Sometime ago, on 18th April, it was made known to me how much taxes I needed to pay for the year. It was a first for me.
It marks another step towards growing up that I guess have to come to terms with. Last year I attended more weddings, more funerals and more baby showers than I have ever done in my entire life. Receiving that tax amount seemed like another milestone in this journey of life. My first thought when I received it was to crack a little joke in my own head (“Guess this means I now possess the right to act like a jerk and complain about everything under the sun”). You may laugh but if you have lived in this world long enough, you would be forgiven for thinking that the purpose of a tax bill is the entitlement to complain, and less about paying one’s dues.
That tax bill also brought to mind those peculiar verses in the Bible that Christians should be familiar with:
And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:20-21)
The Context
The truth is however, those verses had very little to do with paying taxes but more about testing Jesus’ political affiliation. Under the Roman rule of that time, there were Jews who collected taxes on behalf of the Roman government (the tax collectors) and there were Jews who fought the Roman rule (the Zealots).
Naturally, you wouldn’t expect these two groups to get along. And thus when the question was posed to Christ Jesus (“Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?”), the test was to see which side of the political fence He sat on. I guess you could say that if he was in America, they wanted to know whether he was a Republican or Democrat (which does it make it somewhat hilarious if you have been following what is going on there).
Ultimately, the answer seemed at least to indicate that he was not primarily interested in the political struggle but the hearts of the people he came to seek. His actions seem to back this notion up. It is worth noting that in the choosing of the disciples, there were disciples who represented both sides of the camp – Thomas and Matthew the tax collectors and Simon the Zealot. It must have been an awkward relationship but such are his actions. Such is his love for all.
What a great Savior we really have.
Giving to God
What then of giving to God? Because it stemmed from taxes, the temptation is so great to think that the second half of it refers to paying of tithes. If we come away with the easy interpretation that one should pay one’s taxes and tithes – we would leave ourselves with yet another exhortation that if obeyed dutifully could turn us into the Luke 18 Pharisee and if otherwise, would lead us to a self condemning righteousness. Both so far removed from the grace of God.
What exactly belongs to God? If we restrict what belongs to God as mere tithes, we will end up looking rather silly. What belongs to God is everything. If we think we add something to God by giving him tithes – then He isn’t God. I am not advocating a non tithing Christian, an area which I must confess I can do a lot better. What we ought to be giving God is giving Him back His glory, giving Him the praise He deserves. We should return to Him the reign of our hearts where we have rebelled against Him. We are all thieves in this regard, thinking that all the good we do are a result of our own efforts. What we should be saying is "For thine is the kingdom, power and glory".
Thus he deserves praise for the fact that great sinner that I am, I actually received a tax bill – for it means that he has provided means for me to feed myself and my family. He deserves praise for giving me my daily bread. He deserves praise for the means to bless others. I remember those days where brothers and sisters came praying for a job for me (If you think about it, they were praying for a tax bill for me!).
Why should the Christian then add more to the mindless demanding of making sure the government apportions those tiny percentages of his fortune perfectly in all regard?
The one and only legitimate response to the tax bill is “Great is Thy Faithfulness”.
It marks another step towards growing up that I guess have to come to terms with. Last year I attended more weddings, more funerals and more baby showers than I have ever done in my entire life. Receiving that tax amount seemed like another milestone in this journey of life. My first thought when I received it was to crack a little joke in my own head (“Guess this means I now possess the right to act like a jerk and complain about everything under the sun”). You may laugh but if you have lived in this world long enough, you would be forgiven for thinking that the purpose of a tax bill is the entitlement to complain, and less about paying one’s dues.
That tax bill also brought to mind those peculiar verses in the Bible that Christians should be familiar with:
And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:20-21)
The Context
The truth is however, those verses had very little to do with paying taxes but more about testing Jesus’ political affiliation. Under the Roman rule of that time, there were Jews who collected taxes on behalf of the Roman government (the tax collectors) and there were Jews who fought the Roman rule (the Zealots).
Naturally, you wouldn’t expect these two groups to get along. And thus when the question was posed to Christ Jesus (“Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?”), the test was to see which side of the political fence He sat on. I guess you could say that if he was in America, they wanted to know whether he was a Republican or Democrat (which does it make it somewhat hilarious if you have been following what is going on there).
Ultimately, the answer seemed at least to indicate that he was not primarily interested in the political struggle but the hearts of the people he came to seek. His actions seem to back this notion up. It is worth noting that in the choosing of the disciples, there were disciples who represented both sides of the camp – Thomas and Matthew the tax collectors and Simon the Zealot. It must have been an awkward relationship but such are his actions. Such is his love for all.
What a great Savior we really have.
Giving to God
What then of giving to God? Because it stemmed from taxes, the temptation is so great to think that the second half of it refers to paying of tithes. If we come away with the easy interpretation that one should pay one’s taxes and tithes – we would leave ourselves with yet another exhortation that if obeyed dutifully could turn us into the Luke 18 Pharisee and if otherwise, would lead us to a self condemning righteousness. Both so far removed from the grace of God.
What exactly belongs to God? If we restrict what belongs to God as mere tithes, we will end up looking rather silly. What belongs to God is everything. If we think we add something to God by giving him tithes – then He isn’t God. I am not advocating a non tithing Christian, an area which I must confess I can do a lot better. What we ought to be giving God is giving Him back His glory, giving Him the praise He deserves. We should return to Him the reign of our hearts where we have rebelled against Him. We are all thieves in this regard, thinking that all the good we do are a result of our own efforts. What we should be saying is "For thine is the kingdom, power and glory".
Thus he deserves praise for the fact that great sinner that I am, I actually received a tax bill – for it means that he has provided means for me to feed myself and my family. He deserves praise for giving me my daily bread. He deserves praise for the means to bless others. I remember those days where brothers and sisters came praying for a job for me (If you think about it, they were praying for a tax bill for me!).
Why should the Christian then add more to the mindless demanding of making sure the government apportions those tiny percentages of his fortune perfectly in all regard?
The one and only legitimate response to the tax bill is “Great is Thy Faithfulness”.
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