If you ruled your country or city

[Goodbook]

I suppose its in the bible how kings were not a good idea because the ordinary people had to fund their lavish lifestyle. Which is why we have the king of kings Lord of lords who never asked people for money and tithes and ruled with grace and truth.

 

[Noxot]

it is hard to exist without a lot of real love. we humans exist as separated souls in a world that can often feel hostile. nature and society have both good and evil aspects to them.

i read the other day how they are euthanizing ducks for 100$ each for some odd reason... cause you know, that is the best way to solve that problem. not like you could, say, feed people with them if you are gonna kill them.

they are crazy so that others don't have to be I guess.

 

[Goodbook]

What? Do people eat the euthanized ducks? My mum has a love for peking duck. They could make a fortune feeding the chinese population.

 

[Noxot]

I don't think they are. if you euthanize them then I don't think you can? the USA does not even abide by the international laws like "you are allowed to feed yourself if you need to". and if you fast as a protest they will force feed you.

but on the other hand if everyone decided they wanted to hunt several animals would prob go extinct. we got too many humans on this planet to be doing certain things. it's a crazy mess. but we supposedly still have lots of room on the earth for people.

 

[Goodbook]

Your country sounds as crazy as mine but in a different way.

 

[Noxot]

things could be a lot worse. I heard of one guy from your country who was trying to set up a system so everyone has a living wage? dunno if that would work out or not. they are trying or just made the min wage in California 15$ an hour.... but that is going to affect a lot of things... wonder how that will work out...

 

[Goodbook]

I think a living wage is a good idea. Its stupid to work for a wage that doesnt even cover the cost of living. You could call it a death wage.

The bible says dont muzzle the ox that treads out the corn...you should at least be able to feed yourself on it.

 

[timewerx]

Rents are crazy. The cost of living, like your basic cost, could easily be had on one income if you didnt have to pay things like rates and rents which are arbitrary. You are basically funding someone elses lifestyle.

Basically, that's how poorly regulated Capitalism work!

 

[Goodbook]

I was thinking today how I hate tax collectors. Well everyone hates paying tax but its the people who spend the tax unwisely that make it difficult for everyone else. What would happen if just nobody paid tax. Would there be anarchy?

 

[Noxot]

I think the natural result of the world will either tend to look more like hell or more like heaven depending on the collective of humans in the world. the natural result of having something less than God are inferior worlds that depend on things less than how God himself would do. one of the most perplexing things to me is how exactly should I conduct myself in a world that has both 'angels' and 'devils' in it.

it's something God is slowly teaching my confused self. I don't want people to be taxed because I wish to love them as I love myself and I don't wanna tax myself. I feel that I should of my own self obtain the things I need and if anyone wants to help me then they can. but I can't force people to love me and I don't want others to be my slaves.

the only kingdom that will last forever is Gods but God can't force people to be part of his kingdom and we have to in some way deal with those people who don't know God while at the same time not falling away from God due to the evils inflicted upon us. this world is the cross for ourselves and I neither wish to keep fueling the evils of it nor to fight evil with evil. so I have to do a lot of searching and wondering as to how I ought to be in this world.

taxation is theft, plain and simple. it does not mean people will stop paying taxes. it does not mean that some people will stop collecting taxes. only in Christ is the world overcome. in the world we have to deal with things in accord to whatever is the will of God for our lives. so i wonder what I should do in the world that is pleasing to God, regardless of what the world is doing.

anarchy just means 'no rulers' not "no rules" but I think a highly advanced humanity would have very few rules. too many laws really start to burden and oppress people.

Matt 22:34-40 (YLT)
and the Pharisees, having heard that he did silence the Sadducees, were gathered together unto him; and one of them, a lawyer, did question, tempting him, and saying, `Teacher, which is the great command in the Law?' And Jesus said to him, `Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thine understanding-- this is a first and great command; and the second is like to it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; on these--the two commands--all the law and the prophets do hang.'

1Tim 1:9 (YLT)
having known this, that for a righteous man law is not set, but for lawless and insubordinate persons, ungodly and sinners, impious and profane, parricides and matricides, men-slayers,

Rom 8:21-23 (YLT)
that also the creation itself shall be set free from the servitude of the corruption to the liberty of the glory of the children of God; for we have known that all the creation doth groan together, and doth travail in pain together till now. And not only so , but also we ourselves, having the first-fruit of the Spirit, we also ourselves in ourselves do groan, adoption expecting--the redemption of our body;

Gal 5:22-26 (YLT)
And the fruit of the Spirit is: Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law; and those who are Christ's, the flesh did crucify with the affections, and the desires; if we may live in the Spirit, in the Spirit also we may walk; let us not become vain-glorious--one another provoking, one another envying!

 

[Goodbook]

Jesus said to give to caesar what is caesars and to God what is Gods. So we cant avoid paying tax but Jesus, who didnt want to give his money not that he really had any but it would have been used for ministry purposes, told Peter to go fishing and they found some money to pay the tax in a fish.

So maybe we ought to do that lol.

 

[Noxot]

lol you are not allowed to fish without a license nowadays, at least in the usa.

 

[Goodbook]

oh man. USA.

Well, I've got this thing on my bank statment saying IRD witholding tax 17.5%. And they just take money straight out of my account without my say so! I don't even know what that is???? What do they do with that money?

 

[Noxot]

whatever they want lol. I think "wow I could have an extra 50-80$ a week if no tax"... but if there was no government at all I have no way to understand if I would end up making less or more money because the problem in the world is sin, not governments. laws are a reaction against sin and often they themselves end up being corrupted by sin. I mean, i don't care about money per say, I want the stuffs I need to live and to not suffer and to have some kind of meaningful life. and ofc to not do evil!

well if someone is gonna take my money I hope they at least do something less evil than what they do with some of it. in my country it is just a huge joke really, they print money/debt out of thin air with interest and the government is like... 17$ trillion in debt. one time I remember there was an incident where billions of $$ just 'vanished' and no one could account for it. -_-

hopefully a country that is smaller can be held more accountable...

 

[Goodbook]

Yea I just wondered what they did with it, seems arbitrary tax. They could have at least said what it was for.
In the bible the tax for the old testament israelites was set at 10% which was for the priests to minister at the temple. I can understand that. It was called a tithe and it didn't have to be money, it could be a portion of grain for example.

But `17.5% seems a bit much.

 

[Noxot]

even 1% is too much for me. if I wanna do something good to people then I will. the bible is far ahead of the world for in the NT the kingdom of heaven is openly preached.

2Cor 9:6-14 (YLT)
And this: He who is sowing sparingly, sparingly also shall reap; and he who is sowing in blessings, in blessings also shall reap; each one, according as he doth purpose in heart, not out of sorrow or out of necessity, for a cheerful giver doth God love, and God is able all grace to cause to abound to you, that in every thing always all sufficiency having, ye may abound to every good work, (according as it hath been written, `He dispersed abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness doth remain to the age,') and may He who is supplying seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, in every thing being enriched to all liberality, which doth work through us thanksgiving to God, because the ministration of this service not only is supplying the wants of the saints, but is also abounding through many thanksgivings to God, through the proof of this ministration glorifying God for the subjection of your confession to the good news of the Christ, and for the liberality of the fellowship to them and to all, and by their supplication in your behalf, longing after you because of the exceeding grace of God upon you;

but sadly the entire world does not believe in the goodness of God. godless societies don't work, they go in the direction of nihilism and tyranny. lots of unbelievers and even some believers are compelled to turn to the governments of the world as their god if they don't follow the only God. and it is well known from the bible that kings and nations seem to want to be worshiped when they are sinful. it does not even have to be in a literal sense but the spirit of its actions are such.

certainly i think everyone could benefit from simpler governmental systems. if there is so much mess with everything then there is much more room for errors and shadows to conceal your evil doings in. even if taxation is an evil in my eyes, it could at least be ordered in a more useful way than some abstract and muddled justification called "taxation", which can mean whatever they want it to mean.

so I guess it is best to be concerned with the things of God. the wisdom of the world makes me sick and makes me reach to God, so at least in that I can be grateful to God. sometimes the world can be a scary and lonely place, no wonder things are how they are.

+ I can still be grateful for anything good that does happen in the world.

 

[Goodbook]

yea God loves us and His Kingdom is Just.
If I ruled the world would still be a mess although I might fix up a little bit of it, this side of heaven.