Donation of money to God shall be with love not with force
Offering money to God is the highest sacrifice
Payment of temple/church tax
[24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
25 “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
26 “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him.
27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”]
EXPLANATION
Swami Replied: Temple tax indicates the offering of money to God. It is not the tax paid to king to carry on social welfare programmes. Human beings paying tax to a human being, who is expected to serve the human beings is the tax to be paid to king. It should be paid by everybody provided the paid tax is not swallowed by king or ministers or officials. Corruption should be absent in such tax. But, the tax paid to the God, who is the king of kings is totally different. All the souls are created by God and hence become His children. Father never collects tax from his children. If the children offer money with pure love, it is certainly accepted by God. A human father may be in need of money, but, the divine Father, whose wealth is all this creation, does not need any money except it is offered with pure love. Of course, offering money to God is the highest sacrifice called as karmaphalatyaga, which is very much stressed in the Gita as test of real love, but, it is not to be paid as tax on demand. Offering is never demanded like tax. Hence, the word ‘temple tax’ was disliked by Jesus, the human incarnation in whom God exists. This means that the God Himself is not liking the word. Hence, Jesus performed a miracle to pay the tax from the creation itself since creation itself is His wealth! Since all human beings are His children, temple should never collect tax from any human being unless it is offered by a devoted human being.
The Government can collect tax for the service of humanity and not to swallow it through corruption. Corruption is one of the three main gates to the horrible hell and every member and official of the Government should not forget this severe warning of God. Corrupt money is like poisoned milk to kill anybody, which is realized by the effect only and not visualized in the beginning as you can’t see poison in poisoned milk. The poisoned milk kill you only where as the corrupt money will kill you and your family forever in this world as well as in the upper world.
Universal Spirituality for World Peace
Offering money to God is the highest sacrifice
Payment of temple/church tax
[24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
25 “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
26 “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him.
27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”]
EXPLANATION
Swami Replied: Temple tax indicates the offering of money to God. It is not the tax paid to king to carry on social welfare programmes. Human beings paying tax to a human being, who is expected to serve the human beings is the tax to be paid to king. It should be paid by everybody provided the paid tax is not swallowed by king or ministers or officials. Corruption should be absent in such tax. But, the tax paid to the God, who is the king of kings is totally different. All the souls are created by God and hence become His children. Father never collects tax from his children. If the children offer money with pure love, it is certainly accepted by God. A human father may be in need of money, but, the divine Father, whose wealth is all this creation, does not need any money except it is offered with pure love. Of course, offering money to God is the highest sacrifice called as karmaphalatyaga, which is very much stressed in the Gita as test of real love, but, it is not to be paid as tax on demand. Offering is never demanded like tax. Hence, the word ‘temple tax’ was disliked by Jesus, the human incarnation in whom God exists. This means that the God Himself is not liking the word. Hence, Jesus performed a miracle to pay the tax from the creation itself since creation itself is His wealth! Since all human beings are His children, temple should never collect tax from any human being unless it is offered by a devoted human being.
The Government can collect tax for the service of humanity and not to swallow it through corruption. Corruption is one of the three main gates to the horrible hell and every member and official of the Government should not forget this severe warning of God. Corrupt money is like poisoned milk to kill anybody, which is realized by the effect only and not visualized in the beginning as you can’t see poison in poisoned milk. The poisoned milk kill you only where as the corrupt money will kill you and your family forever in this world as well as in the upper world.
Universal Spirituality for World Peace
