Render Unto Caesar

I recently ran across this comment on another blog (actually, the topic under discussion didn’t really have anything to do with what appears here; the discussion had sort of gone off on a tangent, and I didn’t want to comment there and add to any confusion):

The State is given the power of the sword, and it is for that reason we pay taxes. To tax some in order to provide "benefits" for others is not only inefficient (bureaucracies cost enormous sums to sustain), which is bad stewardship, but it is also a form of theft, in addition to taking from people the blessing of providing charity individually in the name of Christ.

I really had to take issue with parts of this. Now, I hate to pay taxes as much as anyone else. On April 15^th as I begrudgingly write my check to Uncle Sam, I think about all the terrible ways that my hard-earned money will be wasted rather than what good might happen with it. However, although government bureaucracies can indeed be very inefficient and even wasteful, many needy Americans get some services that they need because I pay my taxes.

I have heard many people say that it isn’t fair (and that it’s even thievery) for the government to take money out of the hands of hardworking people and give it to others who haven’t lifted a finger to earn it, and to an extent I agree with this idea. Paul taught against idleness saying that whoever does not work should not eat (2 Thes. 3.10). I believe that able-bodied people who receive benefits from the government should do some kind of work, to the best of their ability, to earn their benefits, if only for a few hours each week. Everyone has some sort of skill or could perform some sort of task that could be utilized somewhere in society. A good example of how this works is with the organization Habitat for Humanity. People who receive a new house have to put in hours working on not only their house, but houses for others as well. As another example, on college campuses, students can participate in work-study programs, receiving partial scholarships for a few hours work on campus every week. Government agencies could implement work programs like these just as easily as private organizations can. In this way, recipients of benefits have the satisfaction of personal responsibility, and taxpayers have the satisfaction of knowing that their tax dollars are not enabling laziness and idleness.

Those of us who profess to believe in God have a responsibility to obey his commands. For Christians, Jesus said that the entire law can be summed up in “Love God with all your heart,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” One of the things that God repeatedly took issue with in the bible was when people overlooked the plight of the poor, foreigners, widows and orphans. (If you look up just the word widows, you’ll find that these four categories of people are almost always mentioned together in the OT.) In fact, God set up some laws to protect the interests of these disadvantaged people, and one of these laws was a 10% tax on crops to be paid every third year (Deut. 14.28-29). Now, we like to use the word “tithe”; it sounds so noble and holy, but let’s call it what it really was—it was a tax paid to the government of Israel, the leader of which just happened to be God and not an elected official. God even set up a “bureaucracy” (the Levites) to keep up with and dispense the tithes. So to imply that God does not endorse the use of taxation to help the disadvantaged is a misreading of the bible. (Incidentally, “bureaucracy” is not a negative word; here’s the definition: Administration of a government chiefly through bureaus or departments staffed with nonelected officials.)

Finally, to say that we are robbed of a blessing by having to pay taxes rather than to help others on our own is a false claim. In Romans 13.1-7, Paul discusses the need to obey the government and to pay taxes because God is the one who has put that government in place. Yes, some governments are corrupt. Yes, some government programs are ineffective. However, God is in control; he allowed those programs to be put into place, so it is our duty to support those programs with our taxes. We’ll be blessed when we do what we’re supposed to do. To think that we are doing a better service if we give to a charity instead of to the government is not necessarily correct either. Charities have levels of bureaucracy to ensure that monies are distributed properly, and even some of the best charities have been known to have problems. If we totally avoid any bureaucracy by giving directly to poor people, we aren’t being nearly as effective as larger organizations which have the ability to obtain large quantities of food or more services for less money.

I have to say that I am one of the first to criticize the government and how it does things, and I’ll say again that I hate paying taxes. But from now on when I begin to complain, I’m going to try to remind myself that God says that paying taxes is good. When I do what I’m supposed to do, I am blessed. After the money leaves my hands, God will deal with those who spend it.

Sorry this is so long.