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“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.”
- Leviticus 19:11
We always knew Government was wasteful. There have been many reports for many years by many organizations documenting the overspending, the waste and abuse. Overspending is incompetent but fraud is evil.
Recent discoveries by the new Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) have me asking, “are we obligated to pay our taxes if we know the money is going toward fraud?” If you learned a company was fraudulent, would you continue to buy from them? What if we resisted such fraud by refusing to pay our taxes? Can it be done without serious consequences? Would the risk be worth it?
Did D.O.G.E. Uncover Fraud?
The primary role of The U.S. Treasury is “…protecting the integrity of the financial system and manage the U.S. Government’s finances and resources effectively.” (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025) D.O.G.E. work indicates the Treasury has failed to live their purpose. In just 4 weeks, D.O.G.E. is claiming to have found over $55 billion in waste and fraud.
Here are four examples.
Waste is unintentional. It’s an inefficiency and/or a mistake. Fraud is purposeful. It’s an intentional break in integrity (a lie). How can we stand idle now that we know our taxes are being used for fraud?
The Bible And Fraud
“… Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud…”
- Mark 10:19
Fraud is considered a sin because the eighth commandment “thou shall not steal”. This commandment is one of the most influential because it’s seen as a basis for many other sins. (Prager, 10 Commandments 5-Minute Video Scripts, 2024) The Bible also speaks of having just weights and measures and anything other than a “just scale” is an abomination to the Lord.
The ninth commandment, “Thou shall not bear false witness”, is interesting because telling lies are always a foundation of evil and lack of integrity. These fraudulent actions found by D.O.G.E. are both stealing and lying.
If the government takes our tax dollars, isn’t it obligated to spend them responsibly? If fraud is a sin and our tax dollars are being used for that sin, aren’t we contributing to the sin if we don’t speak up?
Jesus tells us, ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’ But should we blindly follow unjust laws being an accomplice to fraud? Are we to supposed to be passive in the face of evil?
The Bible (Luke 16:10) also tells us anyone dishonest with little things will be dishonest in big things. We therefore likely can expect more fraud to appear. What shall we do as this evil continues to be revealed by D.O.G.E.?
Non-Violent Non-Cooperation
“Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good.”
– Mohandas Gandhi
Both Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King used the strategy of non-violent non-cooperation to successfully influence positive change. Gandhi was able to facilitate India self-governance. Dr. King facilitated the successful implementation of civil rights awareness and legislation.
Withholding tax payments is an act of non-violent non-cooperation. What impact would it have if enough of us did it and is it worth the risk of punishment (fines)? Is there better choice for non-violent non-cooperation behavior?
More Accountability Is Needed
Accountability is the ability to consistently behave with integrity. When integrity is broken, there must be feedback to correct the poor behavior. In other words, consequences are necessary when integrity is broken. Otherwise, people will continue to behave badly because people are NOT basically good. (Prager, Are People Born Good?, 2014) Without consequences, a person’s goodness is curtailed. For example, we’ve seen shoplifting soaring since 2019 due to a lack of accountability.
“Without deterrents and accountability, communities will be victimized, and businesses terrorized,” said Laura Cooper, head of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. (Malanga, 2022) We have also seen an increase in other crime in cities with lenient Attorneys General who refuse to prosecute criminals. Without consequences, evil flourishes.
Elected officials can be impeached or voted out of office when they don’t perform. But do we know which elected officials are responsible for the fraud D.O.G.E uncovered? Don’t we need more powerful and faster accountability? Perhaps prosecuting the politicians can help. But if Congressional leaders are benefiting from fraud, do we prosecute them all? For example, how is it that many elected politicians become multi-millionaires when their salaries are only $175k/year? Isn’t that proof of their corruption or at least a reason for investigation?
The founders wrote our Constitution to keep government small and to separate the power equally between the three branches. Doesn’t this fraud and waste uncovered by D.O.G.E. confirm our founder’s belief about the need for a smaller government?
Summary
If the government was a business, would you continue buying from them knowing they are fraudulent?
The Bible says fraud is a sin. Jesus taught us we must pay taxes, and we must follow the government’s rule of law. “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” Matthew 22:21. I’m asking, “do we just continue to render to ‘Caesar’ when we know there is fraud?”
Jesus also asks us to turn the other cheek. “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” Matthew 5:38-39. In the context of that time, the action of turning the other cheek means making it harder for an additional attack. In other words, let the attacker know you will not be passive and let them know there are consequences. (Wally Hauck, 2024) We therefore need to not be passive but to deliver consequences.
Perhaps it’s time for non-violent non-cooperation with our government. Perhaps we can defend ourselves. D.O.G.E is making progress to eliminate fraud. And the election of 2024 sends a message that most of us want an honest and efficient government. Considering all this, aren’t we still obligated to resist? Should we withhold or continue paying our taxes?
