"The Lenses of Reformation Concerning Budget Deficits"
by Dr. Patti Amsden
From a biblical perspective, government has a right to collect taxes from the citizenry and those funds are to be used to support the civil realm in its execution of its God-defined duties. Those duties are mostly limited to protecting the land and people under its jurisdiction from enemies without and criminals within its borders. To this end, policing agencies, military branches, and judicial courts may be established, as well as hiring personnel, training civil workers, and assets needed for the operation of these agencies may be secured and maintained.
Reformation lens #1 – Scripture supports levying taxes upon the citizens to provide funds for the civil realm to protect the people and the land.
The funds to provide protection are paid out to the civil coffers and those coffers are filled by taxed money. The civil does not function in the business or marketplace sector. The civil owns no property, does not manufacture any product, nor does it function in an entrepreneurial role to create and sell new products. The role of the civil government does not include any means by which income can be generated to fill the government’s coffers except for taxation.
Reformation lens #2 – The civil sector is not biblically-empowered to function in the business sphere and does not, therefore, generate income to fill its treasuries outside of taxed income.
The civil treasuries must be stewarded, and the income and expenses ledgers must be balanced. All sectors of society whether they be businesses, families, churches, voluntary organizations, or any kind of entities within society are required to keep accurate records and give truthful accounting of the management of their funds without lying, cheating, stealing, or any other form of fraudulent practice. The civil sector is no exception. The civil may not have greater expenses than income; it may not operate in the red.
Reformation lens #3 – Those who financially oversee the civil treasuries and those who authorize the budgets and payment of expenses may not operate by unrighteous accounting practices.
Should the government’s financial obligations exceed the taxed income, the civil must borrow, which places a condition of indebtedness upon the citizens and exasperates the need for more income because of interest payments attached to the loans. When this condition occurs for a person or in a business, the loan is secured through a third party. The civil borrows from its citizens, interdepartmental agencies, and sometimes foreign nations; and all those who are the lenders expect repayment with interest. Laws are written to designate the dept ceiling or the upper limit set on the amount of money that a government may borrow. In recent years, laws have been rewritten and the debt ceiling has been raised when more borrowed money must be secured for the civil to continue to pay its bills.
Reformation lens #4 – When interest on the debt of the civil realm exceeds the funds in the treasury to pay the interest payments and continue government operations, the civil can raise the debt ceiling, levy more taxes to put more money into its treasuries, or go default. All options are unbiblical and a testimony to the unrighteous activities of those who govern.
As Reformers, we must understand that scripture places limits upon the duties of the civil realm and upon the way in which the civil may generate revenue. God requires faithful stewardship in all areas of culture, including the civil sector. The nation that is indebted, as well as the person who has chosen the practice of living in unsustainable debt, will suffer the consequences of Deuteronomy 28:43-44, “The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail.”
Reformation lens #1 – Scripture supports levying taxes upon the citizens to provide funds for the civil realm to protect the people and the land.
The funds to provide protection are paid out to the civil coffers and those coffers are filled by taxed money. The civil does not function in the business or marketplace sector. The civil owns no property, does not manufacture any product, nor does it function in an entrepreneurial role to create and sell new products. The role of the civil government does not include any means by which income can be generated to fill the government’s coffers except for taxation.
Reformation lens #2 – The civil sector is not biblically-empowered to function in the business sphere and does not, therefore, generate income to fill its treasuries outside of taxed income.
The civil treasuries must be stewarded, and the income and expenses ledgers must be balanced. All sectors of society whether they be businesses, families, churches, voluntary organizations, or any kind of entities within society are required to keep accurate records and give truthful accounting of the management of their funds without lying, cheating, stealing, or any other form of fraudulent practice. The civil sector is no exception. The civil may not have greater expenses than income; it may not operate in the red.
Reformation lens #3 – Those who financially oversee the civil treasuries and those who authorize the budgets and payment of expenses may not operate by unrighteous accounting practices.
Should the government’s financial obligations exceed the taxed income, the civil must borrow, which places a condition of indebtedness upon the citizens and exasperates the need for more income because of interest payments attached to the loans. When this condition occurs for a person or in a business, the loan is secured through a third party. The civil borrows from its citizens, interdepartmental agencies, and sometimes foreign nations; and all those who are the lenders expect repayment with interest. Laws are written to designate the dept ceiling or the upper limit set on the amount of money that a government may borrow. In recent years, laws have been rewritten and the debt ceiling has been raised when more borrowed money must be secured for the civil to continue to pay its bills.
Reformation lens #4 – When interest on the debt of the civil realm exceeds the funds in the treasury to pay the interest payments and continue government operations, the civil can raise the debt ceiling, levy more taxes to put more money into its treasuries, or go default. All options are unbiblical and a testimony to the unrighteous activities of those who govern.
As Reformers, we must understand that scripture places limits upon the duties of the civil realm and upon the way in which the civil may generate revenue. God requires faithful stewardship in all areas of culture, including the civil sector. The nation that is indebted, as well as the person who has chosen the practice of living in unsustainable debt, will suffer the consequences of Deuteronomy 28:43-44, “The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail.”
