“Write Me Off”

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

What do you, and more importantly, God, think about claiming contribution on tax returns?  This is something I can't seem to figure out.

Sincerely,
Tax Time

Dear Tax Time,

Jesus answered all tax questions when He said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and render to God the things that are God’s” (Mk 12:17).  What Jesus meant was that the government decides what you do with its money… after all, it is called U.S. currency for a reason (in Jesus’ day, it was Caesar’s face minted on the coins).  Christians have a responsibility to pay whatever taxes the government says they should pay.  That also means we don’t have to pay taxes if the government says we don’t have to – if Caesar doesn’t want it back, that’s his choice!  In the United States of America, we are allowed to claim our charitable contributions on our taxes.  It is legal to do so, and it is allowed by God to take advantage of that luxury as long as we have it.

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