Survey

"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned, this is the sum of good government."
-Thomas Jefferson-

One of the very first things a person is taught if wanting to open a business is "location, location, location". Without the right location, the success of the business is questionable. The same idea is true when it comes to interpreting God's Holy Word. The first thing a seminary student is taught in hermeneutics class when interpreting Scripture is "context, context, context". It doesn't require a seminary degree to understand this nor to implement it in such a way as to understand when a person is outside this most basic teaching.
Our President recently used a Biblical teaching of Jesus to rationalize a tax increase on the wealthy. I find his interpretation interesting but not surprising. After all, he's not the only person through time that has used misinterpreted Biblical teaching in order to get what they wanted. However, that doesn't make it right nor should anyone accept an untruth. The verse he used is found in Luke 12:48 which says, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." On the surface, any of us could use this in all kinds of ways to benefit or serve our own purpose.  However, to be true to Scripture and the teaching of Jesus we must know the context.
Leading up to this statement, Jesus was teaching His disciples about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees; not denying Him before other people; being brought before synagogues and magistrates because of their proclaiming Him; being ready for His return; not to worry about what they had in life but to seek God first; and that blessed are those servants who are faithful in doing what they've been called to do until the Master returns. It was at this point that Peter asked Jesus, "Is this teaching just for us or for all people?" This is where Jesus tells them about the wise and faithful steward.  He says that the wise and faithful steward will be given rule over his household and is to take care of it while he is gone. It's in this context that Jesus says the person who does not do so, "that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."  It's obvious that Jesus is referring to the responsibility given to the steward to take care of his household while the Master was gone. The application is that followers of Jesus will be held accountable with the responsibility we have been by God to do what He has called to do. This has nothing to do with taxes at all. In fact, there is no Biblical principle for a progressive tax system. The Bible teaches that all pay the same percentage. Regarding taxes, Jesus says in Luke 20:22 that we are to pay to the government what we owe. Even the Apostle Paul says in Romans 13:7 that if we owe taxes then we should pay them.
When it comes to our President interpreting Scripture for his own agenda, the passage that comes to my mind is found in Romans 16:17-18 when the Apostle Paul warns the Christians, "I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people."  You will never find a "Robin Hood Theology" in the Bible. In fact, Proverbs 21:25 says, "The sluggard's cravings will be the death of him because his hands refuse to work."
Oh, and the context of this writing; watch out for unbelievers who try to tell others what Scripture means.