Who's is Who's?

In a recent Republican Presidential nominee debate, Michelle Bachmann had this to say regarding a tax question an audience member asked, “And after the debate, I talked to that young man, and I said I wish I could have answered that question, because I want to tell you what my answer is: I think you earned every dollar. You should get to keep every dollar that you earn. That's your money. That's not the government's money.” In other words, no taxes.

Taxes are a big part our society. We're taxed on just about anything from paychecks to inheritance; from food to clothes; from winnings in the lottery to winnings on Wheel of Fortune. So, it is a nice thought that we wouldn't have to pay any taxes of any kind and it seems every Republican Presidential candidate is trying to out do one another with who go can the lowest on our taxes. But did you know you do not have to pay your taxes? We have what you would call a volunteer tax system. A few years ago the son of a congressman was arrested for tax evasion. The judge showed little mercy, going as far to say, “Our tax system depends on voluntary compliance. Therefore we must send a signal to other tax cheaters.” True story. Every April 15, we render to Caesar what is Caesar's without complaint or reservations; despite what the yellow billboards on the side of the road say. But when it comes to rendering to God what is God's, that's a whole other story.

Before every offertory in every church across the country, 83% of the people who will say the offertory prayer will offer up their own stories, own words of wisdom as to why the congregation should tithe, followed by quoting Malachi 3:10; followed by an explanation that a tithe is 10% of your monthly/yearly income. The offering plates will pass and those who feel compelled will give the appropriate amount while some withhold for various reasons. We do not look for excuses to not pay our taxes. Sure, we look for tax breaks; but we know an 11 year jail sentence awaits us if we do not “voluntarily comply” with our tax system. However tithing is a volunteer compliance system in which no immediate repercussions take place. I mean, how many times have the finance chairperson showed up at your door demanding your yearly tithe?

Our passage this morning is speaking to something other than separation of church and state or why you should pay your taxes or why you should tithe. Our passage speaks to the life that is required when we choose to follow Christ. Are you familiar with the hymn, “Take My Life, and Let it Be”? I once heard a story about this hymn; one that I believe will help the “something other” I believe the passage is speaking about. The story goes like this:

Laurie liked to play hymns on the piano and sing. She always started and finished with her favorite, "Take My Life That I May Be." And while she sang, she dreamed about the future. "Take my life that I may be consecrated, Lord, to thee...." What would she do with her life? She'd be lost in hopes as she continued, "Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of your love...."

But there was one line she never quite liked. "Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold...." It seemed a little out of touch with reality, that "not a mite" part. After all, you had to live in the world, didn't you? And it takes money. She wondered about her financial responsibilities as a Christian.

When Laurie graduated from college with an elementary education major, she took a one-year position as a teacher in a little village in Mexico. She had heard about poverty in Mexico -- but nothing could have prepared her for this. The teachers' apartments were right next to the school, if you could call them apartments. The other teachers called them "huts with plumbing," but they were mansions compared to where her students lived.

When Laurie first walked through the door of her own "hut," tears stung her eyes. What was she doing here? What was she thinking? Many of her friends had already "gotten settled" into comfortable American schools, with adequate incomes and nice apartments. They wouldn't think of going without a curling iron for a whole year, much less a coffee maker! How was she going to survive, hundreds of miles from everyone she loved and everything she knew?

There was a timid knock at her door. Several school-age children crowded into the doorway to get a peek at the new teacher.

Within a few weeks, those knocks at the door became daily occurrences. Late afternoon and early evening, the children would come -- to visit, for help with schoolwork, and often just to be there. She didn't mind the extra time spent with them. She was already starting to love these kids, their families, and this little village.

Laurie's few possessions were like treasures to them. They held her unlit candles gently in their laps, memorized all the faces in her family portrait, and paged through her paperbacks as if they were able to read them. It was fun to see how her "stuff" delighted them.

Laurie surveyed her homey little apartment. She had packed light for the year, but now many of these "bare necessities" she had brought seemed unnecessary -- even extravagant. (And then there's that small mountain of boxes and bins stored in her parents' basement!).

She had given up a lot -- especially income -- to come here this year. (She began to wonder what on earth she would have done with all that income.) She asked God how to use her wealth in the middle of so much poverty. For the first time, it dawned on her that an understanding of "Take my silver and my gold ..." began with the heart.

There was one thing she never let the children see. At least once a week, late at night when she was all alone, she pulled it out of the back of her closet: her graduation dress, a gift from her parents. It was the nicest dress she'd ever owned, but it was so much more than that: it was the pride of graduation, and great college memories, and home, and her parents' love -- all in that one special dress. It somehow brought her family closer to her, and when she was lonely it reminded her how special she was to them.
One day, in early spring, Maria knocked on her door. Maria had never before come to Laurie's, although her younger brothers and sisters were there often. Maria was in her teens and worked at the clothing factory in the nearby town. Her income fed the entire family.

Maria's eyes sparkled. She was getting married, in just two months. Laurie hugged her and congratulated her. Then Maria, head bowed, quietly asked Laurie for help. She had brought over a well-worn old dress and a white shawl, and wondered if Laurie could help her sew something special from them for the wedding.

Laurie held up the old garments, and tried to think of something they could design from them. Back home, she'd packed up clothes to Salvation Army that were far nicer than these. She told Maria they'd try, and Maria should come back Saturday to work on it.

That night she felt particularly lonely. Her college roommate had gotten married the day after graduation, and here she was in Mexico alone, unattached, and no one waiting back home for her. So, of course, she reached into the back of her closet for her dress. She hugged it to herself and cried softly, so aware of her emptiness in the middle of her little "Mexican adventure."

As she gently placed it back into the closet, those nagging words popped into her head. "Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold...." She pulled the dress back out and eyed it carefully. Yes, it was the right shade. Yes, it was close to the right size. Yes, it could be temporarily hemmed. Yes, it would be a perfect dress for Maria to use on her wedding day.

Laurie thought of the Psalm that says, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it...." It started to make sense to her that, if everything is God's, then what we have is "on loan" from God, to be gratefully received and generously used. What was "on loan" to her from God could be "on loan" from her to Maria.

Letting Maria use her prized possession as a wedding dress suddenly felt like an honor to Laurie. She couldn't wait for Saturday, and the surprise she had for Maria. "Not a mite would I withhold...." It was a matter of the heart. (Mary Sue Dehmlow Dreir)

Jesus' response to the Pharisees is not a justification for paying a high/low tax. It is not a valid reason for the separation of church and state. It is something more. We live simultaneously in God's realm and the human realm, and Jesus calls us to responsibility in both. Go ahead: pay your state sales tax, license your cars, and file an honest tax return. Give to the government whatever it takes to conduct its business. But remember: our things as well as ourselves belong to God, and are here for God's purposes to be accomplished.

That is the something other, the something more I am referring too. The Lord your God is the one to whom you must do homage, him alone you must serve. Jesus asks for a single-minded commitment to God and God alone. God wants all our heart, all of our mind, and all of our soul. Henri Nouwen writes, “It is this unconditional and unreserved love for God that leads to the care for one another, not as an activity that distracts us from God or competes with our attention to God, but as an expression of our love for God who reveals himself to us as the God of all people.” It is in giving everything that is God's to God we discover the ability to live life in faithfulness in the good times and bad times, in sickness and health, in wealth and poverty. It gives us the knowledge that true joy comes from giving to God everything that is God's and that includes ourselves.

It is then and only then we can say with complete joy:

Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee; Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love. Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for thee; take my voice and let me sing always, only for my king. Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold; take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my will, and make it thine, it shall be no longer mine; take my heart, it is thine own, it shall be thy royal throne.