Talk About a Bad Day

It was the day Abraham Lincoln succumbed to the wounds inflicted by his assassin in 1865. It was also the day the Titanic sank. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the most destructive river flood in US history happened on the date as well. So did the Boston Marathon Bombing. Maybe worst of all every year you have to pony up and pay your taxes on it as well.

April 15^th.

Ok maybe paying your taxes isn’t as bad as all of those things. Still, I don’t like to do it. Yet it isn’t just a legal obligation or my duty as a citizen of the United States, it’s also commanded by God.

“Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.”

Romans 13:5-7

God places the government in power for a reason. Governments need tax money to operate. We might not like how much they take or what they use it all for, but we need to realize that the submission we show in rendering what is due them is another way to show our reverence to God.

It isn’t just with our checkbook, however. The honor we show those in positions of authority, the respect we give to the laws of our land, the participation in the duties and responsibilities of citizenship, the esteem we give to those that serve, all do the same.

Peter would tell us in 1^st Peter 2:17 “Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.” All these commands go hand in hand. Worship of God, respect for his established authorities, concern for his church, and respect for others are all parts of what the faithful should do! You can be pro-God and anti-government. You can’t say you honor God while you belittle those made in his image. If we shirk our responsibilities we are shirking on our God!

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