Jesus Fed the Hungry Himself Without
Taxing Anyone
Barbara Henderson
It was a wonderful day in the Promised
Land. Well, maybe it didn’t start out
totally wonderful. True, there were
thousands of people listening to the Son of God preach the good news that
reconciliation with God is possible through Christ the Son. The words of Jesus may have filled the minds
and hearts of the crowd, but their stomachs were growling. They were just plain hungry. There were men, women, and children all
needing food. SO…… Jesus took
charge! He sent runners to the government
to request aid be delivered immediately.
The government wasn’t totally opposed to giving the aid because they
could tax the people a huge amount, keep about half to spend on their personal
projects and upkeep, and spend the rest on buying food, transporting food,
distributing food, and create tons of jobs in the bargain. It was a win, win for big government. The government of that day loved taxes just
like all corrupt governments. A mere 30
years earlier Caesar Augustus had sent out that famous decree that all the
world should be taxed. That tax was
taken so seriously by the people that the very pregnant mother of Jesus and her
husband had traveled to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Anyway, seeing the dire need of the crowd for
food Jesus sent out the request for government assistance. Unfortunately, by the time the food was
delivered to answer Jesus’ request the people who were able to leave had left
the area searching for their own food.
For those who trusted in the government to feed them, food arrived too
late. Many died of starvation. Those who
lived through to see the government provisions were so weak from starvation
their mental capacity was diminished dramatically. They were never again able to care for
themselves.
Oh, wait. That isn’t what happened when Jesus was
there. That is what happens today every
time there is a crisis. People stand
around waiting on the government to send aid until their lives are totally
ruined regardless of what the government finally gets around to doing.
What really happened when Jesus faced
the crowd of hungry people was that Jesus simply fed them. He did not require anyone to help Him. He did
not expect the government to send aid.
He didn’t take a single penny from anyone to help Him do His good deed. He simply fed the hungry.
Obviously no human has to power to
create food out of nothing. Each of us
does have some ability to do something. We
can use our abilities for good in the world today. When we see a need, we should fill that need
within the bounds of what we are able to do.
Christians need to think pro-actively when it comes to helping others.
·
Give
as the Lord has prospered.
·
Give
to fill a need.
·
Give
as the Lord has laid on your heart.
It isn’t all that hard.
This does not exempt Christians from
paying taxes. Jesus was very clear on
that. But paying taxes doesn’t exempt
Christians from helping others as we are able. Clearly, no one who relies on
the government for anything is going to be satisfied with the help
received.
It is corruption in the highest form
that working people are taxed into oblivion so non-working people can continue
to be non-working people. Those in
charge of such wickedness will ultimately pay a dreadful price for their evil
actions. We still have to deal with
their infuriating actions in the mean time.
As hard as it may be, just pay the taxes and don’t expect anything in
return except more taxes. That is part
of your life over which you have no control.
On the other hand, helping others through charitable giving and kind
action is something you can do. If you
are giving to your local church you are supporting training believers and
reaching out to the lost in your community.
If your church supports missionaries you are supporting the great commission
in every place you have a missionary. It
is a win win situation. Take joy in
giving. Don’t let the joy of giving to
the charity or cause of your choice be ruined by the wickedness of the
government’s taxation/extortion racket.
There are ways you can give other than
money.
You can give a smile, a hug, a warm
thank you, a sincere ‘you are welcome’ to those who help you, and many other
things that show the love of God to others.
Do not discount the importance of these simple things that cost you nothing. I can tell you personally that a kind word
has on occasion helped me tremendously.
You can probably think of times kind words or a deed has given you an
attitude adjustment or even strength to go on through a difficult
situation. (If you are in need of kind
words and help, but not getting it, read the book of Psalms. God Himself will encourage you while you are
reading.)
However, often a gift of something of
value is needed. If you find yourself in
a situation where you can help someone then go ahead and help them whether it
is tax deductible or not. Just help for
the sake of helping, not because of what you may or may not get back out of
it.
Jesus gave us many examples of how to
behave, but I think one of the main things He did was to live as in
individualist. He didn’t bow down to the
political, social, or religious elite of His day. He set out to do what was right, and that is
exactly what He did. Of course no one
can meet the standard of utter perfection set by Jesus Christ, but we can
strive to live a life that is pleasing to Him regardless of the circumstances
in which we currently live. We are
supposed to pay our taxes and get on with our lives. The current uncertain and dismal situation
globally as well as nationally is just the era in which we live. Every
generation in every nation has faced turmoil, unfairness, disappointment, and
all sorts of turmoil. Through all the
ages the job description of Christians has not changed. Go into all the world and preach the gospel.
