I Miss The 1040EZ
“…Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left Him and went away.” Matthew 22:15-22 (ESV)
This week we all (hopefully) “rendered to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” In other words, we paid our taxes on April 18.
My accountant must not be fond of me. You see, I am one of those who wait till the last minute to get all of my information in. Seems like every year, my taxes (and life!), get a little more complicated. Each year there are more forms needed, paperwork, phone calls, questions, emails, meetings, and texts. Last Saturday, I found myself up at my office for 5 hours with papers spread across four tables, and I don’t even do my own taxes. This is just the prep work!
I long for the simpler days of my youth when I would, on the spur of the moment, grab the one-page 1040EZ form (how I miss the EZ!!!) and do my own taxes in less than a minute. (I timed it once!)
It used to be much easier to render to Caesar.
Notice the answer Jesus gives when the Pharisees ask Him about paying taxes.
And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Caeser’s likeness and image were imprinted on the coin, so it was to be returned to him.
But what about us? Whose likeness and image do we bare?
"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created Him." Genesis 1:27
We bare the likeness and image of the living God. It is stamped on our souls. Therefore we are to render ourselves (our hearts, time, and talents…) to God.
But much like my taxes, sadly, that becomes more difficult the older I get. It seems my over-complicated life now requires more forms, paperwork, phone calls, emails, meetings, and texts in order to give back to God what is really His.
The church needs extra greeters at Easter? I’d love to do that! Oh wait, we are having people over for lunch, and I have to get home early to get the house ready.
Men’s retreat this weekend? Well, crud. We were out of town the last two weekends for weddings, and I can’t be gone another weekend.
A missionary is in town and needs a place to stay for two weeks? Great! We’ve got two extra bedrooms. But sadly, they are filled to the brim with “stuff,” and I have no idea what is in half of those boxes, but there is no room to move them to the garage.
You get the point. I miss the “1040EZ” days of ministry. When saying “yes” to God’s opportunities took less than a minute and way less “paperwork,” meetings, emails, and phone calls.
What happened to take me from the days of “EZ” to complicated?
As my life progressed, I went from being a speedboat to a cargo ship. I have taken on too much “cargo,” and these things weigh me down when it comes to saying yes to God.
Jesse Cole, owner of the Savannah Bananas, puts it this way...
“Everything is bigger, bigger, and bigger. I think the key for us… is how quick can you be? How quick can you pivot? How quick can you make decisions. How quick can you take action?”
A speedboat can turn on a dime. A cargo ship takes forever. In the words of Amy Grant, “It takes a little time sometimes, to get the Titanic turned back around.”
The simple yeses when nudged by the Spirit in the days of my youth don’t come as easy anymore. When the Savannah Bananas changed from regular baseball games to Banana Ball, Cole says the decision was easy because as a business, they were still a speedboat.
“We didn’t have to have any red tape. There wasn’t any bureaucracy. It didn’t take so long to turn course. We were able to see something and act on it.”
What about you? When you see an opportunity God brings your way, are you able to quickly act on it? Or is your life filled with so much red tape and bureaucracy that you are way more of a cargo ship than a speedboat?
Ask yourself, who put the red tape there that you are so tangled up in? Hint: It wasn’t God.
Perhaps it’s time to correct course and throw a few (or a lot) of things overboard. Miss those speedboat days? Miss the days of the 1040EZ?
It’s not too late.
You rendered to Caesar this week what bears his image. Let’s remember to do the same for God as well.
“… but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” Romans 6:13
And unlike my taxes, let’s not file an extension with God. There’s no better day than today to shed some cargo and offer yourself to the Lord.
Watch this 1 minute 19 second video where Savannah Bananas owner, Jesse Cole, shares the benefits of being a speedboat, not a cargo ship.