The Wondering Sheep: Episode 8 – Living the Christian Life

Life Can be “Taxing…”

February 3, 2026

Stress... worry... “what if...” Recently, I’ve been gathering materials to take to my accountant to complete my 2025 taxes. For many years, I did my own taxes. However, even though my tax filing should, in theory, be easier (fixed retirement income doesn’t give a whole lot of places to mess up badly), I still could end up in trouble. There’s an old joke that musicians can’t count to 4 unless they are really advanced in their art––then we can count up to 12! I’m glad to have handed off much of the tax prep stress more professional hands. 

When the teachers of the law came to Jesus to try to make trouble, they asked him, “Should we pay taxes?” Just like in 2026, not paying taxes in the Roman world would have put you in a real world of hurt. That wasn’t the only way they were trying to get Jesus in trouble, though. There was one group of people the Jews hated even more than their Roman overlords: tax collectors. They even gave it a special category of sin worse than any other. Most tax collectors were Jews who wanted the wealth the job brought. The desire to live comfortably found men willing to be ostracized by their own countrymen. 

Jesus avoided their trap by asking them to show him a coin. You can imagine our Savior looking at it, turning it over, maybe flipping it up and down a couple of times. He finally looked up at the questioners and asked, “Whose picture is this on the coin?” I think they might have wondered about the question as the answer was quite obvious. They told him it was Caesar’s picture, the emperor’s. Jesus said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is Gods.” The Lord’s answer was well crafter. I think Jesus’ answer was a frustrating one for his enemies, since they couldn’t use it against Jesus!

If you had all the Sunday School lessons and heard the number of sermons on this story (as I have), you, like me, likely nodded and said in our mind that it was, indeed, a wise thing to say. After the years I spent doing my own taxes, it has provided additional perspective on what Jesus says. There are three questions the Savior answers: 1. What do we give to Caesar? 2. What do we give to God? 3. Is anything left for us? Behind all this, I suppose, is another question, one that the enemy was trying to trap Jesus with: what belongs to the government? The money we use has faces like that of Grant, Lincoln, Jackson, FDR, etc. At times, it seems that even when we hand over all the money we owe the government, what they are owed, we have not even scratched what the city, state, and federals demand from us. 

In short, behind this anxiety behind paying taxes is an unwillingness, by nature, to want to give up our property, what we think is ours. The world around us seeks to gather as much “stuff” as possible (including money). We take time finding a way to avoid paying every cent we can. The individual, what I want, what I deserve, is what is most important.

In our world, the next statement could be understood as heretical. “Nothing we have, earn, find, or are given is ever really ours.” Am I challenging the Jews of Jesus’ time? Yes! The correct perspective of the child of God is this: “All we have is given us from God to use in living our lives and, most importantly, for God’s use.”

Did I really just say that? “I worked hard for that money!” Yup. God gave you the job and the ability to make your boss look good, to make your company some extra cash. “I earned that grade!” Yup. God gave you the intelligence, logic, learning ability, and so on to use that knowledge. “I am the greatest athlete the world has ever known!” Who created your body, gave you the attitude and work ethic to develop it, and all the talent? He gave it all to you, put the right coaches in your face, and put you on the right teams/situations to do your best. We use everything, time, treasure, talents, abilities, opportunities, and our temples in His service. We take care of our family, our jobs, everything we have as a blessing received from the Lord. 

You thought this little story of the coin was an easy story with an easy lesson to learn, didn’t you? As much as it hurts, paying taxes is what God expects us to do. He also desires for us to use what he blesses us with in His service. “But I’m not done fixing up my basement as a Viking shrine!” How does the money you are spending compare to what you return to God? “I need all the streaming channels to watch all the NFL games.” How much does that cost and how much time do you spend with your family compared to the hours watching a game? I enjoy a good football game as much as anyone does, but often I have to work hard (with Jesus’ help) to remember that it’s just a game. It’s just money. It’s just stuff. “But the NFL now has Sunday morning games - I HAVE to watch!” Why? Perhaps that’s the question that many of us need to ask before we start to choose things of this world before the things of God. Yes, God blesses us with much, but don’t lose sight of the Giver! He is the one who blesses you with it all.

Huh... seems like this sheep wandered a bit in this episode, right? Sometimes, a question that seems easy can lead us where we would rather not go. I try to remember that my Good Shepherd has a “crook” to pull me out of the trouble I get myself into. I need to remember that He loved me enough to die for me. What does that really mean for me and the life I try to lead? May he help me make decisions and have godly attitudes influenced by Christ’s love for me!

Taxes. Ba- a-a-aa! “Mine!” Ba- a-a-aa! Thank you, Jesus, for giving me the proper perspective, for all you have given me. Help me remember where everything comes from.