Render Unto Caesar...

The other day a scripture verse popped into my head and got me thinking about the relationship between the Church and the government.

When the Pharisees asked Jesus, in an attempt to trick Him, whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar, Jesus answered after showing them a Roman coin, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." (Matt 20:21 KJV)

One of the debates over the meaning of this verse is in regards to whether this means that we should pay our taxes, obey laws passed by our government, and acknowledge the authority that our government and leaders represent. The apostle Paul, in writing to the church at Rome said, "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." (Rom 13:1 NIV)

Jesus also had much to say about how His followers were to treat others. Admonitions to love your neighbor (and your enemies,) to feed the poor, and to show mercy and kindness to the alien were things that Jesus told his followers to do. Who were His followers? Who are His followers today? Isn't it the body of believers that we commonly refer to as the Church? Didn't Jesus tell the Church that it was its responsibility to do these things? Does the Church today believe that it is still its responsibility?

Clearly, Jesus (and Paul) made distinctions between the Church and the governing authorities.

Today, there are many Christians in the US that believe that it is incumbent upon the government, through the taxing of its citizens, to fund and implement policies in order to fulfill the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus never told His followers to send money to Rome to accomplish what He clearly was holding His Church (His followers) accountable for. Somewhere along the way, we have, for the most part, replaced the Church with the Government when it comes to taking care of those whom Jesus told us to take care of.

Some Christians argue that the US government should have policies and programs in place to fulfill various social issues because that is what Jesus told His followers to do. But why the government and not our own Churches? And isn't it true that by making all citizens pay for these social programs, we are imposing Christian values on US citizens that may not necessarily embrace Christian teachings? When did the US government become a proxy for the Church?

I am all for Christians (which includes me) to follow the teachings and obey the commands of our Lord when it comes to how we are to treat and take care of those around us that are in need. I'm just a little uncomfortable when we outsource that job to Caesar.

Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the KING JAMES VERSION (KJV): KING JAMES VERSION, public domain

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan

Is he shouting "fire" in a crowded theater?

I'm sure you are familiar with the phrase "you can't shout 'fire' in a crowded theater." The phrase is a free speech metaphor that suggests that there are some things spoken that are so harmful that they are not protected by free speech rights. The actual quote comes from a legal opinion by Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr. regarding the 1919 case of  Schenck v. United States. What he actually wrote as a part of his opinion was "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic." Note the key word...falsely. The commonly spoken phrase today usually leaves out the word "falsely." If there was a fire in the theater, it would certainly be appropriate to warn everyone in the theater.

Tell me if you have heard this phrase recently..."the rich are not paying their fair share of taxes." When you hear this said, do you believe the statement to be true? If not, then the phrase probably irritates you because you disagree with it. But what if you believe it to be true? How do you react to the statement?

There are many in politics that have said or repeated this declaration. I would think that many of those that promote this position sincerely believe it to be true. For purposes of this discussion, I don't think it matters whether those that speak it (or shout it) actually believe it to be true. Politicians say things from time to time solely for political purposes (or political theater...no pun intended.)

Here is my question. Is it potentially dangerous to repeatedly shout "the rich are not paying their fair share of taxes?" If you are not "rich" how does that statement make you feel if you hear it over and over? Does your attitude towards people that are better off than you begin to change? Do you begin to get angry or frustrated towards people that are more financially well off than you? Is it possible that some people will decide to take matters into their own hands?

The comedian Adam Carolla is recorded on You Tube with a 7-1/2 minute video where he rants against the Occupy Wall Street movement. If you decide to listen to it, I would recommend the so-called "cleaned up" version. You have been duly warned. One part of the rant describes a change in the times (I am paraphrasing...) " 'Back in the day' a father and son are walking down the street and the richest guy in town drives by in his Rolls Royce. The father tells his son [with admiration] 'there goes Mr. Jenkins...he works hard, he built a company...built an empire...look at that Rolls Royce'."

Contrasting that sentiment with today when, seeing Mr. Jenkins drive by in his big fancy Rolls Royce, the dad asks his son [with a whiny voice] "see that car, why does he need that car, why does he get to drive that car?...let's go throw a rock at him." Carolla suggests that attitude isn't going to help Dad get out of that Chevette he drives.

If politicians continue to shout "the rich are not paying their fair share of taxes" does that not begin to cause a real problem in our collective society? Do we really want to pit one income class against another? I don't know about your town, but it seems like every day I read about another home burglarized or another home invasion. Don't have a 55" 3d TV of your own? Well, why not just take it out of the home of one of those "rich" people. Rather than admire the beautiful Corvette in the restaurant parking lot, I think I will just drag my key down the side of the car because he has something that I want to have but cannot afford.

Falsely shouting fire in a crowded theater is dangerous. In their panic, people can get hurt.

Continuing to shout things that appear to be intended to demonize a portion of our citizenry is equally dangerous. Pitting one group against another does harm. Just look at what is going on all around us. It's time to stop this harmful speech.

Keeping up with the Joneses

The Joneses' house

You might have heard that Congress and the White House are trying to see if their credit card company will increase their credit limit (of course, they control the credit card company)   ...seems they need to charge some more stuff but the credit card is maxed out. From their conversation I gather they also think that maybe they might need to cut back on spending a wee bit. Some up in Washington think that some Americans (and businesses) have more than they need and should have to give it (by way of higher taxes) to the government to help make some of the credit card payments and buy more stuff. I've got another idea. You know all of us pay sales tax and property tax but, darn it...we all pay the same rates (in the same jurisdiction, of course.) Not being progressive taxes, the only thing that keeps the tax burden from being equal is how much we buy and how big our house is. I know those rich people already pay more in property taxes because their houses are valued higher but that's not really enough. I think people with those big houses and mansions should also pay a higher millage rate than the 3 BR 2 BA folks like me. I mean, who needs 6000 sq. ft. anyway...and a pool? Seems unfair don't ya think? Yeah, I used to want a bigger and better house as I was coming up the ol' ladder but now I see the error of my ways. Why can't we all have the same size house? I know that will never happen but we can certainly make sure those fat cats in those mansions pay more. We don't need to keep up with the Joneses...we need the Joneses to keep up with us!! By the way, a couple of my neighbors work for Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones started his business 30 years ago and worked 60-70 hour weeks building it into something that now employs about 100 people. But he sure has a big house. I wonder how much his taxes are? Not enough I'm sure.