Tax Day
Jesus said to them , pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And they stood marveling and amazed at him. Mark 12:17 (Amplified)
Why do the words 'April 15' and 'tax day' send thoughts of fear through your entire being? It certainly does for me. My husband and I own a small business, even though I am the 'silent partner' tax time makes me nervous. We have a very unhealthy attitude toward that, just as many people do, yet when it comes to something that we should have a 'healthy fear' about we do not. I am talking about having a healthy fear about God and our relationship with Him. Not that we are supposed to be afraid of God, but the Bible says in Exodus 41:31 And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did against the Egyptians, and the people [reverently] feared the Lord and trusted in (relied on and remained steadfast to) the Lord and to His servant Moses. (Amp)
We need to 'reverently' fear God, not run from Him. Not be afraid that He'll send a swarm of grasshoppers to destroy us if we do something that is not pleasing to Him. However, 'Uncle Sam' is a bit different. He is supposedly a relative (God is our Father, Sam is our uncle) but this relative is always expecting something from us. It never seems to be enough, so they continually change how much he wants. We feel confused and fearful that if we miss something we are in big trouble. If we look at our relationship with God we can see that He get's jealous when we don't spend time with Him, and He tells us that we need to give Him 10% of what we earn as a tithe to Him. It already belongs to Him as does everything, but God is kind enough to allow us to live on 90% of our earnings. The amount we are to give God is 10%, the amount we must give to Uncle Sam is never the same.
We need to get our minds wrapped around Who God is. Although He should be our all in all, and we should look to Him for guidance in everything we do in our lives. We tend not to do that. We need to change our perspective, and our thoughts about God. He is not a money hungry authority that seems to never have enough. Uncle Sam seems to be the opposite. God is a loving Father, trying to guide us through this life. He gives us a 'how to' manual which is His Bible. He tells us like it is and doesn't try to make us confused. Uncle Sam is always changing his rules, and the how to manual is totally confusing. We need to reverently fear and worship God, read His word and live.
Taxes, yes we must pay them or have no place to live.Yes, we must give to Caesar (Uncle Sam) what is Caesar's. We don't get much to show for it either. But when we give God what He asks for (our hearts) He has prepared a future for us that is unbelievable. Heaven!
Lord, show us how our obedience will benefit us. In this world and in the one to come. Help us to understand the laws You give and obey them with joy as we look to our future. Amen
Becki Reiser
Why do the words 'April 15' and 'tax day' send thoughts of fear through your entire being? It certainly does for me. My husband and I own a small business, even though I am the 'silent partner' tax time makes me nervous. We have a very unhealthy attitude toward that, just as many people do, yet when it comes to something that we should have a 'healthy fear' about we do not. I am talking about having a healthy fear about God and our relationship with Him. Not that we are supposed to be afraid of God, but the Bible says in Exodus 41:31 And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did against the Egyptians, and the people [reverently] feared the Lord and trusted in (relied on and remained steadfast to) the Lord and to His servant Moses. (Amp)
We need to 'reverently' fear God, not run from Him. Not be afraid that He'll send a swarm of grasshoppers to destroy us if we do something that is not pleasing to Him. However, 'Uncle Sam' is a bit different. He is supposedly a relative (God is our Father, Sam is our uncle) but this relative is always expecting something from us. It never seems to be enough, so they continually change how much he wants. We feel confused and fearful that if we miss something we are in big trouble. If we look at our relationship with God we can see that He get's jealous when we don't spend time with Him, and He tells us that we need to give Him 10% of what we earn as a tithe to Him. It already belongs to Him as does everything, but God is kind enough to allow us to live on 90% of our earnings. The amount we are to give God is 10%, the amount we must give to Uncle Sam is never the same.
We need to get our minds wrapped around Who God is. Although He should be our all in all, and we should look to Him for guidance in everything we do in our lives. We tend not to do that. We need to change our perspective, and our thoughts about God. He is not a money hungry authority that seems to never have enough. Uncle Sam seems to be the opposite. God is a loving Father, trying to guide us through this life. He gives us a 'how to' manual which is His Bible. He tells us like it is and doesn't try to make us confused. Uncle Sam is always changing his rules, and the how to manual is totally confusing. We need to reverently fear and worship God, read His word and live.
Taxes, yes we must pay them or have no place to live.Yes, we must give to Caesar (Uncle Sam) what is Caesar's. We don't get much to show for it either. But when we give God what He asks for (our hearts) He has prepared a future for us that is unbelievable. Heaven!
Lord, show us how our obedience will benefit us. In this world and in the one to come. Help us to understand the laws You give and obey them with joy as we look to our future. Amen
Becki Reiser
Labels: Becki Reiser
posted by Becki at
3:27 AM
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