Life Matters - May 22, 2024
‘’The art of taxation consists of so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers with the least possible amount of hissing.’’ (attr. to J.B. Colbert) While taxation is a necessary part of governing to provide finances for the keeping of order, for infrastructure, for the enforcing of laws, and to pay the governing body itself, none of us would enjoy the feeling of being ‘’plucked’’ bare, nor of being ‘’fleeced’’ by the rough hands of government bureaucracy. A government bureaucracy that is good when it stays in its own God-given order and dangerous to its constituents when it goes where it has no business nor God-given right to go; the realm of spirits and the changing of laws: when it sets itself up as a god itself and in a place where God alone belongs. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
When government attempts to bend the laws of nature to its own will instead of bending its own will to the laws of nature, and to God who wove them into the tapestry of His creation, the paying of taxes does indeed become a burden. A burden whose yoke becomes heavier in equal proportion to the fear of God being downplayed, or systematically removed, only to be replaced by a snare called the fear of man.
The fear of God brings understanding of God’s ways, as it keeps our understanding aligned with His. As a good woodworker knows, it does one no good to work against the nature of wood, he must learn to work with wood and not against it. He must learn to understand wood, its natural bent and idiosyncrasies, then to work in freedom within those confines. Those confines are unchangeable. Within those confines are many and varied artistic, architectural, variations that set one free to create outside the bounds of ignorance and within the bounds of knowledge. Happy is the woodworker who understands the limitations of wood, as he understands also his own abilities to create useful and beautiful items for the benefit of his fellow travelers, while making a living for himself and those in his care, his family. And, happy is the person fulfilling God’s purpose for his or her life, within the bounds of God’s will.
Family was created by God. Family was God’s idea. Man, woman, marriage, children, was and is, God’s design. There is much freedom within that design where God can still bless His creation while yet striving to guide toward His end goal. To be a new creation in Christ, a family of new creations, where “old things have passed away, and behold all things have become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17 ) In not making us robots, God has limited Himself to calling us by His grace. To calling us by His severity, if need be.
Government has no right, nor the ability, to change even one iota, much less an entire framework of natural law, of God’s creation. Nor do churches. While church leaders fall over themselves to get into goosestep formation with liberal left-wing government’s redefining of what constitutes a family and its structure, many are still—and God bless each one—being drawn to a greater appreciation of God’s Word. May that appreciation continue, and grow exponentially, even outpacing the forces against it.
Family structure is not the only artistic edifice suffering from the devil’s attack these days. “There is nothing new under the sun.” The very soul of man is under attack, as it always has been, since the garden of Eden, through the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” (I John 2:16) Family structure, being the governing jewel of God’s creation, is under constant attack by the devil, through his minions. As it always has been, only to the degree he dares try it, lest he be exposed for who he is when his seething hatred for family comes to light. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you, draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.” (James 4:7)
On the subject of taxes, I am thankful that Jesus instructs us to “give unto Ceasar the things that are Ceasar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” Else I would struggle to know if it’s right to pay taxes considering all the “pork barrel” spending, passed off as “infrastructure” then ‘’flying under the radar,’’ now attempting to fund perverse activities contrary to both the Bible and the laws of nature. I am also thankful for the checks and balances of God-fearing government officials attempting to “stave off” such Godless waste. Let us give the very best of our “feathers’’ and ‘’fleece,’’ our very life in surrender, to Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Our life, after all is said and done, belongs to our King of kings and Lord of lords.
Life Matters!