“Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’”
Luke 3:12

It’s tax season in the United States. Every April, we gather our records from the previous year and attempt to figure out how much we owe the federal government. It’s a daunting task. You can either muddle through on your own, buy software to assist with, or hire someone. No matter which method you choose, it’s time consuming and stressful. Though the tax collector these days is a button on a website, the process makes me think of the fact that paying taxes – and not liking it – is nothing new. 

When you look up “tax collector” in the Bible you will frequently find it linked with the word “sinner”, as in “tax collectors and sinners”. As if tax collector is such an abominable thing to be that it can’t even be lumped in with the regular sinners. The interesting thing is that when tax collectors come to Jesus, he never tells them to stop being tax collectors.

In Luke 3, when the tax collectors choose Jesus and believe, they ask him what they should do. His answer is basically, “Just do your job honestly.” 
You see, tax collectors were despised in large part because they could just take more money than was owed and keep the extra. It would be like an accountant doing your taxes and saying you owed $600 but you really only owed $500 and the extra hundred was slipped into a suit pocket. Jesus doesn’t speak out against taxes – the exact opposite, actually. He speaks out against collecting them dishonestly. 

TARNISHED

How many things do we ban from our lives just because they were, at some point, tarnished by sin? How often do we doubt God’s ability to redeem something good from what has been tainted? There is good that comes out of taxes. Road systems, emergency services, child education and more are all made possible by taxes. Even if you disagree on what taxes should pay for and how much should be collected, chances are you realize that at least some money has to go towards community needs. The same can be said of almost anything in this world. There are fabulous uses for prescription drugs, but they shouldn’t be abused. Music, movies, books, and other forms of entertainment are wonderful, but we should avoid those that pull us astray.

Earning money, fame, or power isn’t inherently evil, but those resources should be used in ways that point to the glory of God and not the glory of self. Perhaps this tax season would be a good time to look at all the areas of our lives and see which ones are charging more then their honest share. Are we working out and taking time on our appearance to be healthy and connect well with others or are we feeding pride or a sinful level of insecurity? Are we buying larger homes to make space for God’s people to serve and gather or to make it easier for us to isolate from the rest of the world? 

WHOSE IS IT?

Too many times we condemn the action when we ought to be looking at it like Jesus did the tax collector. When your phone asks you what it should be used for, when your time asks you what it should be spent on, when your mind asks you what it should contemplate and focus on, the answer needs to be as Jesus told the tax collectors. “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.” (Luke 3:13, CSB)
God gave us many good gifts on this earth. We’ve treated too many of them like tax collectors and inflated their importance and allowed them to be corrupted. Let’s take those good gifts back. 

Perhaps if we “give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Luke 20:25) we’ll all find the same joy and salvation Zacchaeus found when he changed his tax collecting ways. (Luke 19:1-10) It’s worth noting, though, that this won’t look the same for everyone. My neighbor and I don’t owe the same amount of taxes and we don’t have the same weaknesses and pitfalls. May we not fall into the trap of standing to the side like the pharisees and judge the repentant tax collector instead of examining our own issues. Instead, let’s all do whatever it takes to bring our lives to Jesus and not let any part of it take up more of us than it should. 

MEET KRISTI ANN