To Pay or not to Pay?

Matthew 22:15-22

When it comes to paying taxes, I’ve yet to meet a person who claim they look forward to paying them, but I have read about the super rich like Warren Buffett who has made the claim that he and others in his small circle of friends need to pay more taxes.  Berkshire Hathaway, who’s CEO, is Warren Buffett, and the eighth-largest public company in the world according to Forbes, openly admits to still owing taxes for years 2002 through 2004 and 2005 through 2009, according to the New York Post. The company says it expects to "resolve all adjustments proposed by the US Internal Revenue Service" within the next year.  (Huffington post September 25, 2013)  So I guess we can dismiss Mr. Buffett’s claims, in that his actions do not hold with his statement.  In my opinion, anyone who believes government is a better steward of your earnings than you need to check the facts.

Has Scripture given us instruction on paying taxes, and the answer is yes, and in more than one book of the Bible.  In Romans 13:7, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”  Back in 1983 we lived in Spring, Texas, in a neighborhood that was designed to have 500 homes but only had 14, the developer and his family died in a helicopter while looking at the subdivision and the silent partners owed 3 million in bonds at a rate of 15% interest.  They had the lots devalued and we, as a neighborhood, were heading for bankruptcy unless we were willing to have our taxes more than doubled each year.  An ad hock lawyer, that means they offer service for free, and I should have known nothing is free; the barrister told the members of the water board to approve the tax, in that the 14 homeowners would never have to pay them, but he forgot to share that insight with the taxing authorities.  I ask to meet with the elders of my church for guidance and Pastor James Moss came late to the meeting and all he did was quote Romans 13:7, and said please excuse me I have an important meeting to attend.  It was not the answer I was looking for, but the next week I wrote a check for my taxes plus the penalty, one more of many bought lessons.

This is Jesus’ story on taxes; “Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”  Who are these Herodians: “Herodian, one of a party of influential Jewish supporters of the Herodian dynasty (c. 55 bc–c. ad 93), which ruled in all or parts of Palestine and neighboring areas. Noted in the New Testament as opponents of Jesus, they probably were not a political party or a religious sect. They probably favored the policies of Herod Anitipas, who was tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea (4 bc–ad 39) and a strong promoter of Hellenistic (Greco-Roman) culture in Palestine. It seems likely that they rejected the messianic hopes of the people and thus united with the Pharisees in attempts to entrap Jesus into making anti-Roman statements.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)  So we find both groups trying to trick Jesus with this very crafty question, if He said do not pay taxes the Romans would arrest Him, and if He said to pay taxes then the people would turn from Him, because they were being taxed heavily.  So picking up the rest of the story, in Matthew 22:18-22, “But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.”

Jesus never told us we would enjoy paying taxes, but He is very clear, and so is Scripture that we are to pay our taxes.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice