TaxTime

Tis that glorious time of the year, Tax Time!  I don't by any stretch of the imagination enjoy fulfilling my obligation to support my government, especially as they demonstrate, in my estimation, fiscal irresponsibility.  But it is an obligation none the less.  I dread having to part with what seems like a mountain of money, but then I realize that it was never really mine to start with.  And of course I'm not going to take it with me from this world to the next, so why fret?  I'll steward what I've been given by the Lord to the best of my ability.  I strive to keep as much as I can for the Lord's purposes and give to the IRS what they rightly deserve.  This morning as I was reading the Word, I came across a couple reminders of this:

[Paying Taxes to Caesar]
    Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
(Matthew 22:15-22 ESV)


Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
(Romans 13:7 ESV)

Before I came on the field, I could easily sit down on Turbo Tax and in the matter of a few hours file all my taxes and be waiting for the refund.  Now I pay quarterly estimated self-employment taxes, file a Schedule C for my "missionary business," file taxes in Brazil, and muddle through tax laws pertinent to expats with income in their resident country.  I really took for granted just how much work it is and the expense of doing your taxes as a self-employed individual.  Now tax time is all year long.

Happy Filing!