And they came and said to him, “Teacher… is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”… Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”
–Mark 12:14-17
I heard about a fellow who wrote the IRS one day and said, “I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately and I think it’s because I haven’t paid my taxes. So enclosed with this letter is a check for $200.” Then, at the bottom of his letter, he wrote, “P.S., If I still can’t sleep tomorrow night, I’ll send you the rest of what I owe.”
Now if anyone could’ve thought himself exempt from paying taxes, it would’ve been the Lord Jesus. But He paid His taxes because He knew the importance of fulfilling His earthly obligations. He owned the world and everything in it, yet knew He had a responsibility to fulfill with the government.
As Christians, we aren’t exempt from meeting our earthly obligations. Whether it’s your taxes, settling your debt, or tipping your waiter at dinner, each of us has the responsibility of giving to others what is due to them, regardless of whether we think they deserve it or not!
Part of being a good witness for Christ is being a good citizen. So represent Christ well by submitting to the proper authorities and meeting all your earthly obligations. In the end, the reward will be yours and God will get the glory!
BE A GOOD WITNESS FOR CHRIST BY MEETING YOUR EARTHLY OBLIGATIONS!
