Give what you owe

 ⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Romans 13:7

The Scripture addresses every aspect of our lives.  It is not silent about money, in fact Jesus spoke about money issues more than any other subject except the kingdom of God.  More even than Heaven and Hell.  Money affects every area of our lives.  We work for money, we purchase food with money, we save money, we control with money, we spend money on entertainment, we purchase homes and cars, we spend money on our debts.

Paul says that it is good for our conscience to pay what we owe to people.  We owe taxes, we should pay them. In America, we have some opportunity to regulate how much taxes should be paid.  This is not true of every country.  But here, we started our country partially because of taxation with representation.  Now we hopefully vote in politicians that will address our concerns.

If you stop the verse at taxes you might miss the principle that Paul was specifically addressing.  We are to give proper appreciation for services rendered or sacrifice offered.  This keeps our hearts tender.  We walk humbly, appreciating all of those around us.  When we drive on safe, pot hole free highways, our government provided that with taxes.  When you save or spend money, our government provided the legal tender.  When our first responders go to the scene of an accident again and again, yes it is there job, but we owe them appreciation.  There is a lady who stands on a street side of a school waiting to help children across at the proper time, it would be easy to never see her, unless a child was hurt.

Showing proper appreciation all the time and respect for others is a sign of maturity.  Children are taught and catch how to respect others.  Children are born with an entitlement attitude.  The world revolves around their survival.  People attend to their needs or they die.  But as they grow they see that they have something to offer and they see the sacrifice that parents have made.  As they mature, now it is their turn to give back…unless they never mature beyond entitlement.

To show honor and give respect is in direct opposition to any sense of entitlement.  This does not mean that we neglect the poor or that we do not have an obligation to be just to the needy.  But if everyone gave what they owe, there would be higher appreciation for all human life.  People would have a higher sense of self-worth.

Father, we don’t like having to pay taxes, but we appreciate the services.  Help our country move to less debt and better spending.  We spend money that we don’t have and that violates good fiscal principles.  Lord our government is a reflection of personal spending habits.  Forgive us that we have not learned how to trust you instead of money.  You care about all of our needs and we can trust you.  Let us move to owe no man nothing except to love him.