… much is required.

The passage, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required,” keeps knocking on my heart when I read about the cuts and bonuses proposed in the “Big Beautiful Bill” known as H.R.1.

House Republicans have unveiled the cost-saving centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” at least $880 billion in cuts largely to Medicaid to help cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks.

Washington AP

The cuts in this bill are not about reducing our nation’s debt.* They are about math and priorities.

Math because cuts are necessary to offset tax cuts. Priorities because tax cuts, primarily for households making between $460,000 and $1.1 million, are paid for by taking from the poor. Kind of a reverse Robin Hood kind of thing. Kind of a slap-in-the-face to Jesus, if you ask me. Maybe that’s why this teaching has been showing up whenever I read about this bill? Maybe I also need to bring it on home and into my own experiences, and ask:

Am I thinking that I need to get more because I deserve it?

Do I resent that more is expected of me than from the “other guy”? And,

While I defend harsh opinions about those who appear to me to be so incredibly unkind, what about the unkind judgements I so righteously hold for them?

Hard questions. Not easy to face, and even harder to live. But, this is what I do know, at least in this moment. I have been given much.

In truth, I have been given more than enough and by a Grace than I can barely comprehend. My bucket is full. It is a right and privilege to share what has been so freely given to me. And calling my Senators helped me to know that my voice matters.

But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

Luke 12:48 (NKJV)

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*National Debt vs Deficit – The national deficit is the difference between how much the federal government spends and how much it collects in revenue (primarily through taxes) in a single fiscal year. The national debt is the total accumulation of all past annual deficits (minus any surpluses). Any current administration has responsibility for national deficit but not debt.

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Details on the bill follow. You may find it interesting to review the list with an eye of what would benefit you directly? It is also a handy reference for expressing your priorities with your congressional representatives. Facts level the playing field for healthy debates.

Analyses from organizations like the Tax Policy Center and the Tax Foundation indicate that Households making between $460,000 and $1.1 million (the top 95th to 99th percent of income) would be the biggest beneficiaries of tax cuts in H.R. 1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

While the bill would spread tax cuts across most income groups, it “tilts heavily in favor of higher-income households.” Specifically:

• Upper-middle income households ($460,000 – $1.1 million) would see the largest average tax cuts, estimated at nearly $21,000, or 4.3% of their after-tax income.
• The top 0.1 percent of households (making over $5 million annually) would also be significant winners in dollar terms.
• The top 20 percent of households would receive about 60% of the total tax cuts.
• Middle-income households would receive an average tax cut of about $1,800, or 2.4% of their after-tax income.
• Low-income households (making about $35,000 or less) would see the smallest tax cuts, averaging about $160, or less than 1%. Some very low-income households might even see a slight tax increase due to the loss of certain Affordable Care Act subsidies.

The bill achieves these changes by:

• Extending and expanding many provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that were set to expire, such as reduced income tax rates, an increased standard deduction, and an expanded child tax credit.
• Adding new deductions for things like tip income, qualified overtime pay, and car loan interest for vehicles assembled in the United States.
• Increasing the qualified business income (QBI) deduction to 23%.
• Raising the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap to $40,000 (though this benefit phases out for higher earners).
• Providing a temporary increase in the standard deduction for all filers and an additional standard deduction for seniors.
• Permanently increasing the estate and gift tax exemption.
• Restoring 100% bonus depreciation for certain business investments and allowing immediate expensing for domestic research and development (R&D) expenses.

It’s important to note that H.R. 1 also includes significant spending cuts, particularly to healthcare programs like Medicaid, and makes other policy changes that could impact different groups in various ways beyond just tax changes.