Happy Tax Freedom Day

Did you know today is Tax Freedom Day? Neither did I until I heard it on the radio this morning. So, to you I say "Happy Tax Freedom Day!"

Is there anyone, like me, who had no idea what this means? Well, apparently the experts (whoever they are) have calculated that, on average, today marks the day when the money you make for the rest of the year is 100% yours. What they are saying is that if all the money you make were to go to taxes first, today would be the first day marking you 100% paid. That's right, almost 25% of gross income goes to some sort of tax so basically you work 4 months for the government. The rest is yours. Yippee.

Most of us do this without much thought but when it comes to giving God a mere 10%, people gripe and complain saying how all the church wants is money. Anyone else see the irony? No, it's not the church. It's God. And he doesn't need our money, or anything else from us either. It's about obedience, not need.

I will now have to resist the urge to calculate this for myself. It doesn't matter, I must "give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar" (Matthew 22:21) but it does make me wonder....