Category Archives: Taxes

Generate Income, Investing, Optimizing Life, Stewardship, Taxes

Vote Wisely: This Decision Could Impact Your Income By 10-20% Or More

What if I told you that a single decision could impact all of your earning potential, savings, and investing by 10-20% or more? A wrong decision moves toward reducing your income, and a good decision moves toward increasing your income. You would immediately want to know what it was and how to learn more about it.

In the United States of America, we have the honor of voting in elections to select who takes many of our public offices at the local, state, and national levels. Elections have consequences and voting matters… a lot!

Our country was founded by Christians who were seeking freedom to worship God freely and Biblically, out from under any tyrannical rule of a king. Freedom was important… and so often not truly achieved.

It is very important to understand that the USA was not founded as a democracy, in which a majority of people can vote for whatever they want, including taking the wealth and possessions of the minority. Instead, God guided our founding fathers to establish a wonderful form of government known as a constitutional republic.

We do in fact participate in voting to elect representatives to the national government, but just as important is the US Constitution, which is in place to limit the power of the national government. The intent was to have a small national government doing the bare minimum (such as providing for the common defense… that’s the military) and not getting involved in impinging on the freedom of the states and the people.

Now we have a huge, stifling, mass of national government bureaucracy that tells us even how much water our toilet can flush and what kind of light bulbs we must use or cannot use.  We have fallen a long way and given up much freedom. The Constitution is constantly under attack from those who wish to redefine it and consider it a “living document”, which means essentially… “as long as we can get judges to say it means something else, then it does”. This approach is wrong.  The founders put in place a management of change process for the Constitution… and it is not simply getting people in black robes to say it means something else today than it did a few hundred years ago. It is called constitutional amendments. The process has been used many times, but not recently. The Constitution means what it says until we follow the process to change it. That is the only way to protect the individual rights of the people and the founding fathers knew it! It is supposed to be hard to change!

Not only does the national government continue to grow and impinge on personal liberty, but it continues to spend money it does not have at an increasingly alarming rate… on things it should not be involved in managing and does not manage well. To pay for this, the national government always says we need to spend more money on more government programs and raise taxes or go so far into debt we will never get out. Even if they print enough money to pay off the debt, the money we have will fall in value because of the extra money printed. Our purchasing power plummets! If a business was run this way, the same government would probably throw the business leader in jail.

America was founded as a land of opportunity! Those who work hard can improve their family’s standard of living over multiple generations or sometimes even in a single generation. This is harder and harder to do as the government gets bigger and taxes more and puts in place more regulations and more burdens like healthcare programs for which they have no constitutional authority, despite what a ruling of the Supreme Court may say.

Elections have consequences.   It all ends up affecting your ability to earn income with liberty, to keep what you earned rather than giving it to a government to waste, to save and invest freely and rely on God and the talents He gave you rather than relying always on the national government.

For those who want to get everything for free with someone else’s money… there is not enough of “someone else’s money” to pay for everything you want you will always be beholden to the national government to get by. You basically make yourself a voluntary dependent (e.g. like a child) of the government. On the other hand, many of us want to keep our freedom and the fruits of our labor. We want a small national government and a return to the protection of our personal liberty provided by the US Constitution. We trust in God and ourselves to work hard and get ahead. If we fail, we own it, and we get back up and try again. We don’t expect someone else to always pay our bills or cover our mistakes. We are accountable to God for how we use what He has given us in this life, whether time, talent, or treasure.

I encourage active participation in elections, not only by voting but also by influencing those around you. Research the truth. Do not trust what politicians say, but rather judge by the fruit of their lives as the Bible instructs us. Do not be lazy and believe what TV network news shows tell you, for they are decidedly leaning toward big national government and less individual freedom. The same is true for most social media sites today. Instead, seek out the truth diligently on the internet. Search out confirmation from multiple time-tested, reliable news sources. (You can’t trust everyone’s blog, either.) We are to test everything and discern truth from lies. If someone is constantly changing positions when it suits them, then you know they have no principle. They are political chameleons, and you cannot trust them except to look out for their own best interests. If they are honest but their plans will bankrupt our country worse than today… you may be able to trust them, but you are voting for disaster and loss of freedom. Look for those whose past actions and accomplishments line up with what they say and line up with what God’s word says. Seek those who strongly support the protection of individual rights provided by the Constitution… for ultimately it is your rights they protect!

How much harder it is to manage your personal finances when the government always takes more and more from what you earn, what you spend, what you invest, and even what you own when you die! What good is it to earn and save and invest if the government can just come and take what they want from whom they want?

Elections have consequences. Get involved today and don’t stop trying to influence your elected officials once they get into office. Remain engaged!

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Ethics, Greed, Taxes

Taxes… Just as Aggravating Now as Long Ago

Many of us are frustrated or angry about the amount of money that our local, regional, or national governments demand in taxes. Given the exhaustive examples of how that tax money is wasted badly by the government or given away to others who are not working or paying taxes it is understandable why we would feel this way.

Do you know that Yeshua faced something similar during His earthly ministry? Let’s watch Jesus’ response when confronted by others to pay a tax (to the temple, not Caesar) from which He is actually exempt.

Matthew 17:24-27

      24When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” 25He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 26When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. 27“However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

My first observation is that it appears the collectors of the temple tax wasted no time in coming to find new visitors and ask them to pay the tax.  There is no record here of a welcome or greeting of any kind but rather the focus is clearly on collecting their money. It seems those who collect other people’s money to spend as they see fit (e.g. tax collectors) have not changed much in thousands of years. Human nature is still human nature.

At this point it is worth noting that the temple tax was deemed a measure of atonement for sin. As Jesus was free from sin, He could have rightly refused to pay it. Additionally, Jesus makes the point that God does not tax Himself anymore than a King taxes himself and thus Jesus would again be exempt.  However, many would not understand or accept Jesus correct explanation of why He was exempt. It would cause them to stumble.

Similarly, we can sometimes make an argument that some of the taxes should not apply to us, or those who take in income in cash may rationalize that the government will waste it anyway and so they decide not to report their cash income. This is a typical human response for someone who is focused on what may be best for them or is just angry with the government waste.

However, Jesus was aware that refusing to pay the temple tax would stumble some and discourage them from following Him. The greater purpose directed Him to pay the tax even though He was exempt. Jesus was focused on a bigger picture than just the incremental tax payment.

How might this apply to us today? If we submit to Jesus, scripture commands us to proclaim Him publicly. If we proclaim Him publicly, but then give the appearance that we also break tax laws or worse, actually break tax laws… it could not only reflect badly on us personally, but on Jesus Christ whom we publicly represent. We may stumble people as they struggle to see what it means to live for Jesus Christ.

It is fine to be accurate in calculating tax payments and avoid paying the government too much. It may even be noble or helpful to actively campaign to lower the tax burden as it would help many.  However, we should avoid even the appearance of wrong doing in how we manage our finances in general, and our taxes specifically. Thus, we should pay what we owe by law.

When we decide whether or not to do something, each of us should take time to reflect… “Am I only considering how this affects me? or am I also considering how it may affect or stumble other believers or those who may be watching and deciding if following Jesus really does lead people to be different from others?”

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Control Spending, Ethics, Generate Income, Greed, Taxes

Tax Time Again… arrgh. What Would Jesus Do?

It is that fun time of year again… tax day is approaching. No doubt, most of us… with rare exception… would prefer to pay less taxes (or no taxes) to the government. Many are tempted to lie and misrepresent their income to the government in order to reduce their tax bill. We should take care to consider what God wants from us, instead of what we want. There is no qualification about agreeing with the government on how the money is to be spent in order to pay the taxes. We are simply to pay the rightful taxes due.

Romans 13:1-7

Be Subject to Government

      1Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Matthew 22:15-22 

Tribute to Caesar

      15Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. 16And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17“Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19“Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.

Ok. So we are supposed to pay the rightful taxes due. Got it. That said, paying taxes is a lot like spending money. We should do so carefully and only pay what is required. There is no “extra credit” in overpaying taxes. In fact, government often uses the money inefficiently and without wisdom. In almost all cases government uses the money without giving glory to God.

We should pay careful attention to how managing our money affects what we pay in taxes. Key decisions in investing and estate planning can have big implications. To ignore the significant impact of taxes on our financial planning is to be irresponsible and likely pay too much money to the government. If you want to give it away … that is great, but find a way to honor God with the money and give it away wisely rather than overpay the government.

Many reputable investing sites have resources to help such as those at Charles Schwab’s online resource center section on taxes or Fidelity’s online guidance and retirement section on taxes. These resources can be very helpful. So too can relatively affordable tax software like TurboTax which make complying with your tax requirements accurate and more efficient… saving much time and headache. If you prefer, consult your financial advisor and tax professional for impacts that you should consider for your financial planning.

The money we pay in taxes (federal, state, local, income, sales, inheritance, etc.) represents a lot of money. Understanding how to optimize your tax burden will help you achieve your overall financial goals more effectively.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Guiding Framework, Stewardship, Taxes, Treasures In Heaven

Give to God What Is God’s

Consider you are an owner of a business. Do you care how your employees spend the company’s money? Do you want them to spend in a way that is consistent with your instructions when you gave them access to the money or just spend however they feel best, even if completely selfish and not furthering the business? Is it any different if we consider a family situation in similar fashion?

Of course we care! Whether running a company or leading a family, we have limited resources, and it is important to use them wisely and consistently with our guiding values and purpose. Anyone who does not see this… just let someone have access to your checkbook and tell them to spend your money however they want… and you will quickly understand the point. You appreciate those who use the resources appropriately and correct those who do not.

Would it matter if they only wasted half of your money? What about 25%? We care about how they use all or any of the money. We gave instructions with the money and we want them followed, or next time we give the money to someone else.

So why do so many people have a problem with understanding that God (Yahweh in Hebrew) cares how we spend the money and other resources He provides to us?  Typically we struggle with this concept because we don’t want to submit to Him in regards to finances. We prefer to do things our own way. We may even be “generous” and set aside 10% of what He gave us and then tell Him we will manage the rest our way. This is not honoring God, but rather honoring ourselves. As a matter of fact, almost all of us give a higher percentage to someone who serves us food at a restaurant as a tip to thank them for serving us.

Give to God what is His. It all belongs to Him, so manage all your resources, time… talent… money, to further the kingdom of God.

Luke 20:21-25

 21They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. 22“Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 23But He detected their trickery and said to them, 24“Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25And He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Proverbs 3:9-10

       9Honor the LORD from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;

      10So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.

Malachi 3:10

   8“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9“You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11“Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts. 12“All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.

Have you submitted all your finances to be stewarded on behalf of God or are you holding some back for your own purposes? This does not mean writing a big check to give all your money to a church. Not at all. It means stewarding wisely all that you have and spending in such a way as to be responsible and further the kingdom of God. Obey His general commands regarding money as we find them in the Bible. Take time to learn to pray effectively and seek God’s specific instructions for you, if any, regarding money. Remind yourself it all belongs to Him and you are only the servant who is asked to take care of it and manage it on His behalf.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Control Spending, Generate Income, Greed, Stewardship, Taxes, Treasures In Heaven

Does God Require Us to Donate Money to Support Those in Full-Time Service to Him?

There can be a debate about whether or not the tithe is still required. Separately, one can ask, “If we pay a tithe, do we have to pay it to the church?” There are arguments on both sides. We could have these debates, and if done based on scripture, they could be significant discussions. If done based on our emotions or the tradition of men, they have significantly less value.

Perhaps the more significant question is not “Am I required to tithe to those serving God?”, but rather “Is it pleasing to God?” We can also explore the perspective of one who would be accepting such donations.

I am going to start by focusing on scripture from Paul in 2 Corinthians 11.

2 Corinthians 11:7-9

     7Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge? 8I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you; 9and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so.

I do not claim this is authoritative for every situation, but rather very interesting to note. Paul accepted money when it was offered, but did not require it or pressure people to give to him just because he was preaching the gospel to them.  Those that gave to Paul arguably were not giving to the “church” as we think of it today. That would have been tithing to the Levites at this time. If they had only tithed to the Levites, Paul would not have received financial support. Neither would any of Jesus’ disciples or Jesus Himself in His earthly ministry.

It is probably worth highlighting at this time that Jesus accepted donations from supporters. We know from the biblical record of the money found in the mouth of a fish and the miracles of the loaves and fishes that Jesus could have simply made His own money. He set an example by accepting support from others. That said, I have not found any scripture where He passed around a collection plate during His teaching and asked for money either. He did not appear to make it a focus of His ministry to ask for donations.

 Luke 8:1-3

1Soon afterward, Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, 2and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

If we look back to the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible), we can see how the LORD provided for the Levites. He did not give directly to them an inheritance as He did for other tribes. He instructed others to provide for them.

Numbers 35:1-5

Cities for the Levites

     1Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, 2“Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to live in; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities. 3“The cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their herds and for all their beasts.

      4“The pasture lands of the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits around. 5“You shall also measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, with the city in the center. This shall become theirs as pasture lands for the cities.

I believe God is pleased when His people choose to support those He calls into full-time ministry. Some of us will serve Him in business roles (e.g. Daniel, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, many of the people were farmers, etc.). However, some will be missionaries and pastors and Biblical teachers and these may need the support of the community of believers as a means for God to provide for them.

I would encourage these individuals to also consider the example of Paul and work in such a way as not to be a burden to others. They can provide sometimes for their own needs or be modest in what they spend. One receiving donations from hard-working people should not be flying in private jets unless they earned that money in another way aside from donations.

Keep in mind that Moses turned away donations that were made when they were in excess of what was required. It was not his goal to get personal wealth from donations from the people.

Exodus 36:3-7

 3They received from Moses every [g]contribution which the sons of Israel had brought to perform [h]the work [i]in the construction of the sanctuary. And they still continued bringing to him [j]voluntary offerings every morning. 4And all the [k]skillful people who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from [l]the work which they were performing, 5and they said to [m]Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for the [n] construction work which the LORD commanded us to [o]perform.” 6So Moses issued a command, and circulated a [p]proclamation throughout the camp, saying, “No man or woman is to perform work any longer for the [q]contributions of the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more. 7For the [r]material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.

Do not let your own selfishness or greed stop you from making provision for those whom He calls to His service. Give joyfully. Give generously. However, I also encourage you to give wisely. Do not assume your job is to simply write a big check to the local church. That is not a very active way to steward what He has provided you. Remember, it all belongs to Him… He has just entrusted some of His things to us to manage and enjoy.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money in God’s way and use it for His glory rather than your own. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Stewardship, Taxes, Treasures In Heaven

You Shall Take in Proportion to What They Received

Many people have many opinions, and strong ones, regarding who should pay taxes and how much and also in regards to appropriate or “required” giving levels to the church. God gives us some insight into how He approaches the topic in relation to how He provides for the Levites. Recognize there is not a direct comparison between the Levites and the government we experience today, but this may be interesting to explore some Biblical principles of how the LORD instructs to take money from the people for a common purpose.

Numbers 35:6-8

     6“The cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. 7“All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, together with their pasture lands. 8“As for the cities which you shall give from the possession of the sons of Israel, you shall take more from the larger and you shall take less from the smaller; each shall give some of his cities to the Levites in proportion to his possession which he inherits.”

Everyone pays something, even those with less. Those with more, pay more… in proportion to what they receive. This sounds like a fixed percentage… e.g. everyone gives 10% or something like that. Also, note that this was to provide for those in God’s service who would not otherwise “earn income” because they are devoted to Him. Nowhere in this scripture is YHWH telling anyone to give part of what they receive to others who should be able and willing to work their own inheritance. Note that this is not a call to take 50% from those who have more and only 10% from those who have less. Everything is in proportion. It is also not a call to take 50% from those with more and nothing from those with less. Everyone gives a portion.

This is largely consistent with the concept of the tithe, which is presented elsewhere in the Biblical text. One can draw two focus areas from this…one is how we vote and get involved with the government to manage taxes “fairly” and appropriately. This also ties into our attitude when we pay taxes. The other is how we willingly and joyfully choose to give to support those in God’s full-time service. By providing them income, they can work full time focused on serving the Lord in their calling. We can, however, also appreciate missionaries like Paul who worked to pay their own way and did not make themselves a burden on those they taught.  Considering that the Levites are no longer here and there is not a Biblical command that necessarily automatically translates from the Levitical priesthood to the local churches of today. We must consider context and principles to understand how it applies.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money in God’s way and use it for His glory rather than your own. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Ethics, Taxes

What Did Jesus Say About Paying Taxes?

What did Jesus say about paying taxes?

Jesus knew the Pharisees and Herodians were trying to trap Him when they asked Him about taxes, but He took the opportunity to deflect their trap and lay out  straightforward guidance for all of us.

Mark 12: 13-16

Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes

      13Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15“Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” 16They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.

Clearly Jesus did not agree with everything the Romans were doing, but He still gave guidance to pay the taxes to Caesar. Some may speculate that He was just deflecting the trap question, but Jesus never provided a wrong answer just to avoid a trap. He always took the opportunity to address the trap and make a point on the right way of doing things also.

For those who need more convincing… the Bible has it.

Romans 13:1-7

Be Subject to Government

      1Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

It is ok to work lawfully to reduce the tax burden. Governments usually waste money badly. Often they spend on things which may not honor God. However, just refusing to pay is not the guidance that Jesus provided for His people. Also let us not take Romans 13 out of context… we are not to blindly obey government when it conflicts with the instructions of God. There are plenty of examples, such as that of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, where they disobeyed unrighteous government commands because they conflicted with God’s instruction. However, paying taxes does not conflict with the instructions of God.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way and use it for His glory rather than your own. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Ethics, Taxes

Give to Caesar What Is Caesar’s; and to God What Is God’s

If we gathered together with 100 people in an auditorium and asked for a show of hands for who is looking forward to paying their federal taxes this year… not many hands would go up. If we further asked who thought the tax money was managed responsibly and spent efficiently… even fewer hands would go up. If we were so bold as to ask who was planning to pay extra because they felt the U.S. federal government was such a good steward of their money… probably not even one hand would remain up. Very few in the U.S.A. actually believe they money they pay is being spent wisely. There is good reason for that… mostly because they are right. The U.S.A. federal government is wasteful and actually downright immoral with the expenditure of much of our hard-earned money. They collect money from people in the states and then threaten not to give it back to the states if they don’t go along with what the federal government wants… whether it is over controlling education or building roads or many other spending programs.

Now… should we do something about it? Yes. Get involved in politics and elections. Vote for smaller federal government and vote against those whose policies and behaviors are offensive to God.

Should we pay our taxes according to the law? Yes. Why? Because Jesus said so. Yes, He actually did comment on paying taxes.

Matthew 22:15-22

      15Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. 16And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17“Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19“Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.

While the question was not intended to be a genuine question about taxes, it was intended to be a trap, Jesus still provides insight into paying taxes.  The answer still applies today. Much of what Rome was doing was evil in the sight of the Lord, but Jesus pointed out that the money in question comes from Rome and thus can be used to pay lawful taxes to Rome as the civil governing authority.

Paul also wrote about taxes in Romans 13:1-7.

  1Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Let us not be confused… there are many or perhaps most governments which are not serving God. Many or most are in fact dishonoring God. None the less, there is a certain authority which we are to give to the civil government so long as they do not cause us to disobey God’s commands. God’s authority is always the highest. We can, however, respect and pay taxes to a civil governing authority to the extent they do not require us to disobey or dishonor God.

7Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Pay your taxes, but only what is due. There is no requirement to like paying taxes or to pay extra… so do your taxes well and avoid giving more than is due. Then go out to vote for someone who will reduce your tax bill in the future! Even if you want to give money away to help those in need, you can do so in a much smarter way than giving to the inefficient federal government. And when you give to help someone directly, you can give glory and honor to God for the blessing!

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way and use it for His glory rather than your own. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Ethics, Greed, Taxes

Taxes… Just as Aggravating Now as Long Ago

Many of us are frustrated or angry about the amount of money that our local, regional, or national governments demand in taxes. Given the exhaustive examples of how that tax money is wasted badly by the government or given away to others who are not working or paying taxes it is understandable why we would feel this way.

Do you know that Yeshua faced something similar during His earthly ministry? Let’s watch Jesus’ response when confronted by others to pay a tax (to the temple, not Caesar) from which He is actually exempt.

Matthew 17:24-27

      24When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” 25He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 26When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. 27“However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

My first observation is that it appears the collectors of the temple tax wasted no time in coming to find new visitors and ask them to pay the tax.  There is no record here of a welcome or greeting of any kind but rather the focus is clearly on collecting their money. It seems those who collect other people’s money to spend as they see fit (e.g. tax collectors) have not changed much in thousands of years. Human nature is still human nature.

At this point it is worth noting that the temple tax was deemed a measure of atonement for sin. As Jesus was free from sin, He could have rightly refused to pay it. Additionally, Jesus makes the point that God does not tax Himself anymore than a King taxes himself and thus Jesus would again be exempt.  However, many would not understand or accept Jesus correct explanation of why He was exempt. It would cause them to stumble.

Similarly, we can sometimes make an argument that some of the taxes should not apply to us, or those who take in income in cash may rationalize that the government will waste it anyway and so they decide not to report their cash income. This is a typical human response for someone who is focused on what may be best for them or is just angry with the government waste.

However, Jesus was aware that refusing to pay the temple tax would stumble some and discourage them from following Him. The greater purpose directed Him to pay the tax even though He was exempt. Jesus was focused on a bigger picture than just the incremental tax payment.

How might this apply to us today? If we submit to Jesus, scripture commands us to proclaim Him publicly. If we proclaim Him publicly, but then give the appearance that we also break tax laws or worse, actually break tax laws… it could not only reflect badly on us personally, but on Jesus Christ whom we publicly represent. We may stumble people as they struggle to see what it means to live for Jesus Christ.

It is fine to be accurate in calculating tax payments and avoid paying the government too much. It may even be noble or helpful to actively campaign to lower the tax burden as it would help many.  However, we should avoid even the appearance of wrong doing in how we manage our finances in general, and our taxes specifically. Thus, we should pay what we owe by law.

When we decide whether or not to do something, each of us should take time to reflect… “Am I only considering how this affects me? or am I also considering how it may affect or stumble other believers or those who may be watching and deciding if following Jesus really does lead people to be different from others?”

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .