Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man

We should not allow our familiarity with a Bible story, especially one sung in Sunday School, to lead us to overlook the message the story gives us. Did you sing this song as a child? I still hear it on occasion as we drive with Stacy in the car. 

What does the story tell us? 

Luke 19

Zacchaeus

My daughter chose this picture! ^1-4Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.

 ^5-7When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home." Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, "What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?"

 ⁸Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages."

 ^9-10Jesus said, "Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost." 

I mentioned yesterday what a tax collector did at that time. 

The Romans did not want to be bothered with collecting taxes from subject peoples. So they would sell the right to collect taxes to locals. The locals would bid on this right to collect taxes from their own people. Then they would collect from the people. As you might imagine, this profession was not well received. 

This was why the crowd grumbled. No doubt there was also an element of envy. But Zacchaeus was honest, he did not collect more money in taxes from the people than was required. There was a strong incentive for a tax collector to collect more than was required because he got to keep it. Zacchaeus knew what the law said about stealing—paying 4 times back was the standard penalty. He never had to pay that penalty because he was honest. 

He also was generous with his giving to the poor. 

This leads me in several directions. First, I am reminded that Biden and Romney have a little different concept of charitable giving. Both are in the 1% most wealthy based on income. Biden gives 1.6%; Romney gave 16%. Huckabee at the convention got this a little confused. He confused Biden with Obama. Obama gives about 6% a year. I am reluctant to mention the amount I give based on the principle that Jesus mentioned that with regards to giving—to not to let the right hand know what the left hand is doing. But I feel it is needed for the narrative I am building. I gave almost 10% last year. Last year was the worst year I have ever had since graduating college. How much is appropriate to give in your situation? You know best, but somehow I doubt it is 1.6%.  

She must be French.It seems to me that in one way of looking at it the most righteous people must live in France. France's government consumes 50% of the output of the French people. So the average Frenchman must pay almost that much in taxes. Are they as righteous as Zacchaeus? The new tax rate if you earn over 1 million euros will soon be 75%. I suppose this goes to the "poor," and a righteous man needs to give everything to the government to redistribute. It seems to me that since our various governments are the representatives of Babylon the Great, one should avoid paying taxes as much as possible, as long as it is legal. 

My conclusion to the matter is the same as the founder of the Methodist Church—John Wesley. "Earn all you can; save all you can; give all you can." This is biblical. 

Self-Righteous Post

We often lack the background to understand nuances from the first century. Here is an example that relates to my theme of the proper use of wealth. Luke 18:

 ^9-12He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: 'Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.'

 ¹³"Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, 'God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.'"

 ¹⁴Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

There are several things here. First, I have seen these verses used to justify self-righteousness. That was not what the writer thought he was doing. The writer was saying that since the Pharisees observed the Sabbath, that anyone who observed the Sabbath was self-righteous. This ignores the point that both men in the story were Jews who followed the customs of the Old Testament—remember, they were observing rituals in the Temple. Luke 18 does not provide us with any information on the subject of the continual validity, or non-validity, of the Sabbath command. 

That point aside, how does this story relate to theme of wealth I am exploring? 

The man who God forgave was wealthy, among the most wealthy of that time, the 1%. 

We know this because he was a tax farmer. The Romans did not want to be bothered with collecting taxes from subject peoples. So they would sell the right to collect taxes to locals. The locals would bid on this right to collect taxes from their own people. Then they would collect from the people. As you might imagine, this profession was not well received. 

The point is that one can be wealthy, and be a true worshiper of God. In our unfortunate desire to use Luke 18 to condemn others, we overlook this. The wealthy can be condemned by the self-righteous. 

Tomorrow I will continue talking about wealth by talking about another tax farmer mentioned in the Gospels, a wee little man. 

Kollective Klown Kar

I am sure most of my readers have been to the circus. Most of us no doubt have fond memories of it. My son Daniel does not—he was deathly afraid of the clowns. My daughter Stacy, on the other hand, had a favorite toy—Bozo the clown, or as she called it in the proper Russian way, Boza. 

The clowns were always my favorite part of the circus. Often they would all come into one of the three rings in a car, which immediately broke, spilling clowns everywhere. The antics of the clowns, often against each other, always brought a laugh from the audience. 

But there is an analogy I want to draw with our modern political system and the arrival of the clowns in the circus. Obamzo and Romzo are fighting to become the head clown. Each struggling to take control of the steering wheel of our kollective klown kar. Neither is above a good eye poke, a swift kick to the posterior, or some sort of crude practical joke. No doubt each will point out that the other is wearing clown makeup. We can sit in the audience and wryly observe their antics as they pummel each other. It will get even more amusing as the election approaches and the loser realizes he will lose and becomes ever more frantic and unintentionally funny. I can hardly wait for the inevitable klown kar krash. Hilarity will ensue. (Or Hilary will ensue in 4 years.)

This is actually a image from an app for your favorite iThing. You can have Romney and Obama fight it out on your iPad. But wait, my analogy just failed, as all analogies eventually do. We are not in the audience, drinking our cokes and eating our popcorn, observing the antics from a safe distance. We are in the klown kar with Obamzo and Romzo. This is not good.  

We cannot look at the coming klown kar krash in a detached way. We will be impacted by the crash. I suggest you buckle your seat belt, and pray, most definitely pray. Get ready for the crash.

Even though I am trapped in the klown kar, I will not put on the clown makeup, sorry. 

Nuts, I just looked…klown kars do not have seat belts. 

Outside Agitators

I remember that a usual explanation for troubles is that “the locals are happy on the plantation,” but “the troubles are caused by outside agitators.” I saw two headlines on Drudge that placed together are quite humorous, as I am sure was intended. 

Assad vows Syria will defeat ‘foreign conspiracy’

And 

Britain and US plan a Syrian revolution

Note the quotation marks in the first title and in the second quote below for the word "terrorist." The use of quotation marks implies that Assad is speaking falsely. Here is what Assad said: 

“What is happening now is not only directed at Syria but the whole region. Because Syria is the cornerstone, foreign powers are targeting it so their conspiracy succeeds across the entire region.”

The article continues:

Assad has long characterised the brutal 17-month conflict as a fight against foreign “terrorists” aided by the West and Syria’s Sunni Muslim foes in the region, including Saudi Arabia.

Is Assad accurate? From the next article:

Dozens of dissidents have been ferried out of Syria to be vetted for foreign backing. Recipients of the aid are given satellite communications and computers so that they can act as a local “hub” linking local activists and the outside world.

How much is this costing, that we know of? The second article continues:

The schemes are overseen by the US State Department’s Office of Syrian Opposition Support (OSOS) and Foreign Office officials. America has set aside $25 million for political opponents of President Bashar al-Assad while Britain is granting £5 million to the cause of overthrowing the regime.

It is absolutely crazy to supply Syrian rebels with aid while attacking their counterparts in Afghanistan. Yet that is exactly what is being done. 

I had better get busy and finish my series on War before events take place that overshadow our past war-making history.

Thunder and Lightning

I remember the first time I ever saw this song performed. I had insomnia and got up to watch television. Back then when I lived on my ranch, I had only 4 choices—in the middle of the night even less. So I was watching the Jerry Lewis telethon. Chi Coltrane came on. I became an instant fan.