Accusations

This week Floyd Landis finally admitted that he was guilty of doping when he won the Tour de France in 2006. For four years he denied it vehemently. He even wrote a book proclaiming his innocence entitled (ironically) "Positvely False." He set up a website and took donations for his defense. Although I didn't contribute, I chose to believe him. Now, in admitting to his own doping, he has also leveled accusations against numerous other cyclists, including Lance Armstrong. Why would anyone believe him now? Four years of living a lie, and now suddenly he's telling the truth?

What this episode is more instructive of than anything else is how deeply sin runs through our nature. Not only can we deceive others, but we are even capable of deceiving ourselves. 1 John 1:8 says: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." Of course, if we claim to be without sin the only one we'll be fooling is ourself.

That's why I love Romans 13:5-6 so much. "Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing."

April 15th is not exactly the happiest day of the year for many Americans. It’s a great American tradition to moan and grumble and complain and whine on April 15th as we pay our taxes. What does Tax Day prove? It proves that we need a Savior! Huh? How so?

Why did you write your check to the IRS? Was it because you’re thankful for all the things the federal government does for you? Was it because you delight in providing for those who govern full time? Was it because you wanted to give God glory by being a responsible citizen? Probably not.

Most likely, you wrote that check to the IRS so that you wouldn’t have to go to jail. You wrote it to avoid the interest and penalties you would owe if you didn’t pay on time. But Paul tells us that “it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.” So unless you wrote that check to the IRS with a smile on your face and a good feeling in your heart, you still need a Savior.

The point of my whole discussion is this. Many times we do the right thing. Floyd Landis did in finally admitting to his doping past. But doiing the right thing doesn’t necessarily make us right, because we often do the right thing for the wrong reason. When that happens, we’re just as wrong in the eyes of God as if we had done the wrong thing. And when we’re wrong in the eyes of God there’s only one hope — the grace God offers us through faith in our Savior Jesus Christ.

So, the next time you pay your taxes, whether quarterly or next April, put a smile on your face — not because you love paying taxes, but because you have a gracious Savior who makes you right with God even when you do the right thing with the wrong motives.