition to the atonement tax, the government also collected fines from law breakers. This atonement tax and the fines collected was all the revenue that the government needed to operate. And yet, the nation of Israel had everything they needed. They were living in the land of milk and honey.

After about 400 years had passed, the High Judge over Israel was a man named Samuel. Now, Samuel was a Godly man and an honest judge. But, many of the other judges were not, and corruption was widespread throughout the government. Such corruption is the result of apostasy. The people of Israel became weary of this corruption and asked Samuel to appoint a king as other countries have. In other words, the people of Israel wanted to be like the rest of the world, rather than a chosen people set apart from the other nations. In other words, the people of Israel rejected God as their provider and savior. When you reject God as your provider and savior, guess who steps up to take His place? Man.

Well, Samuel warned the people of what would happen when man takes the place of God.

This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day. [I Samuel 8:11-18]

Basically, Samuel warned the Israelites that rejecting God would result in oppressive taxation. And guess what, it did. Solomon, the third king of Israel, placed heavy tax burdens upon the people in order to build his magnificent temple, as well as all of his palaces for his 500 wives, and other majestic and extravagant buildings throughout Israel.

After Solomon died, and his son, Rehoboam, succeeded him as king, the people of Israel came to Rehoboam and asked him to give them relief from the heavy tax burden that Solomon had placed upon the people. But Rehoboam would not reduce the burden, and instead, made the burden heavier. He told the people, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” [I Kings 12:14] And the people of Israel rebelled. Rehoboam was left as king only of the people who lived in the territory of Judah. Rehoboam never had the opportunity to be king over the whole nation of Israel.

So, we see that oppressive taxation also leads to rebellion and division among God’s chosen people.

Where are we today? Do you believe that the taxes imposed upon us by our various levels of government are oppressive? According to the organization Americans for Tax Reform, for the year 2010, July 31 marked the day upon which the average Mississippi resident earned enough to pay for his or her share of government spending – federal, state, and local – plus the cost of government regulation. That amounts to about 58% of your gross income. In 2009, cost of government day for Mississippians was July 18, or about 55% of gross income. And in 2008, the cost of government day was June 30, or about 50% of gross income.

To put it another way, during the year 2010, we were Uncle Sam’s slaves from January 1 through July 31. How much longer before we are Uncle Sam’s slaves all year long?

The Bible is clear: When the civil government collects as much in taxes as God demands in the form of a tithe – 10% – the nation has moved into tyranny. It has moved in the direction of Egypt, and remember, the Egyptian citizens willingly placed themselves in bondage to the government. To get back to the tyranny of Egypt – 20% of production – the various levels of government today would have to cut taxes by more than half. So again, do you believe that the taxes imposed upon us by our various levels of government are oppressive?

Concerning the Israelites in Samuel’s era, it is important to note that they wanted a change in administration. They wanted a highly centralized government. They wanted all authority in one man – the king. They voted for it. And they got what they asked for.

How much like those Israelites are we today? We keep looking to the government to provide for us. Think about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. To whom did the people look for salvation from that devastating hurricane? The government.

What about all the flooding in the Midwest? Again, people looked for salvation to come from the government.

What about health care. People, even well meaning Christians, think that it is the government’s responsibility to fix the health care system. Same goes for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the farm program, education, poverty, etc.

Remember, oppressive taxation is not the problem – it is a symptom. Much like a fever is a symptom of a greater problem – an infection of some sort. You can treat the fever – the symptom – but the problem will not go away. Likewise, you can treat oppressive taxation directly by lowering the tax rates, but until you treat the problem – a general rejection of God – oppressive taxation will only become more oppressive.

We must turn our back on man as our provider and savior, and return to God. That’s what repentance is all about. To turn around – to move in the opposite direction – to change your heart. The Bible says, “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” [II Chronicles 7:13-14]

Therefore, to return to God we must do four things. First, as a nation, we must humble ourselves. As a nation, we must submit all things to our Creator who has endowed us with certain unalienable rights. As a nation, we must openly and publicly acknowledge His power and His authority over us and over His creation.

Second, as a nation, we must pray. As a nation, we must get on our knees before our Creator and confess our sins against Him. Then, as a nation, we must beg His forgiveness.

Third, as a nation we must openly and overtly seek our Creator’s face. As a nation, we must relearn what God’s Word says concerning the proper place and the proper authority of government. As a nation, we must rediscover the legitimate authority which our Creator has granted to government. And, as a nation, we must implement God’s commands concerning the legitimate authority of government. We must reestablish the display of the Ten Commandments in our court rooms, and on all government property.

Finally, as a nation, we must turn away from our wicked ways. We must openly and overtly acknowledge that we are a Christian nation and those who do not approve can either change (be saved) or leave. There is no room for other religions. As a nation, we must repent of our evil deeds.

Only after these four steps are taken by us as a nation, as a people – openly, overtly, and publicly – will God heal our land. Only then, will our Creator restore us to the nation we were meant to be.

The Bible teaches us that “People do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” [Deuteronomy 8:3] And Jesus referred to this principle. [Matthew 4:4 & Luke 4:4] Our Creator is our provider and our savior, and we, as a nation, must recognize that fact or we will become slaves to Caesar – and God will not answer us when we cry out for relief from Caesar.

Respectfully,
Mark