If Jesus Were President Part 2: Tax Exemption Status

If Jesus were president, I believe that churches would no longer be tax exempt. Tax exemption does encourage people to donate more money and it prohibits free speech. Both of those reasons are precisely why I believe Jesus would not want churches to be tax exempt.

Donations given to churches and houses of worship are tax exempt. That means that anybody who donates to a church does so with the benefits of not having to pay income tax on that amount. So it encourages people to give more which isn’t necessarily a bad thing and take a look at the fact that it can be used as a bribe. There are many places in the Bible that talk about bribes and how they destroy justice. Exd 23:8 “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.” Pro 17:23 “A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the course of justice.”

A bribe to give more to church is not an acceptable offering to God. We are to give with a glad heart, not so that we can receive a reduction on how much we pay in taxes. We are supposed to give because we love God, not because we can receive something in return. Jesus loves justice. Jesus encourages people to give all they have. Jesus never once says “Give so you don’t have to pay.”

Our government uses churches tax-exempt status to prohibit free speech. There are some churches who have spoken out against certain political leaders. There are other churches that have endorsed political candidates. The simple truth is that these churches have been threatened with having their status of being tax-exempt removed. This is nothing more than a power play by our government. This is the government telling us what we can and cannot say because they know the churches rely on donations and people donate more when there is an additional benefit for them.

I would urge all churches to renounce their tax-exempt status. It will give the church members and attendees the ability to truly give something to God without expecting anything back in this lifetime which will give everyone greater blessings in Heaven. It will also give the church the ability to speak on items that the government might not approve of, such as where politicians and various political views differ from the bible, real equality, class systems, and ultimate authority.

The fact that our government gives our churches tax-exempt status is doing more harm than good. And since Christ isn’t the president, I think it is time that we start acting in his place. Urge your church to renounce its tax-exempt status.