I don’t like taxes.
I don’t like calculating them, and I don’t like paying them.
I don’t like income taxes, payroll taxes or sales taxes.
The taxes I dislike the most are property taxes.
The idea that I can actually own something, like my house, and have to continue to pay taxes on it or the government can take it from me, I think, is crazy.
I get that some taxes may be necessary to run the government, but I still don’t like paying them.
Notwithstanding my dislike of taxes, I love Jesus, and because I love Jesus I pay my taxes.
The scribes and the chief priests asked Jesus whether they should pay taxes to the Romans. The thought of the Jews being subjugated to the Romans was offensive to any good Jew. The Jews believed they, not the pagan Romans, were God’s chosen people and the hope for the world. So, the Jewish religious leaders’ question for Jesus was intended to be a trap to force him into a position offensive to the Jews or rebellious to the Romans.
Jesus’ answer was remarkable, “Whose likeness do you see on the denarius? . . . Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” Luke 20:20-26. The image of Tiberius Caesar appeared on the coin, but it is the image of God that is imprinted upon man. When it comes to changing the world, what you give to God is more important than what you have to give to the government.
Knowing that makes it easier for me to pay taxes. GS