3 Bible Tips: Taxes
Nothing may be as sure or as vexing as taxes, but why? And what does God say about them?
1. God warned that human governments would take high taxes.
"[A king] will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your menservants and your maidservants and your finest young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants" (1 Samuel 8:14-17).
2. We are to pay the government the things that are the government's.
"'Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?' But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, 'Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.' So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, 'Whose image and inscription is this?' They said to Him, 'Caesar's.' And He said to them, 'Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's'" (Matthew 22:17-21).
3. Paul taught Christians to pay their taxes.
"Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor" (Romans 13:7).
For tips about paying taxes and sound financial principles, see Financial Security and Peace of Mind from the booklet Making Life Work.