Legalidades: o que a Bíblia diz sobre leis e impostos
O cristão e o cumprimento das leis civis
A Bíblia orienta o cristão a cumprir as leis do país, pagar tributos e respeitar as autoridades, pois a ordem pública foi instituída por Deus para promover a justiça e conter o mal. Essa submissão só encontra limite quando uma lei humana entra em conflito direto com a palavra de Deus — situação em que a lealdade ao Senhor vem em primeiro lugar.
Ao escrever aos cristãos que viviam sob o Império Romano, Paulo explicou que a obediência às autoridades civis não deve nascer apenas do medo de punição, mas do dever de manter a consciência limpa perante Deus:
Everyone should obey government authorities, because no one has the power to rule unless God gives permission. These authorities have been put there by God. Whoever resists the authorities opposes what God has put in place, and those who do so shall find themselves judged accordingly. For rulers don’t frighten those who do right, but those who do wrong. If you don’t want to live in fear of the authorities, then do what is right, and you’ll have their approval. Those in power are God’s servants, put there for your own good. If you do wrong, you should be frightened—it’s not without reason that authorities have the power to punish! They are God’s servants, punishing offenders. So it’s important to do as you’re told, not just because of the threat of punishment, but because of what your conscience tells you. That’s why you have to pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants taking care of such things. Pay whatever you owe: taxes to the tax authorities, fees to the fee-collectors; give respect to those who should be respected, honor those who should be honored.(Romans 13:1-7)
Esse princípio se traduz na prática em não deixar pendências financeiras nem judiciais com o próximo, mantendo a integridade no convívio social:
Don’t owe anybody anything, except love for one another—for those who love their neighbor have kept the law.(Romans 13:8)
Pedro reforça a mesma orientação, ensinando que o respeito às leis humanas serve de testemunho para calar acusações injustas contra os que creem:
Be sure to act appropriately when you’re with non-Christians, so even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see the good things you do and glorify God when he comes.
Obey human authority for the Lord’s sake, whether it is the king as the highest authority, or governors that God appoints to punish those who do evil and to commend those who do good.(1 Peter 2:12-14)
Impostos, processos e deveres na prática
Quando questionado sobre o pagamento de tributos a Roma, Jesus estabeleceu a distinção entre os deveres com o Estado e os deveres com o Criador:
So let us know your opinion. Is it right to pay Caesar’s taxes, or not?"
Jesus knew their motives were evil. He asked them, "Why are you trying to trap me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that is used to pay the tax." They brought a denarius coin to him. "Whose image and whose title is inscribed here?" he asked them.
"Caesar’s," they replied.
"You should give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God," he told them.(Matthew 22:17-21)
Em Cafarnaum, mesmo não tendo a obrigação pessoal de pagar o imposto do templo, Jesus optou por quitar a taxa para não criar escândalo desnecessário:
When they arrived at Capernaum, those who were in charge of collecting the half-shekel Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, "Your teacher does pay the half-shekel tax, doesn’t he?"
"Yes, of course," Peter replied.
When he returned to where they were staying, Jesus anticipated the issue. "What do you think, Simon?" Jesus asked him. "Do the kings of this world collect their taxes and duties from their own sons or from others?"
"From others," Peter replied. So Jesus told him, "In that case the sons are exempt. But to avoid giving offense to anyone, go to the lake, and throw out a fishing line with a hook. Pull in the first fish you catch, and when you open its mouth there you’ll find a stater coin. Take the coin and give it to them for both me and you."(Matthew 17:24-27)
No Sermão do Monte, Cristo ensina a resolver desavenças e litígios com prontidão, buscando o acordo antes que o problema escale para os tribunais:
While you’re on the way to court with your opponent, make sure you settle things quickly. Otherwise your opponent might hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the court official, and you will be thrown into jail. I tell you the truth: you won’t get out of there until you’ve paid every last penny.(Matthew 5:25,26)
O próprio cumprimento das normas do Império fez parte da história bíblica: o decreto de recenseamento civil emitido por César Augusto levou José e Maria até Belém, onde se cumpriu a profecia do nascimento de Jesus:
It was the time when Caesar Augustus issued a decree that there should be a census of everyone in the Roman Empire. This was the first census under governor Quirinius of Syria. So everybody went to their own city to be registered. Joseph was descended from King David, so he left Nazareth in Galilee to go to Bethlehem, the city of David, in Judea. He went to register there, together with Mary, who was pledged in marriage to him and expecting a baby.(Luke 2:1-5)
E quando a fé cristã enfrentasse perseguição nos tribunais humanos, Jesus garantiu que o Espírito Santo daria a resposta certa diante de reis e governadores:
You will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, to witness to them and to the foreigners. But when they put you on trial, don’t worry about how you should speak or what you should say, because you’ll be told what to say at the right time.(Matthew 10:18,19)
O limite da autoridade humana diante de Deus
O respeito às leis e aos tribunais não significa que o poder dos governantes seja absoluto. Diante de Pôncio Pilatos, Jesus deixou claro que a autoridade humana só existe porque Deus a permite:
"Are you refusing to talk to me?" Pilate said to him. "Don’t you realize that I have the power to have you released or to crucify you?"
"You would have no power over me unless it had been given to you from above," Jesus answered. "Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of the greater sin."(John 19:10,11)
O profeta Isaías lembra que governos, nações e seus decretos são pequenos perante a grandeza e a soberania do Criador:
It’s obvious that the nations are just a drop in a bucket. They’re like dust on a set of scales. He can pick up islands as if they weigh next to nothing. To him all the nations are like nothing. He counts them as less than nothing—like they don’t exist.(Isaiah 40:15,17)
Nenhum obstáculo civil ou jurídico tem a palavra final contra a vontade divina quando Ele decide abrir o caminho:
because a tremendous door of opportunity has opened up for me there, though there are plenty who oppose me.(1 Corinthians 16:9)
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