During the early church, there was a Roman emperor by the name of Nero. Maybe you've heard of him. He persecuted Christians — crucified them, lit their bodies on fire at garden parties. And it was under that emperor that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome and said: pay your taxes.
Yeah. That's kind of a lot to sit with. But that's where we are today — Tax Day, April 15th — and it felt like a good moment to think through what Christians actually believe about government, about taxes, and about what we do when the whole thing leaves a complicated taste in our mouth.
A Complicated American Relationship
Americans have always had a complicated relationship with taxes. It goes back to the very founding of the country. The rallying cry at the beginning of the Revolution was "no taxation without representation" — and here's the irony: the tax rate that sparked all of that outrage was somewhere between 1 and 1.5%. And if you happened to be living in Britain at the time, you were paying even more than that. The colonists weren't even being taxed at the normal British citizen level.
Today, the federal income tax rate runs between 10 and 37%. Income taxes weren't even a permanent feature of American life until 1913, when the 16th Amendment made them constitutional. Even then, the rate started at 1 to 7%. For the first 137 years of this country's existence, there were no income taxes — though that's not to say there weren't taxes at all. The Whiskey Rebellion is a pretty good reminder of that.
Right now, here in Ohio, there's a serious push to eliminate property taxes. Nationally, there are debates about health care, abortion, transgender care, government waste, and fraud — all of it tied to where our tax dollars go. These aren't just political debates. For a lot of people, they're deeply personal ones.
What the Bible Actually Says
Here's one thing worth saying upfront: the Bible is a little sparse when it comes to spelling out exactly what a government's responsibilities are. It doesn't hand us a policy platform. It doesn't give us a detailed breakdown of what percentage of the budget should go to defense versus education versus social programs. So some of this is going to require us to use wisdom and engage as citizens.
What it does say — fairly plainly — is found in Romans 13. Give to those what you owe them. If you owe respect, give respect. If you owe taxes, pay taxes. And Jesus himself, in his own earthly life, paid taxes.
Again — the emperor when Paul wrote that was Nero. Not a good emperor. A brutal one. And Paul still said pay your taxes.
The Purpose Behind It
That doesn't mean we just accept everything without question. It means we understand why government exists in the first place.
God gives us government so we can have good lives — protected, ordered, just lives. Even in a sinful world, where no government runs perfectly, the purpose is still real. Think about what taxes actually fund. A 911 system. Emergency medical services. Police and fire departments. Public education. Roads. A judicial system. These are things that make it possible to live with relative peace and stability.
Do you want to be able to call for help in an emergency? So does your neighbor. Do you want your property protected? So does the person down the street. Do you want your kids to have access to education? That's the common good at work. It requires funding, and that funding comes from taxes — including yours.
As the saying goes: the system is run by sinners. Of course it's imperfect. But on the whole, a lot of good happens through it.
The Parts That Are Hard to Swallow
And then there's the stuff that's harder to sit with.
There are real concerns worth naming. Cronyism — the way politicians often seem to enter government with modest means and leave quite wealthy, and not always through obviously legitimate paths. The situation surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files, and the sense that powerful people are being protected from accountability. Selective enforcement of laws. Immigration policy that both sides of the aisle have kicked down the road for decades without resolution. Government spending that looks more like waste than service.
And then there are the moral questions — what about tax money going to things that deeply conflict with your values? Health care debates, abortion funding, transgender care — these aren't hypothetical. They're real, and they matter. It's okay to feel unsettled by them.
What do you do with all of that?
Three Things Worth Doing
Here's what Pastor Tritten offered as a practical response for Christians navigating this:
1. Pay Your Taxes
Even when it stings. Even when some of what that money funds feels wrong. We participate in the common good even imperfectly, and even when it feels a little coerced. That's still contributing to something real.
2. Engage Your Representatives
One of the genuine blessings of living in the United States — and in a representative democracy more broadly — is that you have a voice. If you don't like where your tax money is going, that's not a signal to disengage. That's a call to participate. Write your representative. Show up. Vote. Use the voice you've been given.
3. Pray for Your Government
This one is easy to skip. Scripture calls us to pray for kings, governors, and people in authority — and if we're honest, most of us don't spend much time doing that. Not because we think it doesn't matter, but because we've gotten in the habit of criticizing government rather than praying for it.
These are people — flawed, imperfect people — who are in positions of real authority over real decisions that affect real lives. Pray that they're wise. Pray that they make good decisions for their neighbors. Pray that God's will is done through even broken and imperfect people. Because he has done that before, and he can do it again.
4. Give Thanks
We are really good at complaining about government. And sometimes the complaints are fair. But it's also right — genuinely right — to stop and give thanks for what government does well. For the 911 system that works. For the roads. For the fact that we live in a country where peaceful transitions of power are still the norm, where the rule of law still carries weight most of the time, and where you can sit and watch a video like this one without worrying about being arrested for it.
If you're watching from outside the United States, the same principle applies. Look at your own government and find what's worth being grateful for. Then take that gratitude back to God.
We're Not Built for This Kingdom Forever
Here's the thing that gives all of this perspective. We are people who were not made for this kingdom permanently. God has called us to live with him forever, in a kingdom that is just, good, and perfectly run — not by sinners, but by the one who is without sin.
But we are here now. And while we're here, we have neighbors. We have a community. We have a country. And loving those neighbors sometimes looks like being kind to them directly. Other times it looks like chipping in to the common good — even when it costs something, even when it funds things we'd rather it didn't, even when the whole thing leaves us with a mixed taste in our mouth.
That's not a reason to disengage. That's a reason to engage faithfully, honestly, and prayerfully — with our eyes open to the problems and our hearts open to gratitude for what's still good.
What's one specific thing you can pray for your government this week — or one thing you can genuinely give thanks for? It might be worth sitting with that question today.
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