God and Taxes.

A letter to the IRS

Dear Internal Revenue Service,

I am filing my 1040 here. As you will see, I made $9,600 this past year, and found that according to the 1040 form, I owe $324.44 of that to federal taxes. While I am glad to contribute money to the common good and towards things that promote life and dignity, especially for the poor and most vulnerable people among us, I am deeply concerned that 30 percent of the federal budget goes towards military spending, with $117 billion going to support the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. (Further, when we include the 18 percent that goes towards past military costs, such as the $380 billion in debt payments, 80 percent of which are military related debts, that number goes up to a total military budget of $1,372 billion — nearly half of the federal budget). My Christian faith and my human conscience require me to respectfully reserve the right not to kill, and to refrain from contributing money towards weapons and the military.

For this reason, I am enclosing a check for $227.11, which is, according to the form, 70 percent of what I owe. The remaining $97.33 represents 30 percent of my tax payment, the amount that would go toward military spending. I will donate this remaining 30 percent to a recognized U.S. nonprofit organization working to bring peace and reconciliation.  My faith also compels me to submit to the governing authorities, which is why I am writing you respectfully and transparently here. I am glad to discuss this further if you have any questions.

May we continue to build the world we dream of,

Shane Claiborne (excerpt from Sojourners' God's Politics Blog, 4-11/2011)

There is one Christian's response to taxation in a democracy.  Thank you,Shane Claiborne, for giving us something to think about.  Jesus gives us another:  Give to the ruler what belongs to the ruler and give to God what belongs to God.   I’m sure Jesus had no money at all. He had to ask to see a coin.  For the poor who have no money, what do they owe the government who prints it?  And to give God what belongs to God is perhaps to say that everything belongs toGod for God made it.  So what does not belong to God, including the things that belong to the ruler?  Including the ruler himself, made in God’s image, created by the creator.   

Churches are exempt from paying certain taxes.  Ministers are too.  I pay taxes, though.   My meager taxes  do pay government salaries and war bills and legislation I don’t agree with. My taxes support wall street bail outs and corporate greed.  And my  taxes support state food purchasing programs that allow us to purchase $5,000 of food relief for our neighbors.  Government partners with God in the food ministry we offer here.  Not every tax dollar is corrupted. Not every tax dollar is stewarded for God’s purposes because human intervention in God’s business does not always go according to plans.  And yet, somehow even the execution of God’s Son, the Lord of heaven and earth, turns out right.  So it is okay to entrust tax dollars to the government, when we believe that God is the Lord of all.  More importantly this text (Gospel of Matthew, ch. 22:1-15)  raises the question: what belongs to God, what belongs to the governing authorities and what responsibility do I have toward them both?   In the first century world it was less complicated.  Roman imperial government and the U.S. democratic republic are not the same thing. There are similarities.  Money symbolizes and sponsors power.  Militancy and war maintain a fear-induced peace.   We need good government.  The necessity of government is up for discussion these days with different takes on that.  I think government is called to protect the vulnerable, to defend the powerless, and to create the potential for peace.   Citizens must establish government that is effective in doing these things.  When the government protects the powerful, the wealthy, and the strong, while punishing the vulnerable and the poor, Christians must respond.   Sometimes governments, both federal and state, back the wrong horse. But if Christians don’t speak out and speak for the poor, we disobey God and fail to follow Jesus.  This is not easy.  We hope that wiser people represent the welfare of all of their constituents in Harrisburg and Washington.  But so often it seems like reelections and top donors take precedence over doing what is right and fair and just.  The wealthy are getting wealthier and the poor are getting poorer in the US. This is not so in the developing world, where extreme global poverty has been significantly reduced.   This is a difficult time for the U.S. , when there is 10% unemployment and government safety net programs for lower income citizens are threatened.  Reactionary movements, like the tea party and Occupy Wall Street, embody the popular opinion that something deep within our system has to change.   An election cycle may not be enough to change the situation we are in.  2008 and 2010 do not seem to have brought the change we need.  Maybe getting the "right" man or woman in the oval office or in the congress is not the change we need.  I am not suggesting that we do not vote. I am suggesting that voting is not enough.  Maybe the change is more personal first. Maybe an equitable and sustainable economy that assures that all people have what they need for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness requires something more of you and me.   Maybe it starts with you and me wrestling with the question:  Whose is this? Mine?  Caesars?  God’s?  What difference does that make? What priorities must shift?  What habits must be broken in order to realize the truth that Jesus spoke so simply to the wealthier powers of his day?  Give to God what belongs to God.  Start with your possessions and your heart will follow.  Amen.