Sittin' Up with the Dead Blog - Post 016 - Loophole Four - The Nuclear Option
Bible sanctioned excuses for ignoring rogue governments.
"Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's;
and unto God the things that are God's." -- Jesus Christ, Matthew 22:21
Shirley Reb: I call this verse, The Nuclear Option: If you can't keep the government from taking it, give it to God!"
Dead Ringer: Shirley, you jest!
Shirley Reb: Surely not. What if Jesus was being supernaturally clever? He knew everything was God's, but by stating His answer this way His enemies thought he was supporting Caesar thereby not giving them anything they could use to attack. This bought Him a little time until He had finished His ministry and was ready to give Himself up
Dead Ringer: Well, that's a two edged sword, you know. If you're going to say that, you have to admit that you, yourself, own nothing
Shirley Reb: Yeah, I knew you were going to say that. That's why I called it The Nuclear Option.
Dead Ringer: But is that all bad? What if it turns out that is exactly the attitude the Lord expects us to take? Could you live with the idea that all that you have belongs to God? That the whole idea of "inalienable rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" was a false premise? What if we are put on this earth to serve God, not pursue happiness? What if "the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever?" What if serving God was the only true Way to pursue Happiness?
What if the only reason you needed Life and Liberty was to serve God effectively?
Shirley Reb: Uh, then I could deny it to the government as long as I didn't keep it for myself?
Dead Ringer: Exactly! That's actually the law (for now). Giving God what is God's is tax deductible!
Shirley Reb: Oh, so now we're in "Go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor" mode?
Dead Ringer: Well, I guess that would work -- if the tax enforcers believed it. But is that the best way to use the resources the Lord has given you? Turn right around and give them away? Remember the Parable of the Talents?
Shirley Reb: Yeah. I guess simply giving the Lord all of His money back in the collection plate could be construed as what the "unprofitable servant" with only one talent did -- he didn't make out so good with that approach...
Dead Ringer: Exactly! If we are to assume that we are to use the resources the Lord has given us to "return a yield", 30, 60 or a 100 fold, how does that change our view of giving it all away or rendering over half of it to Caesar?
Shirley Reb: You're gonna make me wait until the next post for that aren't you?
Dead Ringer: Shirley, not! The loophole is clear. Any government law that infringes on your ability to “return a yield” for the Lord brings us right back to what Peter and John said to the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:
“Judge for yourselves whether it is better to obey God or men…”
Shirley Reb: So you’re saying this gives me a morally unimpeachable way to reject rendering to Caesar the things of God!
Dead Ringer: As long as you make sure you actually render them to God.
Shirley Reb: But, but, but, how does that allow me to keep what is rightfully mine when an overreaching government tries to steal or coerce, abusing their God-given monopoly on force?
Dead Ringer: Who said anything about anything being rightfully yours? :o)
I'm really loving this series, Stan.
Todays's episode brings up the question of people who commit heinous crimes because "God told me to do it".
How do you, in your mind, differentiate between God telling Abraham (as one example - but I could also have used a number of mass slaughters perpetrated by the invading Israelis into the Promised Land)
and, say, the mother who drowns her children in the bathtub because "God told her to" (I am too lazy to look up the reference but can assure you that it was an actual reported event in your country. In my own country we had a psychotic travelling in a bus decapitate a fellow passenger on "God's" instructions.
Getting down to the personal, I do not support any national or international level of government - but not on the "God told me to do it" level of justification but because they offend my conscience and critical thinking by their claims vs actions. I consider myself to be a Sovereign Individual that may delegate some of my sovereignty, at my discretion, to those I so choose (not those chosen for me). My allegiance is only to my own conscience directing my critical thinking - which is probably how I communicate or come into harmony with what you may be calling "God".
Thanks for the encouragement!
The issue you raise is the main problem with anyone who claims that they have a direct communication from God. God has indeed done that from time to time, but I sense that overt commands are very rare (although subtle hints are continuous). The overwhelmingly more likely case is that negative "voices" one is hearing in one's head are coming from one's own thoughts -- or someone much more sinister.
Of course, my standard answer is that true inspiration from God will never contradict His existing Scripture. (And refusing a suggestion based on quoting that conflicting Scripture is always a pretty safe bet.)
Matthew 4 shows how Jesus used Scripture to deal with such a "voice". Anyone rejecting what is written in Scripture is basically adrift with no concrete way to sort out who said what in that never ending 3-way "chat thread" we all have in our minds.