It was risky of God to trust us with self-determination. With free-will we can choose to love or reject him. Free-will causes a lot of problems. Which TV channel shall we watch? What shall we have for dinner, Mexican or Italian? Ford or Chevy? Blue or green? Love or hate? On and on and on. We also have free-will when it comes to helping others as part of our jobs, as an act of kindness to someone who can use our help, our maybe it’s a donation of money or materials? All three major religions strongly encourage donating to the poor among us. The Torah requires 10%, the New Testament says any amount that you can give “cheerfully”. The Quran does not specify zakat (tithe), but 2.5% of all of your wealth is generally accepted as the proper amount. Again it is not mandatory that anything be given. It has always been a free-will offering.
Withholding charitable giving at times of extreme need has never been a good thing for wealthy people. Case in point is the Bolshevik Revolution that brought communism to power in Russia in 1917. Thousands of wealthy Russians were murdered and their wealth confiscated and distributed to the masses. The Russian Czar and all his family lost their lives as well. The swine flu, and the ravages of World War I brought the Russian people to a point of desperation. This “point” has been reached many times in history and it can happen anywhere and at any time in the future. You just need some desperate people and some people of means who get selfish.
Is forcibly taking money and materials from wealthy people and distributing it to needy people usurping God’s gift of free-will? Of course it is. Most decent people have a desire to be Robinhood to relieve the stingy rich of some of their wealth and distribute it to people who really need it. Justifying usurping God’s free-will because the filthy rich won’t share seems justified or is this a temptation to take the place of God? Further, is it a sin to help others who do the work of relieving the wealthy of their booty?
The United States implemented an income tax in the 1930’s that became a benevolent redistribution system during the Great Depression. There still was much unrest and envy from the have-nots toward the haves portion of the population. The US Communist party enjoyed a period of growth during this time which gave rise to Senator Joe McCarthy and McCarthyism. Things never got bad enough for widespread violence and advocation of government overthrow probably because the government stepped in with wealth redistribution.
Is voting for people who support heavy taxation of the wealthy for redistribution to the needy a sin? How is forcibly taxing one person to give to another person any different than a mugger taking from his victim to feed himself and his family or whomever he chooses to share his ill-gotten gain? And then is it a sin for people to accept welfare because of the way it was forcibly taken from others? I’ve read the Torah, the New Testament, and the Quran and I don’t recall anywhere that being a Robinhood was justified. Maybe you know of something. Please comment if you do.
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