Tithes belong to the church and taxes belong to the state.  Religion is God's government on earth and democracy is the government in our society.  We live two lives and two natures: human life and spiritual life, human nature and spiritual nature.  We are intensely supervised by two comprehensive institutions of church and state.  The church is the nursery of our spiritual life and the state is the protector of our human rights and liberties.  The wall of separation between church and state has merged in our personal life for we constitute, comprise and support both institutions.
 
Religious belief is one thing, faith in God is another thing.  By the same token, democracy is one thing and allegiance to the state is another.  I know that tithes are attributed to our spiritual nature, but as to whether the offering represents amortization of our religious beliefs or faith in God is open to question.  I also know that taxes are attributed to our human life but as to whether the exaction compensates for democracy or allegiance to the state is anybody's guess.  I don't think there is anyone who has an abiding faith in all religious beliefs and I don't think there is anyone who has consuming allegiance to all forms of government.  To this day I can only postulate that faith absolutely and exclusively belongs to the Divine Providence.  It is to the gospel that tithes are earmarked for disbursement.  And to this day, my allegiance to the state of a democratic government remains unwavering.
 
A tithe is a tenth part of one's annual income either in kind or in money, contributed voluntarily for charitable purposes or due as a tax for the support of the clergy or church.  Tithes are not debts owed to any church for they are voluntarily contributed.  However, tithes are more than debts for tithing is a powerful source of moral compulsion on account of its biblical foundation.  Ten percent of annual income is a requirement in biblical times that is not relevant to our economic times.  The tithing system borne of religious monogamy has been duly enlarged by some religious pioneers to include ten percent of time and ten percent of talent in addition to ten percent of income to be in good standing.  The enlargement is being felt as a theological coercion toward spiritual bigotry and religious idolatry in the exercise of religious freedom.  A tithing requirement aggregating ten percent of time, ten percent of talent and ten percent of treasure when everyone is struggling under water is not the crucible of faith.  It amounts to killing the goose that lay the golden egg.
 
Tax is characterized as a contribution for the support of a government required of persons, groups or businesses within the domain of that government.  Unlike tithes, taxes are debts owed to the government.  Taxes are not optional, they are not voluntary.  They are compulsory and mandatory.  Taxes approximate what is due unto Caesar and tithes resemble what is due unto God.  While a tithe is fixed at ten percent across the board, taxes vary from country to country, from state to state, from county to county, and from city to city.  Not all income is subject to taxation and in fact many organizations are tax-exempt.  But all income is subject to tithing without exception or exemption.  Taxes are sourced from legislation and tithes are sourced from the gospel.
 
The requirement to tithe ten percent has become a cumbersome subject and a contentious matter to many parishioners who are forced to tighten their belts in austerity for a variety of devastating reasons.  It has become outrageous with supplemental ten percent of time and ten percent of talent, especially as everyone is stressed by the vagrant demands of an exacting world.  It is neither realistic nor practical for one to be in two places at the same time.  More often than not, there are people who need us very badly while others just want our company.  This situation is a crossroads of our time in ways that made the the ten-percent tithing of time seem like a Sword of Damocles dangling over our heads.  Time constraints are embedded and endemic in budgetary constraints.  It takes gregarious individuals to form a monolithic religious group but a true Christian gives his time, talent and treasure to everyone other than merely his own kind.
 
Not everyone has the same assets and liabilities, not everyone has the same income, not everyone has the same earning power and not everyone has the same burdens.  I concede that economic forces should not dwindle our faith but we cannot ignore the impact of economic factors in our tithing obligations.  Ten percent is not asking too much from those blessed with fortune from rags to riches.  It sits well with the upper class, the affluent and the well-to-do.  However, ten percent is asking too much from those cursed by misfortune.  It doesn't sit well with the lower class, the impoverished and the have-nots.  These are times when our daily bread is no longer a necessity but a luxury, a time when the right mode is to live and let live.
 
To live by faith is what the church is all about and to live by allegiance is what the state is all about.  The depths of faith are not determined by tithes and the duration of allegiance is not linked to taxes.  Tithes don't signify one's faith, they are not premiums we pay to buy the grace of Jehovah.  Eternal life and salvation are not subject to bidding, bargaining, bartering or trading.  Religion is not the epicenter of faith and government is not the cradle of allegiance.  Faith in God and allegiance to the state are entirely a personal commitment of our two lives and two natures.  Faith and allegiance are not proprietary, they are not pecuniary matters.  Tithes and taxes consist of money and money being the root of all evils is not cleansed in holy water for it is both a good servant and a bad master.
 
It is never too late for us to learn that tithes and taxes are external manifestations of faith and allegiance but are not concrete evidence of faith and allegiance.  It is easy to understand that tithes and taxes are due and payable as long as we are Christians and citizens defining our relationship with church and state.  There should be no argument that tithes and taxes affirm that we are partly human and partly spiritual beings in mind, body and spirit.  There should be no surprise that tithes and taxes convincingly validate the authenticity of that timeless verse: Man does not live by bread alone.  There should be no doubt that tithes and taxes bluntly confess a culture of giving which is the functional equivalent of the doctrine that it is more blessed to give than receive.  We ought to remember and must never forget that tithes and taxes are blessings and burdens we derive from the right to worship and the right to make a living.  We need to recognize that we are monitored by two governments and are tutored under the authority of two sovereign powers to whom tithes and taxes rightfully belong.
 
Tithes, which are spiritually-induced, support a godly government in heaven represented by the big three: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Trinity lords over our spiritual being in the fellowship of the spirit.  Taxes, which are humanly-induced, support our mundane government represented by the other big three: the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government.  We should stop defining faith in terms of tithes and we should refrain from judging allegiance in terms of taxes.  The wall of separation between church and state, though consolidated in our mind, body and spirit, is made imminent with tithes and taxes.
 

 

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