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government, and rhey rhemselves dis–
appeared for che durarion of the war!
My fairb in securiry of ownership was
severely shaken, if nor permanently
undermined. I realized rhar l could
pay off all those who had prior claim
ro my goods and still not really own
rhem! Unusual circumstances, bur
cerrainly o nes which could happen
and could cause loss of ownersh ip no
matter how carefully one paid rhe
ut–
cermost fanhing!
D eductions
Many little disillusionmenrs were
incerspersed with rhese major expcri–
ences. All of you are aware of rhe
seemingly endless demands on your
income: sales taxes, excise, imporr
and hidden raxes, license fees and as–
sessments, rolls and surcharges, social
securi ty, insurance, pension, heal rh
and medica] deducrions, and union
dues - unril total deduccions nearly
equal your rake-home pay. Wich not
enough money co make ends meet,
you borrow money. Then inreresr and
lending fees are added ro the alceady
seemingly insuperable burdens of
ownership. Some additional coses I
didn't become aware of unril much
latec also add theic weight. One of
rhese is outrighr rhefr from your pos–
sessions. Anorher is employee rheft. Ir
is esrimated rhat the cosr of employee
fikhing adds 15% ro che cosr of irems
you buy; governmen
t
corruprion and
ignorance of how ro manage your
money furcher ears up your cake–
borne pay.
Afrer all
chese
realízarions had
eroded my concepr of possession ro a
mere shadow of irs former self, l was
faced wich an unders randing rbat was
rbe grearesr shock of all! I discovered
God hada prior claim to my gross in–
come thar superseded governmenc
claims, pension plans and personal de–
si res!
He
insisred on
10%
off che rop!
He seems ro rhink His claim comes
firsc' He insists on prior right ro all
prior righrs.
I don'r mean ro be funny in rhe
w ro ng way, bur have you ever
rhoughr char rhere mighr be a fee for
36
che license ro live, that rhere mighr be
a rax for rhe sun, moon and srars, nor
ro menrion rhe earth which we all -
governmenrs and individuals alike -
rake roo much for g ramed and rhar
the One who made and now owns all
rhings mighr wanr a little return on
His invesrmem)
Don'r misunderstand. fr rains on
rhe jusr and the unjusr alike. God
does nor charge us anyrhing for His
uriliries. He freely g ives us everyrhing
we have, beginning wirh life irself.
Bur it is an interesting rhought. He is
God, afrer all, and if
He
so chooses ro
charge us for His many services tha r
we cake for granted, 1 wonder whar
che rate would be? Well anyway,
thankfully all rhese are His free gifrs
ro us!
Are All These Prior
Claims Legitimare?
When l was very líttle, 1 realized
rhat my roys, which had been given
ro me, could be caken away by my
parenrs ar any rime - rhey had prior
claim on rhem. As I grew older, I
re–
alized I owed cerrain duries and obe–
dience ro my parenrs jusr by virme of
rhe facr thar they fed, clorhed and
shelrered
me.
My parents' prior claim
was legirimare. Larer, I carne ro see
rhar governmenrs which supply us
with cerrain securiry and servíces exer–
cise a prior claim on our possessions
and income by virrue of rheir sober
responsibiliries.
These
are perfecrly
le–
g itimare prior daims. Can any of us
acknowledge our parents' and our
governmenc's prior claim as being le–
gitimare and believe, on rhe orher
hand, rhar God's is not )
There is a sayi ng rhar surely muse
be universal: "There is norhing surer
rhan dea th and taxes!" 1 have heard
of people who have gotten away with
tax evasion, but have you ever heard
of someone who gor away with dearh
evas ion? Solomon pues ir clown
wisely and succinctly: "No one can
hold back his spirit from depa rring;
no o ne has che power ro prevent his
day of death, for there is no discharge
from thar obligarion and rbar dark
barde. Cerrainly a man 's wickedness is
nor going to help him rhen"
1
(Eccle–
siasres 8:8,
The Living Bibfe.)
Do nor misundersrand. I am nor
saying thar you can buy life from
God wirh rirhe money. God cannot
be bribed, and life is God' s gift rhat
cannot be purchased!
.But rhen no one would construe
rhac you buy your house from the
government when you pay taxes on ir
either - ar leasr no reasoning person
would.
What is ir rhen rhat you do get in
rerum for che due paymenr of raxes?
You ger conrinucd permission ro live
in freedom under rhe form of the
governmenr ro whom you pay raxes!
Forrunarely for you and me, God is
nor nearly so harsh as human govern–
menrs when ir comes
to
delinquent
raxes - bur He knows what you owe
Him. You may nor have been aware of
His prior right. However, it's your re–
sponsibiliry to acr on rhar knowledge
when you do become aware of it.
T he Government Doesn't Exist!
Have you ever seen a government?
I've read about governmenr. I've
seen buildings where they rell
me the
governmenr resides. I've read laws che
governmenr pues out - especially
abour my money! l've talked ro
people who say rhar rhey represent
rhe governmenr. J've also read about
peoplc being jailed. fined and ma–
ligned by rhe government. Everybody
seems ro believe rhere is a govern–
menr.
Bur 1 don't believe government
exists!
To guickly borrow a phrase from
rhe Aposde Pau1, ler me hasren to say,
"!
speak as a fool!"
Permit me a little more foolish–
ness. How far do you think
1
would
get wirh my disbelief in che exisrence
of government? lf 1 didn't pay my
properry tax, ir wouJdn ' t be long be–
fore rhe governmenr would be relling
me - and backing ir up wirh force , if
necessary - rhat my properry no
longer belonged ro me! l f
r
paid no
tax on my incomc - and srubbornly
PlAIN TRUTH
July
1972