I just got off the phone with someone from my church who is helping oversee an upcoming building project. Given that I’ve been very pleased with my home geothermal heat/AC system, I wanted to make sure that our church is at least investigating geothermal as an option for the new addition. I told this guy that with the government tax credits, it makes a new geothermal system no more expensive than a traditional system (effectively paying for the wells required).
His response was that they had not yet done so and would consider it, however, “we won’t accept any government rebates of any kinds.” He further added “that money often comes with strings attached.” He explained further, and my paraphrase of that is that our church had no desire to come under any sort of control of the government for taking their money.
Now, my initial reaction is mixed:
- wise ethical approach: a good idea to avoid any type of government entanglement
- concern: but if this money is (not saying it is, but if it’s a pure tax credit, that seems to be to me) “free” (no strings), then is it really wise stewardship of God’s money?
I don’t know what I really think of this. I guess I’m leaning towards the latter initially. It’s something I’m going to think about.
Also, regardless of what my conclusion is, that conclusion ends with me. I will wholly submit to their authority–I’m not going to share that with anyone at the church. If I decide that it’s unwise and if God, just by some chance, agrees with me, then it’s going to be His job to convict the men of our church that they should consider taking that kind of money.
ramblings from the noisedoctor 