"Peanuts, Pumpkins, and Wealth Disparity"

Several years ago I submitted a letter to our local newspaper, and the editor assigned a title that turned my argument on its head, so the point I was trying to suggest was lost. So I’ll give it another shot.

One of my mentors in ministry once offered a visual demonstration of the biblical principle of tithing—giving ten percent of income. Across the top of the altar, he laid fruits, nuts, and vegetables of various varieties and sizes, ranging from a peanut on one end to a pumpkin on the other, with many others on a graduated scale in between. Each one represented the offering of one tenth of household income, leaving nine others for the household expenses. Those who earned ten peanuts were left with nine, while those who earned ten pumpkins were also left with nine.

Now here is where the editor missed my point. I wondered if this visual image might inform our conversations about income and wealth disparity and taxes. The editor took my use of the word inform to mean to be a model. If my illustration were to be a model, my argument would be for a flat tax. Indeed, look at how much more the one with the pumpkins pays in taxes. However, if the illustration serves to inform the conversation, we might focus on how much each has left, on how much is remaining. How much is left in the pantry at home? How many times more are nine pumpkins compared to nine peanuts? How many more pumpkins might be offered to the greater good so that those with peanuts might not go to bed hungry every night? How many pumpkin pies does one really need?