Alabamians against Jesus . . .

Even as you have done to the least of these, you have done to me. Jesus' words in Matthew 25 are clear.

I usually think of Jesus' statement as a call for those of us who have material wealth to take care of those who have less. That seems obvious.

I want to do good things for Jesus and his children.

But we Alabamians need to take a closer look at the passage and at ourselves. Due to an antiquated Alabama Constitution that was written post reconstruction to protect the rights of wealthy landowners, we are all guilty of treating the least of these poorly. For those of us who follow Jesus, according to his words, we are treating Jesus poorly.

It is easy to get caught up in the tedium of legalese when debating the value of our constitution. Personally I feel it is indefensible at all levels.

But for Christians, here is a simple point.

Alabama depends on sales tax for a large portion of its revenue. The person who makes $20,000.00 pays the same sales tax rate as the person who makes a million. Presently that includes a sales tax on food. Unless you are a chicken or cow. If you are an infant human, you gotta pay up.

The technical word for this kind of taxation is "regressive".

The moral word is "wrong."

The roads, the schools, the public buildings, the state parks, everything you enjoy as a citizen of Alabama is being paid for on the pained, broken backs of the poor and powerless. They cannot change it. But we can.

Much needs to be changed in Alabama. The whole constitution should be scrapped and we should start over. But until we do that, at least we can address this simple, cruel wrong that we continue to heap upon the least of these among us . . . and for us Christians, upon Jesus himself.

There is no excuse. Contact your legislator today.

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