Paying taxes has never been popular among the general public, but most of us realize that it is a necessary practice to enable the government to manage our infrastructure and provide funding for essential programs and projects.
In Biblical times, tax collectors were regarded as “sinners” because they extorted
excessive sums on behalf of the Roman authority, often using methods of torture to collect payment. Now that’s pretty extreme.
Today’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents may not be held in high esteem, but most
are law-abiding citizens who are doing their best to ensure a flow of financial resources to keep the government operating at an effective and efficient level, although to the general public, it may sometimes feel like torture..
As we know, the April 15th deadline for submission of our tax returns passed earlier this
week, so you have most likely completed the process for the past year. What is interesting is the precise nature of the IRS formula — albeit complicated and convoluted — while the guidance we receive in our faith giving is much more abstract and imprecise. True, the Bible encourages tithing in the Old Testament, but the closest we come in the New Testament is this from II Corinthians (9:7), which tells us that we “should give what [we have] decided in [our] heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
This is by no means a plea for increased giving. Our congregation has a long history of
being extremely generous. This is simply a reminder that there is great joy in serving the Lord through a giving heart and not an imposing tax.