It's not about fair, it is about justice!

Having just concluded a four week study on Biblical Principles of Giving, I have a couple of principles that I would like to bring to the reader’s attention. For some these will be astonishing. These same principles will anger some. Regardless of how you feel about this, understand your reactions to them are an indictment on you the reader. I have reconciled myself with these Biblical principles.
The fist principle is this. It is unjust to require more of a rich person and less of a poor person.
Ex 30:15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives.
Often in our society, there is an expectation that if someone is wealthier they should be responsible for a greater burden. The idea of tier responsibility is not born out in scripture. As the scripture plainly says here, both have the same level of responsibility. This expectation that some should bare more responsibility and some should bare less responsibility creates several problems within the Church and society as whole. I will list several problems that tiered responsibility births for the Church and for society.
The most notable problem that tiered responsibility creates is corruption. It becomes a corrupting force by two separate means. As I will explain, the only way to combat these corrupting forces is by having a Biblical model that requires everyone to have the same level of responsibility.
The first corrupting force is financial. When the rich are providing the funds needed to conduct a ministry or a societal structure, it is only natural that they will receive greater influence and access to leadership. While a person of authority may claim he/she is not influenced by money, it becomes impossible to believe this when a person of authority is so dependent on those funds for their livelihood. Regardless of how sincere a person’s intent, they can be persuaded when the bulk of their funds come from a minority of sources.
The second corrupting force is majority rule or mob rule. Majority rule is the most often misunderstood concept within our society. Often people mistake governance by natural law with majority rule. As Ben Franklin said, “Majority Rule is two wolves and a sheep deciding what is for dinner.” With a tiered responsibility system, those required to contribute less often outnumber those required to give more. Simply put, the poor eventually outnumber the rich. This creates an environment where more people by sheer numbers seemingly have a greater influence over those in authority. What is created is a mob pushing leaders.
It is plain to see how a just and equal distribution of responsibility corrects both of these corrupting forces.
Jealously and envy are also problems with a tiered level of responsibility. In order for a tiered system to work, someone must be charged with the task of inspecting what a person owns and how that person’s tier is assigned. Then someone must be assigned with the task of ensuring that the previous persons are indeed assigning people to the correct tiers. Additionally someone must determine what the levels of the tiers are. Now someone must provide the previous group the information to determine the tiers. As you can see the numbers of people required to create a tiered system is limitless. Here is what really happens though. Everyone knows what everyone else has. No one should have to make their wealth a matter of public record. Privacy is a solid Biblical principle that should never be voided by a tradition of man. When we make public financial information, it permits others to make unnecessary judgments concerning the person. Please don’t misunderstand me there are times when judgments must be made however this is not one of those times. The truth is why do you care how much your neighbor’s wealth is? The only reason to be concerned with this is, if you are jealous of what he has.

The next principle this series has illustrated to me is one of the heart. While we discussed many types of offerings, one thing remains consistent. Giving is a matter of the heart.
2 Cor 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
This scripture is dealing specifically with a free will offering being collected by Paul. However we can learn from the principle he is presenting here. The same principle is found with the story of Ananias and Sapphira.
Acts 5:4 Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
You see the principle is very clear, giving regardless of the reason, of how just or benevolent, is a matter of the heart. You cannot force someone to be generous. It must come from their decisions. When you simply take someone’s wealth whether it is by manipulation of their conscience, laws, or at the end of the gun, it is theft. Generosity cannot be mandated. No more than you can force someone to change their heart.

In closing, I say this. Giving, tithing, taxes, etc is a physical means to establish responsibility. To fail to share that responsibility equally and justly is immoral. To allow one group to be less responsible than another, is to demean their value. To place a greater burden on one group is to value that group more. We all contain the same intrinsic value as the creation of Yahweh. The concept that someone can force generosity is an insult to Yahweh. Any belief that attempts to overrule Yahweh’s decree is Satanic at its conception and arrogant. Denying the supremacy of Yahweh’s power is nothing more than an attempt to unseat Him from His Throne. We should never be so arrogant and rebellious to believe that we should do what Yeshua has abstained from.