Acts 16 & 22
Perhaps you get immediate chills when you hear this phrase and recall the movie scenes that used it (Clash of the Titans, Liam Neeson, 2010). The thought or picture it produces of an unstoppable, ruthless monster released to destroy all in its path is indeed terrifying. In today’s America, for many citizens, a new version of this terrifying monster is raising its head, and it is known by the acronym IRS.
The current administration is wanting to double the number of IRS agents, adding 88,000 people to the IRS workforce.[1] Many, maybe most, will be designated for collection purposes.
Already American citizens pay too much of their hard-earned income in taxes. Consider these: income tax, sales tax, property tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, personal property tax (in some states) etc.. When it is all added up, if mom and dad both work, one of their incomes is just paying the taxes.
We are taxed over and over again leaving less and less to live on and more reasons to depend on the government to see us through. That does not describe a “free people.” The more taxes we pay, the larger the government grows. As the government grows our liberties diminish. We pay taxes for public benefits, only to discover that we are expected to follow their rules and philosophies instead of our own beliefs and philosophical views.
A better choice could be found. Revamp the tax codes with a flat tax or other plan reducing significantly the need for additional agents and government oversight. Currently the IRS is 60-90% incorrect in its audits.[2] Expanding this agency will expand those incorrect audits. Add to this the collection of citizen’s personal data of spending, saving, investing and giving, and we would be giving the government unlimited opportunity to abuse our private lives.
In New Testament times Paul, Silas and others were beaten and imprisoned for the message of the cross and acts of kindness and healing to others. The charge was often as simple as their message was not in line with the accepted values of the political leaders of their time (Acts 16:21-24, 37-38). That sounds eerily similar to the “woke” culture of today.
However, we can resist. God has blessed us with a government system that is based on “We the People.” Rather than allowing the current administration to release its “Kraken” on us, we need to release the real Kraken from their positions of current authority. Replace them and hold them accountable to the limits spelled out in the Constitution of the United States. Even in the most desperate of times God provides a hope that never fails (see: Acts 22:22-38). It is time that “We the people” take back our nation.
Pastors, teach your congregation how to contact their representatives in government to protect against these dangerous threats to our liberties. And if those elected officials do not listen, replace them with statesmen who will defend the God-given, inalienable rights of We the People.
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