It has long been asserted that the only two things in life that are certain are death and taxes. So, it was inevitable that my annual property tax bill would eventually arrive. It did so today; and I have had occasion to reflect on this all throughout the afternoon.
Now it has been said that everyone likes to complain about their taxes. I know I’ve done my share of bellyaching about them over the years. And yet, if I am honest, I realize that my family and I enjoy a lot of benefits as a citizen in exchange for the taxes we do pay. In truth, it is a blessing to live here in the greatest country in the world. As burdensome as my tax bill is, it does reflect this singular blessing.
For this reason, while I would never want to give the government anything I was not required to give them by law, I fully recognize the wisdom proffered by our Lord and Savior when He said that we should render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.
Another blessing I have pondered throughout this day is that my wife and I are personally in a position to pay our taxes. I recognize that not everyone is. While we are no multi-millionaires, we do at least have enough resources to pay our taxes. And for this I am thankful; because I fully recognize that it is God Himself Who has put us in this position.
Whenever our taxes come due, I always think of my Grandfather Jackson. He had very little actual cash on hand. What money he and my grandmother did have was certainly not kept in banks, not after having lived through the failure of so many banks in the great depression. Nonetheless, they were never worried about rendering to Caesar what was due him.
You see, my grandfather finished his live as a farmer, having amassed along the way two forty-acre farms and scores of heads of cattle. So, whenever his taxes came due, he did not fret and worry about having the money to pay them. He simply loaded up a cow and took it to the cattle auction on the way to the courthouse.
Thinking of my grandfather and his cattle makes me think of my Heavenly Father and His resources. Speaking through the Old Testament Psalmist (in Psalm 50), our Lord tells us:
9“I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, 10for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 11I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. 12If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
Perhaps you have heard the phrase: “My God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” It comes from this very passage, in which our Lord reminds us that His resources are infinite.
This passage then concludes with the following admonition: 14“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, 15and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
I am thankful that God took care of my grandfather whenever he needed resources. I am thankful that He still takes care of me the same way. And He will do the same for you, my friend.
No, He never promised to make us all wealthy. But He has promised to meet our every need out of His abundant resources. As His Word tells us, “God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” That, my friends, like death and taxes, is a guaranteed certainty!
SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17, and Luke 20:25 at www.biblehub.com;
https://biblehub.com/niv/psalms/50.htm; and
https://biblehub.com/philippians/4-19.htm.
Now it has been said that everyone likes to complain about their taxes. I know I’ve done my share of bellyaching about them over the years. And yet, if I am honest, I realize that my family and I enjoy a lot of benefits as a citizen in exchange for the taxes we do pay. In truth, it is a blessing to live here in the greatest country in the world. As burdensome as my tax bill is, it does reflect this singular blessing.
For this reason, while I would never want to give the government anything I was not required to give them by law, I fully recognize the wisdom proffered by our Lord and Savior when He said that we should render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.
Another blessing I have pondered throughout this day is that my wife and I are personally in a position to pay our taxes. I recognize that not everyone is. While we are no multi-millionaires, we do at least have enough resources to pay our taxes. And for this I am thankful; because I fully recognize that it is God Himself Who has put us in this position.
Whenever our taxes come due, I always think of my Grandfather Jackson. He had very little actual cash on hand. What money he and my grandmother did have was certainly not kept in banks, not after having lived through the failure of so many banks in the great depression. Nonetheless, they were never worried about rendering to Caesar what was due him.
You see, my grandfather finished his live as a farmer, having amassed along the way two forty-acre farms and scores of heads of cattle. So, whenever his taxes came due, he did not fret and worry about having the money to pay them. He simply loaded up a cow and took it to the cattle auction on the way to the courthouse.
Thinking of my grandfather and his cattle makes me think of my Heavenly Father and His resources. Speaking through the Old Testament Psalmist (in Psalm 50), our Lord tells us:
9“I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, 10for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 11I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. 12If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
Perhaps you have heard the phrase: “My God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” It comes from this very passage, in which our Lord reminds us that His resources are infinite.
This passage then concludes with the following admonition: 14“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, 15and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
I am thankful that God took care of my grandfather whenever he needed resources. I am thankful that He still takes care of me the same way. And He will do the same for you, my friend.
No, He never promised to make us all wealthy. But He has promised to meet our every need out of His abundant resources. As His Word tells us, “God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” That, my friends, like death and taxes, is a guaranteed certainty!
SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17, and Luke 20:25 at www.biblehub.com;
https://biblehub.com/niv/psalms/50.htm; and
https://biblehub.com/philippians/4-19.htm.