April 15th (a.k.a. "April Fools' Day") approaching, it is at long last a very timely time for...
...yet another "Sermon You'll Never Hear In Church!"
“Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”
- Mark 10:18-19 (emphasis added)
Are you a despicable tax collector?
How would you know, if no one points out the facts?
In my (not so humble) opinion, it's a crime and a crying shame that most shepherds (you may have been calling them 'pastors?'—but that's another story...)—all across America shrink in terror from any sermonizing about the evils of the state. In sad fact, most preachers apologize for the state and encourage their congregants to toady up to that evil, utterly reprobate, and irredeemable beast.
IRS: Always in an Unjust State of Imbalance... ~ Source
Sad to say, I've neglected my keyboard and this series for too long...
It's past time for me to catch up and start cranking out sermons again! What are the odds you'll hear one of these in church? Slim and none!
the first three not to be missed sermons in the series
"Sermons You'll Never Hear In Church:"
"Tax Collectors Are Mentally Ill, and Ought to Quit"
"Render unto GOD what is His."
"Do You See Anything?"
Brothers and sisters,
do you remember the second greatest commandment?
Of course you do. You probably even believe that you follow it. Jesus said:
“And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matt. 22:38–39).
But do you really love your neighbor, or are you oppressing them?
Just as a fish is blind to water,
we have become blind to the society that we are immersed in. We were born into it; we think of it as normal, natural. "That's how everyone does it," we're inclined to say. "If I don't go along with it, I'll get in trouble."
Confronted with state evil, most preachers look the other way, not merely accepting, but often justifying the evils of the state. And one of the most egregious—but universally accepted—evils thus tacitly justified is the withholding of wages due workers, and the bearing of false witness done to cover that up.
You may not be my target today.
What's that? You're feeling a bit picked-on? No worries.
You may not be the one about to feel the sting of my tongue-lashing. You may be innocent in the immediate matter. You may not be the target of my wrath today. But don't stop squirming just yet. You may, unknowingly, be part of my target audience.
Who am I preaching to?
Today, I am going after everyone in the USA who "employs" anyone.
Do you "employ" someone? Are you an "employer?"
Some of you have answered "yes."
Are you sure about that? Are you positively sure that the person working for you is an employee?
Please stop for a minute and take this very seriously. You don't want to trifle with the second greatest commandment, do you? Could it be remotely possible that you've been deceived, deluded into believing (contrary to fact) that you are an employer?
To answer that question, we must look into the tax law. After all, that's the very reason you believe you are withholding wages from those workers of yours, isn't it? You're doing it because you believe you are obeying the law, right?
So let us take a look at "the law."
What is an "employee?"
"Oh, that's easy" you say, "It's obvious. Everyone knows what an employee is."
Really? This is of course what the federal government and its minions at the IRS would like you to believe. But what does federal law actually say an employee is?
Before reading the law, here's something you may be unaware of:
In law, certain specific terms are explicitly and uniquely defined. These special definitions supplant the normal, every day common usage of words. In the law, the common meaning of the words so defined are no longer valid; their every day meaning is replaced with a special-purpose legal definition.
Guess what?
The word "employee" is one of the terms that has been given a very specific and limited legal definition in the IRS code.
Here is the legal definition of the word "employee" from 26 U.S. Code § 3401 - Definitions
employee
For purposes of this chapter, the term “employee” includes an officer, employee, or elected official of the United States, a State, or any political subdivision thereof, or the District of Columbia, or any agency or instrumentality of any one or more of the foregoing. The term “employee” also includes an officer of a corporation.
And here's what may be another eye-opener for you. When the word "includes" is used, unmodified, in a statute like this, it actually excludes any and everything else that is not one of the class of things listed in the statute.
Huh?
"You mean my employee is not an "employee" when it comes to the IRS code? Is it possible that he or she is not "included" in this definition?"
That is precisely what I mean. The definition of "employee" in federal law is strictly limited to officers, employees, or elected officials who work for federal or state governments or government-owned corporations.
NOTE: While it is beyond the scope of this sermon to go into the great detail necessary to explain the workings of legal language, you can read brilliant presentations on the topic here and here.
Be honest with yourself...
Does that person working for you fit the legal definition of an "employee" now that you are aware of it?
Of course not! Unless you are a government corporation, NO ONE working for you is an "employee" according to the LAW.
It does not matter whether you are acting as a private individual or if you are acting on behalf of a non-government company. Whenever you withhold any of your workers' (who are not defined as an "employee" in Title 26) wages, you are a thief and a robber and an oppressor.
To add injury to your insult, when you file a report with the IRS using any Form W2 or any of the many Forms 1099, you are bearing false witness (i.e. lying, giving false testimony) against an innocent person.
Is that who you are? Who you want to be? A thief and a liar?
I cannot remain silent.
I call on you today to repent of your wicked attitude and behavior. Stop oppressing your neighbor. Stop stealing from your workers. Stop getting them in trouble with the wicked state beast.
As long as you continue to withhold "wages" and lie to the government about the status of your workers, you are part of the problem. A very big part. You are feeding the ever-growing beast of the state, you are aiding and abetting the financing of abortion and war and all manner of evil, and you are making it difficult for your workers to live a peaceable life and provide for their family.
Have you been evading the truth about taxes? ~ Source
In case you might prefer a more "fire-and-brimstone" southern style sermon against the sin of withholding taxes from your "employees," please go here.
FIN
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