By justice a king builds up the land; but one who raises taxes tears it down. Proverbs 29:4 NABRE
The proverb speaks of two different characters, the king and the one who raises taxes. The king cares for the people and cares for justice, he wants to create an equitable land of laws and justice that is fair to all people, it is a country healthy where all know the law and can live in the country with respect for one another through the king’s just caring. The man who raises taxes is looked on as a cheat and unjust. The one who imposes taxes in this case does so unfairly and only to benefit himself. The people are cheated, some forced to give more than others and some losing their own freedom to live. The king cares for the land, the people, the country; the tax collector cheats, steals and destroys the land and country. (Today in a democracy we view taxes as necessary to pay for civil services, and presume a fair and equitable system. This is not the form of taxing that is meant by the proverb.) This shows the dependence people had on the king and his justice, without a king who cares to build up the land everyone’s life could be more difficult and include struggle unnecessarily.
We see Jesus referred to as King quite often, He is a King that cares to build-up the land to build-up the people, to create a Kingdom where all are honored, loved and live joyfully. God is a just God, but in fact we are much more dependent on God’s mercy than His justice. God’s Kingdom is not a Kingdom that depends on law but depends on love. If we love, than any law is redundant because love requires we are much more than just to one another. Our King always builds up, we should be like our King.
Do you prefer justice or mercy? How do you feel when you have been cheated?
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