The Beard Tax
Matthew 23:23-28
September 5th Devotional
On this day in 1698 Russian Czar Peter the Great levied a beard tax on his citizens. Peter instituted this tax after touring Western Europe for the previous two years. His travels through Hungary, France, and countless other countries convinced him that Russia was drastically far behind them in regard to culture and fashion. Peter was determined to “Europeanize” Russia. He introduced the tax during his welcome home party. The first victims to fall prey to his petty beard tax were Russian Nobles. Peter had a jester go from bewhiskered man to bewhiskered man. If the man refused to be shaved the jester ‘bopped’ him on the head. Peter felt that the beard was backward and ‘repulsive.’ The cost of the tax varied based on your financial status. Peasants and clergy were exempt from the tax; the clergy because they felt that God created man, and the beard was a part of God’s creation. It was forbidden for Russian Orthodox priests to be clean-shaven. The typical tax varied from 30-100 rubles. When the person paid their tax they were given a ‘beard coin.’ The beard coin had a beard printed on it and gave the bearer the right to have a beard. The men were required to carry it and failure to do so could result in further fines, being arrested, or even being publicly shorn, no matter their financial station. Peter the Great was very serious about the enforcement of this tax. He created checkpoints in and out of cities and hired extra law enforcement officers to make sure the law was being carried out. The goal wasn’t just to eliminate beards but to also change the fashion of Russia as a whole. He demanded the tailors start making clothing in a more ‘modern’ style. These taxes and unjust changes naturally caused quite an opposition in Russia, it even led to a revolution in 1714 where hundreds of people were killed. The beard tax slowly grew out of fashion. It was a financial failure and never changed the Russian culture. It wasn’t officially repealed until 1772.
Peter the Great wasn’t the only world leader who tried to enact a beard tax; both England and France had tried, all ending in failure. The nation of Yemen had a ‘beard tax’ that charged men for not having a beard. We laugh at such ridiculous rules, and rightly so. But are there ever times when we as Christians enforce things that are not ‘rules’? Are there times when we equate personal preference and conviction with that of Scripture? There is nothing wrong with personal preference and conviction. There isn’t sin in that, but there is when we make it equal with the Word. Jesus spoke very seriously against this error in Matthew 23:23-28. Jesus was addressing the religious leaders who had moved into legalism. Jesus does not mince words as He calls them hypocrites, blind, lawless, dead, negligent, and self-indulgent. In verse twenty seven Jesus says “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” The rules and legalism that they clung to made them look clean on the outside, but their hearts were still dead. That is what legalistic rules achieve, outward conformity without inward transformation. There is nothing inherently wrong with rules or preferences, each of us have them. The problem is when we focus on them instead of the Scripture, or when we ignore the clear things of God for the things of opinion and preference. Let us strive in unity for the Word of God.
