Zacchaeus & The Buffett Rule

The Buffett Rule is President Obama’s attempt to force tax ‘fairness’ of rich people. People making $1 million and over would be forced to pay 30% of it in taxes. (Of course, I know the Buffett Rule is a political gimmick to stir up feelings of greed and envy in those who are less fortunate so they will vote for the incumbent president who will make sure they get their fair share of the wealth created by others.)

So WWJD?

I read the story of Jesus’ encounter with a Jewish-Roman tax collector today. Read Luke 19:1-10.

How would Jesus get the rich to pay their fair share? Jesus would do what he did to Zacchaeus. Jesus would not use force to steal from them or stir up envious feelings of class warfare; he would use kindness to bring them to repentance. Jesus would change their hearts and make them philanthropists who freely give from their wealth to bless those who are less fortunate by building hospitals and schools and offering scholarships to needy students. And if any of those rich people did happen to cheat others to get rich, Jesus would lead them to repentance and restitution just like he did Zacchaeus.

“I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

Would we rather have 30% taken by force or 50% freely given? Jesus does freely given.

It seems to me President Obama and other politicians like him are more like Zacchaeus before his repentant conversion than after.

Census Redemption & Taxation

Read Exodus 30:11-16. Why did a man counted in a census have to pay a ransom for himself to the LORD? What sin requires a ransom to be paid? I think it is a military census. These are fighting men for an army. Maybe this is considered an act of pride because God wants the Hebrews to put their trust in Him and not an army.

But the command that got my attention is verse 15: “When this offering is given to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves, the rich must not give more, and the poor must not give less.” Why did God demand that? I think I know why. The rich think they can buy their redemption with their wealth, but it can’t be bought. The poor must pay the full redemption price demanded by God so they will not think redemption can be had for less or even nothing. Both the rich and poor learn that redemption has a price determined by God. Our redemption price has been paid in full by God with the blood of Christ.

I also wonder if this scripture has some tax implications. Our tax code demands that the rich pay more the poor pay less or nothing at all. I have heard that 48% of US citizens don’t pay any income tax. (The Obama administration believes that taxing the rich more will solve our 15 trillion $ debt problem – this is a lie and ridiculous class warfare!) This isn’t tax fairness. A flat tax is fairness. Everybody should pay the same percentage, rich and poor alike, so we don’t have an unfair society of generous givers and greedy takers. “Thou shalt not covet…”  

God's Question

Read Numbers 11:23. The Israelites were whining about meat. They wanted to return to Egypt so they could have an all-you-can eat fish dinner.I'd rather be a starving free man than a well-fed slave! Anyway, God promised to provide miraculous meat. Moses said to God, "How can you feed 600,000 hungry men? (What about the women and children?) Even if we slaughter all the animals with us and catch all the fish in the sea it wouldn't be enough." Then God silenced him with a question: "Is there any limit to My power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!"
We know the answer. But let God ask you his question every day: "Is there any limit to My power?" Then live by faith, not by sight. Live like there really is no limit to His power in your life.

Refined, Rescued, Restored

Psalm 34:19: The righteous face many troubles, but the LORD rescues them from each and every one. For the LORD protects them from harm – not one of their bones will be broken.

This isn’t true. The Lord doesn’t rescue us from each and every one of our troubles. But maybe it is true. The Lord does rescue us from each and every one of our troubles or trials, but not until he has refined us.

One undeniable truth is that God refines his people like silver and gold.

~Psalm 66:10: “For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.”

~Isaiah 48:10: “I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”

~Zechariah 13:9: “This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold.”

~1 Peter 1:7: “These trials have come so that your faith – of greater value than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Job suffered terrible troubles, but he was rescued. Job’s faith in God was refined and everything he lost was restored.

Freddie Sun had already spent six years doing hard labor (1968-1974) and suffered humiliation writing endless self-criticisms. He enjoyed a brief time of freedom and then he was arrested again and sentenced to 15 more years of hard labor. But God told Freddie when he was arrested by the Communists and separated from his wife and sons that his imprisonment would not be more than five years. Freddie was not immediately rescued from his troubles. He referred to his imprisonment as his ‘seminary’ training. God used Freddie’s troubles to refine his faith. He was rescued after four and a half years (1978), cleared of charges as a ‘counter revolutionist,’ and restored to his position at the Institute of Geology in Beijing. He even had the opportunity to serve as an interpreter for Deng Xiao-Ping.*

Even martyrdom can be considered a rescue from this sinful world.

Yes, the LORD does rescue the righteous from each and every trial, but not until His work of refinement in done in our lives.

*Read The Man In The Fiery Furnace by Freddie Sun

Leave Nothing in Egypt

After Pharaoh had suffered several plagues he began to bargain with Moses. (Read Exodus 10.) Moses requested, “Everyone and everything must leave Egypt and serve the LORD. Young and old will go, our sons and daughters will go, and all our flocks and herds. We must leave nobody and nothing behind.” Pharaoh replied, “All right, you can go and worship the LORD for three days, but only the men may go. You can’t take children on a trip into the desert.” The LORD said (through Moses), “No deal. It’s all or nothing. Now I will destroy Egypt with a plague of locusts.” After that plague the LORD made Pharaoh stubborn again and he refused to let the Israelites go. Then came the incredible, frightening plague of darkness. Pharaoh tried to bargain again, “Go and worship the LORD and take your children, but leave your flocks and herds and pets.” Moses replied, “No deal. It’s all or nothing! We must take our animals with us because we will sacrifice some of them to the LORD.” Pharaoh refused and the next and last plague was the death of the firstborn sons.

Here’s the significance of the story for us:

~ Pharaoh = Satan.

~ Israelites’ slavery in Egypt = our slavery to sin and death. One of the reasons the Israelites spent 430 years in Egypt was so that generations could be born as slaves. This represents every person born into the world with a sinful nature as a slave to sin and death.

~ Blood of the Passover Lamb = Jesus Christ’s sacrifice to redeem us from slavery to sin and death. The blood of Christ is our redemption price paid to God to satisfy His justice and free us from bondage to sin and death and make us his servants.

When we leave Egypt, we must leave nothing in Egypt. We must surrender completely to God’s demand to worship and serve Him.

When you commit your life to Christ, you must leave nothing in Egypt. You must leave nothing behind that would make you want to return to Egypt; leave nothing behind that Satan could use to pull you back into slavery to sin; leave nothing in Egypt that Satan could claim as his; leave nothing behind so Satan cannot say to you, “Come back and get it and stay awhile.” When you commit your life to Christ, get your life completely out of Egypt. Free yourself completely from your slavery to sin. Jesus Christ demands all of you to leave Egypt and serve Him. Don’t bargain with Satan! Don’t leave an attitude in Egypt. Don’t leave a desire in Egypt. Don’t leave any part of your heart in Egypt. Don’t leave any bodily desire in Egypt. Don’t leave any dream in Egypt. Don’t leave a part of your soul in Egypt. Free yourself completely from Satan’s claims.

When life in the desert got hard, the Israelites wanted to return to Egypt for the food! They left some desires in Egypt and the pull on them was strong to return.

When I accepted Christ’s redemption and left my Egypt, I left behind in Egypt my dream for my life and my sexual desire. These two things drew me back to Egypt and kept me from total freedom in Christ. I had a dream for my life, but Christ had another calling for me. I never completely surrendered my sexual desire to Christ and so I would occasionally go back to Egypt to satisfy it. (I never lost my virginity, but when I left some physical desires in Egypt I really remained in bondage to sin.) God had a better plan for marriage, sex, and family, and I learned to trust him.

Jesus Christ redeems us to leave Egypt and never look back. The only way to never look back is to leave nothing in Egypt. Enjoy the journey through the wilderness and look forward to the Promised Land in eternity.

Not Ready for War

The Israelites left Egypt like a marching army, but weren’t ready to fight yet: Exodus 13:17-18. God didn’t lead the Israelites the shortest way to the Promised Land because they would have to do battle with the Philistines and they were fierce fighters. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

But they had to fight the Egyptians: Exodus 14:11-12. The Israelites complained, “Our Egyptian slavery was far better than dying out here in the wilderness!” Would you rather be a slave in Egypt or die a free person in the wilderness? I would rather die fighting for my freedom because the complacency of a slave is already death. Slavery to sin is living dead.

Why did God save these whining wimps? The Israelites just witnessed incredible miracles and at the first test they are ready to run back to slavery in Egypt. They ought to have the resolve to fight the Egyptian army. The Egyptian army had 600 chariots, but the number of Israelite men was 600,000; that’s 1000 men fighting 1 chariot. I think 1000 men could defeat 1 chariot and then use it against the enemy. But God doesn’t want them to fight yet. God wants to be the Warrior for this battle (15:3).

I think when we first become Christ followers he keeps us from serious spiritual warfare. We aren’t ready to fight yet. We aren’t born-again warriors. Christ is our Warrior. Battles will come and he will prepare us to fight without fear or pride.

Also God doesn’t take us the shortest way to our Promised Land; that is, heaven. We aren’t saved and immediately taken to heaven. Christ leaves us on earth to fight battles to advance his kingdom against Satan’s kingdom. There are some things we can’t do in heaven, and one of them is fight spiritual warfare with the word of God, prayer, and good works. So fight the good fight of the faith!

"All things are against me!"

Have you ever felt like that? “Everything is going against me!” Have you ever held up your hands in frustration and shouted at the sky - really at God - “Nothing is going in my favor!” Sickness, car accident, rebellious child, job termination, cancer, death of a loved one, infidelity and family breakup, injury, injustice, illness, war, famine, persecution, rejection, slander, addictions, financial loss, and a hundred other troubles from a world under the curse of sin may randomly combine to make you say in despair, “Everything is going against me!”

Jacob felt like that. There was a severe famine in Canaan and his sons had just returned from their first shopping trip to Egypt. They returned with bags of groceries, but the money they paid for the groceries mysteriously appeared in their bags and they were scared to return to Egypt on another shopping trip because they would all be arrested as thieves. A powerful Egyptian official had also accused them of spying. They were forced to leave one brother, Simeon, imprisoned in Egypt. But the most going-against-me thing for Jacob was that the Egyptian official had asked to see the youngest brother, Benjamin, as proof the other brothers told the truth. Benjamin was Jacob’s youngest and most precious son. His wife, Rachel, had died giving birth to Benjamin. Jacob said to his sons, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph has disappeared, Simeon is gone, and now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!” (Read Genesis 42.)

BUT all things were not going against Jacob. Actually, all things were going in his favor! Jacob had no idea what God had been preparing for the past 21 years since Joseph disappeared and was presumed dead. If Jacob knew what God had been preparing for the past 21 years he would have looked up to heaven with eyes of faith and joyfully shouted, “Everything is going in my favor! Thank you, God!” But Jacob, with his limited human perspective, had no idea what God was doing; he had no idea how God was working all things out for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Jacob lost sight of God’s promises to bless him. Jacob couldn’t see blessing; all he could see was cursing. Appearances can be deceiving. When everything appears to be against you, don’t allow yourself to be deceived by Satan. Remember Romans 8:28: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”

Remind yourself, “If God is for me, who can ever be against me!” And the proof of this is that God didn’t spare His own Son but gave Him up as a sacrifice for our sins.

My favorite character in the movie Courageous is Javier Martinez who looks for work to support his family. He gets discouraged. He prays with honest desperation. He thinks everything is against him, BUT God is working behind the scenes in his favor. His integrity is tested. Watch the movie and you’ll know what I’m referring to.

No, all things are not against you! Who can ever be against you when God is for you? Trust in His sovereign love.