Hey Hey I'm the Tax Man

It is Mid February so that means it is about time to sit down and figure out our income tax return.  I know that the deadline isn't until April 15, but we usually are getting money back so I like to get at it. By the time mid April rolls around, our return is not only back but long gone.

So as I work through the forms (yes, I figure them out myself and without the tax-prep software) I am always struck with how oddly our tax deduction/credit system works.  I see it like this.  There is so much that the government needs to take in to pay the bills.  If one person gets to pay less, then another person has to pay more.  So if we give a credit to people who have children, then childless couples pay more.  If we give a deduction for home mortgage interest, then people who have paid off there house pay more.  If we give a credit for child care, then people who don't send their children to day care would pay more.  And so on.  I think it would feel different if we called them penalties instead of credits.  It is the no child penalty or the house paid off penalty or not giving to charity penalty.

As you can tell, I'm not a big fan of the current tax system.  But I am a fan of paying your fair share.  There are a lot of things that we collectively do together better than we do individually.  I really like out National Parks and I want them protected.  I like to have good roads and I think that they should be maintained.  I suspect that we spend too much on the military, but I think our soldiers should be well compensated and cared for if injured.  And of course, I think that if we want high quality schools, we need to pay for them too.  

My point to all of this is that no one likes taxes.  Me included.  But I also don't expect to get something for nothing.

There is one part of our spending that I don't really mind spending money on, and I am surprised that so many people do.  That is the part where we use tax money to help people in need.  I am happy that the money is spent that way whether it is here or abroad.

I think that the frustration comes with the idea that there is someone out there who could be working but instead lives off the system.  And I get frustrated by those people too.  And I am frustrated that we give aid to countries and it doesn't get to the people in need, it only props up a brutal dictator.  But I think those concerns are not so much a sign that we need to stop helping people, but rather we need to get better at it.

As Christians we are called to what we can where we can for our neighbors in need.  Jesus tells us that it is better to give than to receive.  I f we give help and that help is taken for granted, that is between that person and God.  We need to be good stewards of the tax money collected, but we can't be so afraid that it paralyzes us from doing as Jesus commanded, loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Watch this video from Pastor Chris.

Jesus told us to love.  First God and then each other.  In our world today, everyone in every corner of the world is our neighbor.  I think as Christians we need to constantly be examining our hearts in this area.  We need to show love and compassion rather than condemnation.   I'm not sure if sending food to other countries will help them see the love of Christ shine through us, but it has to work better than dropping bombs,