Render Unto Caesar

I filled out and mailed in our tax forms today. That's always a good time (please catch the sarcasm)! No refund for us this year. Actually, we never get a refund because clergy taxes are weird - we are treated as self-employeed, so we have to mail in quarterly estimates. We did actually overpay by a little, but I just applied it to next year's taxes.

I decided I'd like to learn a little bit more about the history of the income tax in the US, so I turned to my favorite source: Wikipedia. According to the online encyclopedia, the first income tax was levied for the Civil War at a flat rate of 3% for income over $800 (which I'm sure was a lot more money back then than it is now). Then, in 1894 the first peacetime income tax was levied at a rate of 2% for income over $4000 (which meant that less than 10% of the population had to pay). Can you imagine an income tax of only 2% or 3% - that sure would help the wallet!

For me, filling out our tax forms calls to mind the famous quote from Jesus found in the synoptic gospels: "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." Well, there is no longer a Caesar, but we do have good ol' Uncle Sam. Legally, we are required to "render unto Caesar" and there can be pretty significant consequences if we don't. And I think that paying taxes is a good thing because they help to fund so many different things: national defense, public transportation, education, scientific research, and much more.

But what about "render unto God?" There is no legal requirement or criminal consequences if we don't fulfill this part of what Jesus commanded, but I sure do believe that there are spritual and practical consequences. If we don't give, the work of ministry suffers. If we hang on too tightly to our money and resources, we lose perspective on who and whose we are and the sin of greed, which is one of the seven deadly sins, can creep in and took root in our lives. I could go on and on about this topic, but in the end it is really a matter of discipleship and faith: Are you a disciplined enough follower of Jesus Christ to give what God asks? Do you trust God with everything, including your finances?