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, concerning whom cautions were declared—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. Where the common good required some common effort, neighbors joined together under their leaders to do the job.
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, a modern application of the practice of common concern briefly sketched above.
However, it’s not overstepping bounds to look at the example of the tithe as a way of thinking about the logic which should guide 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 yet 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, and has been urged by politicians in recent years—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 amount to 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 tithe—even those with very little or modest means—expectations of the services government should supply would be moderated, and the tendency of governments to seek more power through increased proportional taxation would be curbed. Local needs currently provided by a distant national government might more efficiently be met by the rule of common concern, with churches taking the lead in caring for their neighbors.
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 at the expense of those who pay more. They frustrate individual responsibility for the management of wealth, diminish the role of local governments, undermine the law of common concern, 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, not just of taxation, should be opposed by those who seek an economics of grace and justice rather than one of governmental intrusiveness and material prosperity. Love for God and neighbor requires that even in the area of taxes we must seek the will of God and learn to live within the parameters of justice He has outlined in His Law.
For reflection
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? Seek the Lord on this matter. Make some notes of your own. Then get with a friend to share what you’ve been learning in this series.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: In our Scriptorium series on Ephesians we will work through chapter 3. Our Read Moorepodcast takes up the question of what it means to “know” Jesus. Do we really know Him? This week our Crosfigell teaching lettertraces the beginnings of Brigit’s ministry in 6th-century Ireland. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
