God's Grace and Mercy Are All We Need

April 17, 2024

Leadership Notes

     Belated “Happy Tax Day.” Let’s begin, shall we, with wise words from one of my favorite economists, the late, great Murray Rothbard:

“The state is an institution that lives off the productivity of others

and uses force to maintain its power.”

     Ludwig von Mises and F.A. Hayek are two other solid guys to get to know, two days after tax day. A contemporary heir of their philosophy, Spike Cohen, posted this on April 15:

> Taxes are the price you pay not to have your assets seized and be thrown in jail. It’s extortion.

> You are extorted to enrich politicians and the cronies who put them

in office.

> If funding government was as voluntary as funding anything else,

what would you fund, and how much?

     Read Matthew 22:21 and Romans 13:1-7. I know I need careful study of God’s Word to temper my cynicism about government and taxes. Yet even still, I am convinced that:

Government, in all instances, is less efficient, more wasteful, more

corrupt, and less justified than private ownership.

     Did you know that, in 2022, federal agencies wasted $20.5 billion per month? That’s $683 million per day. Imagine how many houses that could build every year. That’s money frittered away…lost in the ether…gone AWOL. Anybody who trusts how government spends our money never studied history. The one thing Republicans and Democrats agree on is they love spending our money.

     Don’t you just love tax day? The White House says they’re unable to track $6.8 billion sent to Ukraine. California is unable to track $24 billion spent to combat homelessness. The Pentagon, over the years, has been unable to track $2.3 trillion of military spending. The U.S. Treasury has been unable to track $5 trillion of pandemic spending. But if you send $601.57 to your friend without reporting it, the IRS will hunt you down.

     Welcome to my cynical world. In the end, can we do much of anything to change things? We can pray. We can vote. We can obediently live according to the Fruit of the Spirit in our little corner of God’s world, doing what we can to enjoy life and love each other without giving in to discouragement. What path or paths do you choose?

     Here’s what I know:

> There will be peace in the Middle East when every Jew and Muslim

repents, turns to Jesus Christ, conforming their lives to his teaching.

> There will be decency in America when every person repents, turns

to Jesus Christ, conforming their lives to his teaching.

> Until then, we joyfully await the day of his return.

     One final thought:

I USED TO CARE WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT ABOUT ME UNTIL ONE

DAY I REALIZED THAT I CAN’T PAY MY BILLS WITH THEIR

OPINIONS.

God’s Grace and Mercy Are all We Need!

                    Richard