Connor had a dilemma on his hands. He took on a side job, helping someone with a building project. It wasn’t his normal line of work; he normally worked in a small company in shipping and receiving. But his dad was a building contractor and Connor had grown up in the business so he knew a thing or two about construction; and it wasn’t unusual for him to take on a few small side jobs; a little trim work here or there, perhaps. But this job was bigger, much bigger.
He wouldn’t have taken the job at all, but it was for a friend’s parents and it was originally going to be just a small addition. But one thing led to another and it turned into a much larger project. Nothing Connor couldn’t handle, though, and even working only evenings and weekends he managed to complete the work quickly enough to earn a bonus on top of his original quote. And just like that, Connor suddenly had a lot of cash in his bank account.
But when tax time came, Connor didn’t feel he should have to pay taxes on the money he earned from his side project. He had worked for cash, after all. And he had given up his nights and weekends for more than three straight months. Talking it over with Peter, his friend and coworker, Connor put it this way, “It’s my money. I earned it. I deserve to keep it. Besides, I spent most of it on that new truck of mine and the rest I put down on my house.”
“But it’s the government, Connor, they have ways of knowing these things,” Peter pointed out
“They sure do,” chimed in Sally, who couldn’t help but overhear the conversation.
And, indeed, the government did know about the extra money he had earned. They knew in two ways; the couple he had done the work for filed forms claiming tax deductions for the energy savings they would realize from the project; listing Connor as the contractor, of course. And financial records indicated that Connor could not afford his fifty-thousand-dollar new truck on his meager income as a shipping and receiving clerk.
So while Connor firmly and sincerely believed he should not have to pay taxes on this side project, the law said he did and the government soon sent him a letter stating just how much tax they calculated he owed, plus a small fine for paying late. But Connor ignored the letter, being so firm in his belief that he did not owe them a thing.
He eventually received another piece of correspondence from the government, this one a bit more emphatic than the last. The fine was bigger this time, too, raising the total he owed to a truly eye-opening amount. And again, despite the warnings of his coworkers and friends, Connor ignored the letter, sure that he did not owe them a thing. And then something happened that Connor could not ignore. He went to buy groceries after work and his card was rejected. And when he went out to his shiny new truck, it was being hauled away on a flatbed.
Having called Peter for a ride, he arrived at home and found the notice on his door. The government had seized his home and all its contents. And as he sat down on the stoop in utter shock, the federal officers arrived with a warrant for his arrest. At least the jail would be someplace warm to spend the night. Turns out, tax evasion is a pretty serious offense, and though Connor didn’t believe it, he was now in the throes of some rather harsh consequences.
And so we see, despite Connor’s firmly held belief to the contrary, he was guilty of tax evasion and there was a penalty to be paid. In his case it was a severe one, and his disbelief didn’t in anyway change that reality. And so it is when it comes to Jesus, what we believe or don’t believe doesn’t change reality at all. Many people choose disbelief, ignoring the historical reality depicted in the Bible and rejecting the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. This isn’t all that surprising, actually, for Jesus said, “Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
But the reality is that you will acknowledge Jesus is Lord, whether you choose to do it now, willingly, or later, posthumously. For God has told us that He “gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)
We all inherently know we are not perfect, that we have done wrong. Our conscious convicts us of that fact, whether we will admit it to others or not. We are being disingenuous if we deny this. And there is a penalty to be paid for our wrongs, whether we want to admit it or not. But if we walk through the small gate and accept the redemptive work of Jesus, our penalty is paid in full. Are you ready to take the narrow road?
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Labor Day is a national tribute to the contributions American workers have made to the strength and well-being of our country. The origins of Labor Day can be traced back to a celebration first held in New York City in 1882. There is a bit of debate over who actually first proposed the Labor Day holiday; some records show that Patrick McGuire, a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was the first to suggest the holiday, while others believe it was Michael McGuire who proposed the holiday while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.
Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day was created as a time to remember and honor those who have given their lives in service to the United States. Originally born out of the Civil War and the desire to remember the dead, Memorial Day was first declared on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date for Decoration Day, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
I awoke that morning groggy and tired. It couldn’t be that time already. It felt like a suit of weights hanging on my body as I crawled from my bed. The familiar dread hit me hard. I didn’t want to go back to work. Work had become unbearable in the past few months. The atmosphere was toxic. I had never worked in a place so full of turmoil. There was a constant atmosphere of stress and I felt like if I made one mistake I was going to be hauled into the boss’s office and harshly reprimanded. I first noticed this the very week I started there, but I discounted it in the hopes that things would improve over time. They didn’t. One particular woman seemed out to get me. I found out later that her friend was the one I had replaced in my position, so it seemed she was bent on seeing me fail. I found myself crying out to God for help on a regular basis. I began to wonder if I was asking too much of Him.
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