Originally posted by Matt Black:
Except that the government doesn't hold a gun to your head and threaten to kill you;
Yeah? Try not paying your taxes and see what happens when they come to take every single little thing you own. If you try to resist and defend your family and your property, it's just like Ruby Ridge, baby!
Originally posted by Matt Black:
it is, after all, the 'lawful authority' per Rom 13 whereas a street mugger is quite clearly not
The "lawful authority" in this case is the US Constitution. There are limitations imposed on the Fed for good reason. This is one of those limits. These taxes are illegal because they are in violation of the "lawful authority".
Originally posted by Matt Black:
And, as I said before, paying taxes for defence is as much an 'involuntary tax' as for anything else; as I've also said, we pay taxes as part of the 'social contract' between us, the government and the rest of the society in which we live.
See above. Federal defense is legitimate under the lawful authority of our nation. National welfare and enforced socialism are not.
Originally posted by Matt Black:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />If you're hungry, ask
And what if the answer's 'no'?</font>[/QUOTE]Then, you still don't have the right to steal from me. What if I need a ride somewhere, and the answer is "no"? Do I have the right to take your car any way?
Originally posted by Matt Black:
My point was that if you're holding down two to three jobs and getting up at 5am to do the first every day, then you will be getting less than 6 hours sleep (my target too BTW is 6-8 hours which is fine for me but my wife for example has always needed a minimum of 8 - don't forget, different people have different physical needs: Margaret Thatcher got by on 4 hours' sleep but that would kill me over time), still less seeing anything of your family which kind of renders the whole 'male head of the household' things spectacularly redundant.
Someone has to get up at 5AM to drive the busses that take your kids to school. Someone has to get up at 4AM to prepare breakfast for school bus drivers. (If I'm not mistaken Spurgeon, Moody, and those fellows usually began their day about 4AM in study, but don't quote me on that; I don't feel like looking it up.)
Besides, there are 168 hours in a week. Assume you spend 6 hours sleeping every night, plus a couple extra for sleeping in on one day. That leaves 124 hours. Now, let's assume that the day you sleep a couple hours extra is Sunday, and you don't work on Sunday so you can spend the entire day with your family. Let's subtract another 16 hours. What's left 108.
Now, let's subtract the 12 hours per day, six days per week that seems to be God's standard of working: That leaves you with 36 hours per week.
That translates into 6 hour per day! You can play ball with your kids, you can go fishing... You can do all sorts of things in 6 hours per day, including working an extra job for a while if you need the money!
There are also ways to combine activities. I take my laptop with me on the bus, so that during down time, I can prepare my sermons. Or while travelling on business, I have an mp3 player in the RV and I am studying. I hand out business cards and witness to people whenever I'm out and about, as does my wife.
Now, I agree that if you're working all that extra time just so you can have the nicest and newest car at all times, or make sure your house is bigger than the neighbor's, or something along those lines, then it would be idolatry. But, if you or your family has a need, why not use a couple of those 6 hour blocks per week, making some extra cash?
Or, you could spend some of it going to school to further your eduction so you can get a better job. In most cases, the work would be temporary or would be a way to move up into a higher paying position. When I was juggling the 4 jobs, we operated our business at a loss for the first 3 years. But, I'm preparing to leave on a deal that will net me 6 figures in the coming year. It takes work!
No one is going to hand life to you on a silver platter. Even God doesn't do that. "By the sweat of your face..." I think that applies to both spiritual bread and physical bread.
Oh, and anyone can train themselves to get less sleep. It's not usually a good idea to go from 10 hours per night to 4, but if you go from 8 to 7.5 and get used to that, then to 7, and so on, you will get the rest you need because your body is in sleep mode when you go to bed instead of tossing and turning all night. But, sleeping more than 8 is detrimental to your health and it's detrimental to your bank account.
Archimedes slept for two hours every night, taking 15 minute cat naps throughout the day. I did that when I was in college, and I carried a 4.0 GPA (including other schools that I have taken since then*). Now, I prefer getting 5-6 hours per night, but when something needs doing, I simply do it.
You know, my wife used to work with a fellow who had a baby. He kept saying that he needed more money (diapers, hospital bills, etc.), but his faith in God told him that he would get it. Well, he lost his faith in God over it because God didn't miraculously give it to him. However, he did turn down overtime every single week. He didn't seem to see that as a fulfillment of his request to God for more money.
God expects us to work for what we get. He told the Jews to leave the corners of their fields unharvested, but he told the poor to go get it for themselves. He didn't tell the field owners to pick it, prepare it, and give it to the poor on a silver platter.
God never condoned theft. He condoned obeying the laws of the land. In this case, these illegal taxes, Ponzi schemes, and socialist handouts are a violation of the law of the land and a violation of the plan that God set forth in Scripture.
I will speak out against this corruption that we call a welfare state at every opportunity. I will also continue to help provide for the poor in a godly and legal manner.
*As a side note, the only class that I ever did not carry a 4.0, I dropped out of. It was in Bible college, and I dropped it after I got a test that one of the questions wanted me to list the 17 steps to salvation. I gave the correct answer, received a 6 on my test, and went directly and dropped the class. I could have given the answer he wanted, but that is just pointless.