If Jesus is appalled, then...what?

There seems to be a great deal of consternation across the web for a certain political candidate taking the position that certain facts of life in America would "appall" Jesus. Considering the conditions mentioned include indifference to the poor and an over emphasis on self, I would not be surprised if Jesus were indeed "appalled." (There were also references about "going to war unnecessarily" which begs the question "Was it necessary?" Another time on that one.) As a conservative Christian, I can't really say that I find anything un-Biblical about the idea. If we accept that notion, however, a more important point becomes "What do we do about it?"

From what I read later in the posting, Edwards seemed to advocate things like government provided health coverage, public assistance, etc. All of this would be financed by the tax payers. There was never any reference, to the best of my knowledge, claiming this is what Jesus would do. Nevertheless, I think since Christ was used for the question, he should be referenced in the answer, at least as much as possible. Accepting Christ as God incarnate, I certainly do not want to take responsibility for speaking for him. I do think that we can use the history provided though for some educated interpretations.

Christ was certainly no stranger to taxes, or tax collectors for that matter. His disciple Matthew was a tax collector prior to leaving to become one of Christ's disciples. Jesus attended a party at Matthew's home for tax collectors, and later declared a tax collector, Zacchaeus, as one of the lost sons of Israel that he came for. Jesus told Peter to pay the temple tax, and one of the favorite lines I hear quoted with regards to taxation begins "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's..." I find it very revealing that the second part, "and give unto God what is God's," is seldom included.

At the time of that writing, in that setting, the tax system of the Romans in Judea had little to do with Benevolence. It was a method of finance for Rome's interest. I'm sure that Jesus could have dictated any number of books on the subject should he have chosen to do so. He did not. On the other hand, charity was a matter for the church. In addition to the tithe to be collected for the maintenance of the temple and the priests, there was supposed to be an additional tithe, or ten percent, for poor Jews under Mosaic Law. There was a third tithe to be given over a three-year period, or three and a third percent per year, for the purpose of subsidizing poor gentiles in the land. These would have been a matter for the priests, and not the politicians.

Sadly, many of the religious leaders of the time seemed more interested in lining their own pockets than taking care of the poor. The gospel writers make it pretty clear that poverty and illness were common in the land. Yet Christ did not appeal to the priests or the government. When Peter told Jesus they needed to send the people away to get food, Christ's response was immediate and personal: "You give them something to eat." His was a message of returning to God and personal holiness. When Zacchaeus the tax collector met Jesus and received salvation, his response was not to tax people to help the poor. Instead, he gave half of his wealth to the poor, and returned all of the money that he had wrongly taken many times over.

Don't get me wrong. I certainly believe that we are called to help the poor, and to generosity of all kinds. I simply don't believe that the tax code is the best way to do that. Taxes collected for one thing have a habit of ending up elsewhere, with very little accountability. I heard somewhere a while ago that less than 30% of the money collected for "the poor" actually makes it there. The rest is lost in government overhead and bureaucracy. I also find it hard to associate taxes with charity. Charity, by it's very nature, is freely given. The scriptures say that "God loves a cheerful giver." Not a lot is mentioned about tax payers.

If we do want to help the poor, then I think we owe it to them, and ourselves, to do it the best way possible. Let's restore charity to the public square, free from coercion and resentment, and let government do the things it can do best.