"Tight lines" is a blessing fishermen offer each other, a wish for lines taut with the weight of good fish. May God grant that the lines written here be taut with His blessings.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008 | |||
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Tax Time | |||
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Once again there is a radical tax deduction measure from
Bill Sizemore on the Oregon ballot. Measure 59 would have Oregon join
only 3 other states that make federal taxes fully deductible on one's
state tax return. The problem is that it would reduce state revenues by
over a billion dollars and would lead to cuts in needed public services.
97% of the tax relief benefits of the measure would go to those with
incomes over $82,000. This is merely the latest in a long series of
Sizemore measures aimed at reducing taxes, regardless of consequences to
public services like schools, etc. One wonders what Sizemore might say to Jesus' affirmation of the right of government to assess taxes in Matthew 22:15-22. A trap about taxes was set for Jesus by Pharisees (religiously conservative and so opposed to the pagan government of Rome over Israel) and Herodians (supportive of Roman government because Rome set the Herods up as kings). Jesus' reply, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's," in essence supported both their positions, but probably angered them both by evading the trap. An interpretation that goes back to the church fathers argues that the second half of Jesus' reply calls for the giving of our entire selves to God. The coin Jesus examines belongs to Caesar because it bears Caesar's image. Since human beings bear the image of God, we belong to God. It's clear that the issue of God's ownership supercedes matters of taxation and government ownership. Perhaps there's a message here for us about our priorities as we worry about government intervention in private business. Our priority as Christians is not the limitation of government or the avoidance of taxes. It's the proper rendering of our whole lives and all we possess to God. | |||
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Profile |
I am the pastor of Valley Covenant Church in Eugene, Oregon. I love to flyfish and hike along the beautiful rivers in our area. I welcome your comments as I share sermon work in progress and occasional other thoughts.
Thank you for visiting this blog. I invite you also to visit my web page.
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