Grace Economics (2) (6)

“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD.”  Leviticus 27.30

Paying for government
The Law of God is silent concerning remuneration of public officials. Priests and Levites were to be supported by the tithe of the people in their communities. But it is not specified how the elders, judges, and local rulers – even the king – were to be supported.

Presumably, these people, being property owners like everyone else, except the priests and Levites, would have been working their land and realizing their provision from the stewardship of their property. This is perhaps the idea behind Solomon’s comment that a nation is blessed and happy when its rulers work on the land (Eccl. 5.9).

Moses’ counsel against the tendency of civil magistrates to accumulate wealth was intended to warn the people of Israel against revenue schemes that might foster just such problems (Deut. 17.16, 17).

Nor does the Law say anything about public works projects – highways, sewers, and the like. We can assume that those who, in ancient Israel, required walled cities for their wellbeing would simply have banded together to meet their needs without the civil magistrate having to levy some formal burden of taxation to accomplish the needed objective.

The propriety of taxes
At the same time, both Jesus and Paul affirmed the right of States to levy taxes upon the people they serve as agents of God’s good purposes (Matt. 22.21; Rom. 13.1-7). As States expanded and became more complex, and more services were required to support the needs of the governed, taxation became a logical and not unreasonable means of providing the revenue such services require.

However, it’s not too much to look at the example of the tithe as a way of thinking about the logic for tax policies. Graduated tax rates in this country have become the means for creating an entitlement society in which nearly half the population pay no income taxes at all and, thus, receive many services from the State at the expense of those who do pay taxes.

It’s not difficult to see how such a system of taxation can be used to curry favor and purchase political power, at the same time it creates resentment, fosters suspicion, and strains the national fabric.

A Biblical model?
In a flat-rate tax system – as in the tithe of ancient Israel – the wealthy would pay more, but really and not proportionately so. Their rate of taxation would be the same for every citizen, though their contribution would be more. Under such a system, all who benefit from the services of the State would pay a share appropriate to their income. As in ancient Israel, where the wealthy would have paid more in tithes, but all were expected to tithe at the same rate, so a flat-rate income tax system would ensure that each citizen paid an equal measure for the good benefits received from the State.

At the same time, since all were required to pay – even those with very little or modest means – expectations of what government should supply would be moderated, and the tendency of governments to seek more power through increased proportional taxation would be curbed.

Tax policies in America today are unjust and corrupt. They serve primarily the interests of those who hold political power and who make dependents of those who pay little or no taxes – increasingly, the majority of the population – at the expense of those who pay more. They frustrate individual responsibility for the management of wealth, diminish the role of local governments, and corrupt the social environment by breeding jealousy, greed, resentment, and anger.

The tax system that Americans endure today could bankrupt the nation’s future. Before it does, those who understand and practice grace economics should use their powers of persuasion to seek a better system for financing government as the servant of God for good.

All such unjust policies should be opposed by those who seek an economics of justice rather than of material prosperity. Love for God and neighbor require that even in the area of taxes we seek the will of God and learn to live within the parameters of justice He has outlined in His Law.

For reflection or discussion
1. Why are taxes necessary? Who should pay them? How can we guard against taxation becoming excessive?

2. If we don’t use something like the tithe as a model for our tax codes, where will we look to find one?

3. How are taxes susceptible to being hijacked for political purposes?

Next steps – Conversation: Government and economic activity have become inextricably entwined. Can Christians change this situation, if only within the Christian community? Get some friends together to share what you’ve been learning in this series, and to discuss these questions.

T. M. Moore

This week’s ReVision study is Part 7 of a 10-part series, “The Kingdom Economy.” You can download “Grace Economics (2)” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here. For a background study of Kingdom economics, order the book, The Kingdom Turn,  from our online store, and learn what it means to enter the Kingdom, not just talk about it.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.