A Taxing Day

If the ache of Tuesday’s tax deadline still lingers, I feel your pain. Some say that taxes and death are the only two sure things. These twin certainties are especially affirmed each year on April 15th and daily in every newspaper obituary.

I confess to mailing my federal and state tax forms at separate post offices late in the day on April 15th. A math error and filling out the form a second time wrecked my earlier target time. There was a minor traffic jam at the first post office and a modestly busy parade at the second. Evidently, last minute filing is a habit with droves of taxpayers.

The tardiness is probably not all mindless procrastination, but it reflects stubborn psychological resistance to the very notion of taxation—a painful process annually reopening the wound of human sin.

Talk of pain is not hyperbole. Analysts tout statistics for Tax Freedom Day in America and other countries. That is the day when a nation has theoretically reached its annual tax need or, by definition from Wikipedia, "the day the average citizen has earned enough to pay his tax burden." The date for 2008 in the U.S. is April 23. Loosely understood, it means we all will give about everything we earn until that day to meet the expenses of America. We may be cheered by learning Israelis will work until August 2 and that Norway and Sweden will labor on until July 29. Of course, these dates are calculated differently by various authors, but the bottom line is always the bitter line.

Taxes are worse than most payers know since the subtle levies on gas, food and most other purchases are on top of the obvious rates of federal, state and local taxes.

The reason for all this is that since we’re not being ruled exclusively by God, we’ll be ruled by human tyrants—always ourselves. It began in Eden with sin displacing direct divine rule. Policing wayward men, spending on health care in the fallen state, etc., etc., all the way to funeral expenses, runs up crushing expense.

Israel hankered for routine human government saying, "‘Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.’ But the thing displeased Samuel when they said so. Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.’" (1 Sam 8:5-18).

Then Samuel tallied the expense of government.

"‘This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he 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 male servants, your female servants, 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. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day" (I Samuel 8:11-18 – emphasis mine)

A modicum of relief is available for the godly. Psalm 144:15 says, "Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!"

Through Christ, believers are to inherit the better land where no tax forms are ever due and we’ll all have free housing, no health bills, no school tax, no road repairs and no mortuaries. We will all be healed, totally educated, walk on streets of gold where no death will ever come. And our eternal living expenses are forever paid, redeemed by the measureless cost of Christ’s loving blood. When He died on Calvary he breathed, "It is finished." In the Greek, it’s "tetelestai," which literally means the same thing as was written on a fully finalized mortgage instrument – PAID IN FULL.

Perhaps this year is the last year for Christians to pay earthly taxes. The Rapture ends them all.

Dave Virkler