How Would Jesus Vote on Initiative 695?

NOVEMBER ELECTIONS

This November we will be asked to vote on several issues. Westsiders will be electing a new mayor and city council. Eastsiders will be deciding on school bonds and if yesterday's editorial is prophetic, an additional levy to keep your recreational parks operating. But the most controversial issue that will be on ballots on both sides of the river-Initiative 695. In addition to reducing the fees that we pay for motor vehicle tags, the bill, if passed, will fundamentally change state government. It will abolish our representative form of government crafted by the founding fathers and replace it with direct democracy or government by popular vote. The supporters of Initiative 695 are appealing not only to the pocketbooks of the owners of motor homes, SUVs, and luxury cars but also to the voting public that has grown frustrated and weary with government leaders who do not appear to be listening and with politicians who spend other people's money on programs and projects to get themselves reelected. When you stand in the voting booth this November to mark your ballet and toy with your WWDJ wrist bracelet, I hope you seriously ponder the question what would Jesus do, because it is a matter that requires careful consideration.

 THE UNLIKELY ALLIANCE

Jesus was first confronted with the question of taxes by the unlikely alliance of the Pharisees and Herodians. What strange political allies these two groups had become. They stood at opposite ends of the political spectrum. It would be the ancient equivalent to the Teamsters and the Washington Association of Fruit Growers co-sponsoring a bill on labor relations. The Herodians were the political compromisors. There was no religious ideal so sacred, no moral belief so revered that could not be altered, amended, or ignored to protect their political and economic interests. They easily sacrificed principle for power. The Pharisees were the non-violent leftists. They were one stepped removed from the Zealots who advocated armed resistance rather than pay a tax with a coin that had engrave on it the head of a Roman emperor. The Pharisees were separatist. They avoided anything that could potentially contaminate them-morally, socially or spiritually. Notice that the Pharisees themselves do not go to Jesus. They sent their disciples. The true Pharisees would have nothing to do with the compromising Herodians. They allowed their disciples to work with the Herodians because these apprentices had not yet completed their training and taken their final vows of purity. It was still safe for them to engage in unholy alliances.

The dialogue between Jesus and the two groups is quite revealing and exposes more than their opinion about taxes; in the conversation both Jesus and his critics disclose their core values and beliefs. The Herodians and the disciples of the Pharisees initiate the conversation by complimenting Jesus. They say to him "teacher we know you are sincere, we know that you are a man of integrity, we know that you are not a people-pleaser." Ironically, they praised him for what they were not. They were not being sincere. Their purpose was to discredit not affirm. The Herodians were anything but men of integrity and the Pharisees religious legalism was entirely for show-they wanted the praise of men. Jesus sees through their hypocrisy and asks them, "Why are you testing me?" The word for testing is the same one used by Matthew to describe Jesus confrontation with Satan in the wilderness. It may indicate that Jesus, himself, senses the satanic influences and provides us with a cautionary warning.

Critics and doubters of the faith often raise legitimate soul searching questions. They also enjoy asking us questions that they know have no good answer.

Why does a loving God allow evil? 

If God is the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills, why doesn't he feed the hungry?

Can an all-powerful God create a rock that is too big to lift?

These questions may entertain the philosopher but they can never be satisfactorily answered and so are better left unanswered. We must realize that some skeptics approach matters of faith in hopes of discrediting us rather than searching for truth.

THE QUESTION OF TAXES

The religious challengers pose the question a double edged question-is it lawful to pay taxes? It is more than about obeying the laws of the state. "The question asks whether it is right to recognize Caesar as one's sovereign or whether Yahweh alone must be held to be king."1 The coin that the Romans issued for currency, had the head of the emperor on one side and printed on the other side were the words, "Tiberius, Caesar, majestic son of the divine Augustus." The coin served as a portable idol. The Pharisees were uncomfortable even holding such a coin. In his response to their question, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" Jesus teaches us two important principles of living out the kingdom of God.

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF CITIZENSHIP

The first responsibility of kingdom living requires a respect for the state. This was difficult for the Pharisees to accept. The state was an intrusion into their private lives, a threat to their livelihood. They refused to surrender their allegiance to any sovereign power other than God. They considered themselves above the rule of Roman but Jesus directed them to the real issue-he asked them whose image the coin bore. Their one-word response may have been difficult even to utter but it contained the answer to their question- Caesar's, the word in the Greek tense is the genitive of possession. It means that the coin belonged to Caesar. They were holding a coin that belonged to someone else. The coin was not their own, so was it wrong to return property to its owner? The conclusion seemed obvious to Jesus, if Caesar owns the coin then a person should "give back" to Caesar whatever Caesar requires. Jesus was not advising the Pharisees to give to Caesar something that was originally theirs, he was simply telling them that they would not be violating any religious principle to return to Caesar, property that belong to Caesar.

That is a difficult concept for many Americans to accept. We assume that the money we earn is entirely our own. April 15 is not viewed as the day we return something to its original owner. We grudgingly pay taxes. A contemporary of Jesus, Judas the Gaulanite, expresses the view of many when he wrote, "What is taxation but an introduction to slavery?" We are not the only ones who considered the government an intrusion. It was once said in England that no man's property was safe while Parliament was in session.2

Yet, the state performs multiple services for its citizens symbolized by the minting of coinage. The apostle Paul called even the totalitarian state of Roman God's servant ordained for the ordering of our well being. (Ro 13:14) The state is commissioned to establish just laws and provide for its citizens. A story by Senator Ernest F. Hollings reveals the extant of the services on which the citizens of this country rely each day and how these service when taken for granted produce a political blindness.

 A veteran returning from Korea went to college on the GI Bill; bought his home with an FHA loan; saw his kids born in a VA hospital; started a business with a SBA loan; got electricity from TVA and then, water from a project funded by the EPA. His kids participated in the school-lunch program and made it  through college courtesy of government-guaranteed student loans. His parents retired to a farm on their social security, getting electricity from the REA and the soil tested by the USDA. When the father became ill, his life was saved with a drug developed through the NIH; the family saved from financial ruin by Medicare...Then one day he wrote his congressman an angry letter complaining about paying taxes for all those [welfare] programs created for ungrateful people.3

Few of us present, could honestly say that they do not benefit in some way from the services that are provided by the state and federal government. The apostle Paul implies that the respect we show for the state reveals our respect for the God who sovereignly reigns over all the kingdoms of the world.

The first responsibility for kingdom living is to maintain a health respect for the state.

HAPPINESS IN GOD

The second responsibility of kingdom living is to recognizing our complete dependency on God. The question posed by his critics was intended to force Jesus into choosing between two bad alternatives. "Are you a foolish, uncompromising revolutionary whose allegiance is to the kingdom of heaven is actually a political revolution in disguise, or are you a smooth-talking street preacher who stirs up people with glib talk of god's majesty but who underneath advocates a get-along-policy  with the Roman, Gentile pigs." Jesus response traps them in a gambit of his own. When they reach into their pocketbooks and pull out a Roman coin they inadvertently reveal their hypocrisy. They are the ones carrying around Caesar's money not Jesus. He lived a free live in total and complete dependency on God. He had abandoned the pleasures of the world for the joy of a living relationship with God. He did not need money in his pocket to feel secure. He did place his trust in the coinage of the emperor. Money and the material possessions that it affords lay outside the realm of his thinking. He did not concern himself with a second home, expensive automobiles or motor homes. He had no use for the things money could buy. He did not find his happiness and contentment in expensive play toys. So it did not matter to him how much he had to pay to Caesar. Everything he owned belonged to God. If God wanted 10%, or 20%, or 30% or even 40% to go to Caeser, so be it, whatever was left over after taxes, belonged to God, anyway. He claimed nothing for himself.

Throughout the Bible we are reminded of God's absolute right to all our property and possessions. To Job, God declares, "Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine" (Job 41:11) To Moses, he says, "All the earth is mine" (Exodus 19:5-6). And the psalmist confesses, "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof" (Ps 24:1). I wonder if our grumbling about taxes is actually an indication of our unwillingness to surrender our personal possessions to the God's ownership.

We cling to our money and possession because it is the true source of our happiness and security. We measure our value as a person by how much we earn and by how much we own. We derive meaning to our life by striving to accumulate more. We complain about paying too much to Uncle Sam because we will have less money to use for our own personal indulgences.

Bill Watterson the creator of the "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip prophetically captures the essences in one strip. The mischievous little boy and the adorable tiger are contemplating their creation of a snowman. Hobbes remarks, "This snowman doesn't look very happy." Calvin responds, "He's not." In the next frame, Calvin goes on to say, "He knows it's just a matter of time before he melts. The sun ignores his existence. He feels his existence is meaningless." In the final frame, Hobbes asks, "Is it?" And as usual, Calvin has the last word: "Nope. He's about to buy a big-screen TV."4

Where do you find your happiness? Where do you find you meaning to life? Do you really believe that your life is not own? Do you really give to God what is God's? Or, do your feverishly cling to your possessions and continue to strive for more because your existence is only measure by what you own or possess.

CONCLUSION

At this point, my critics might be asking, "Listen, preacher, you have talked about taxes, our attitude toward the state and our attitude toward money but what does Jesus' answer have to do with Initiative 695?" That is a good question and an important question but one that each of us must answer for themselves. However, as you decide I hope you ask yourself these questions.

What is my attitude when I enter the voting both?

Do I see the state excessively intruding into my private domain or as a servant of God?

Do I begrudgingly pay taxes or am I willing to view them as my contributions to the common good?

Will I vote for or against Initiative 695 because of the merits of the law or because of personal financial benefits?

Your answers will reveal were your heart is and your source of happiness and meaning. Your answers also will reveal who really is your God.

1. Dale Brunner, Matthew, Commentary, Vol. 2, (Waco: Word Publishing, 1990), p. 782.

2. Dallas Willard, Divine Conspiracy, (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1998), p. 259.

3. Brunner, p. 784 citing Jonathan Yates, "Reality on Capitol Hill," Newsweek, Nov 28. 28, 1988, p. 12.

4. William H. Willimon, "Caesar or Christ," Pulpit Resource, Vol. 27, No. 4 citing Steven Garber, The Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief and Behavior During the University Years (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), pp. 88-89.)