Begin Where You Are

“For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. ” Romans 13:6-7

We can only pay taxes if we have something that can be taxed. Customs is the Greek word telos, which usually means ends, but seems to be an indirect tax paid on goods as part of the regular practice, perhaps a shipping cost as goods reach their “end” destination (also used this way in Matthew 17:25). The implication of fear is that if you have an emotional response, you will also have a call to action. Finally, honor is an internal dignity that leads one to give the proper currency (for lack of a better word) to whom it is due.

You can't give away what you don't have.

The foundation for you giving something to someone else is that you have developed and produced something of your own. Our bodies are the first things that are given to us that we develop mastery over and then develop —next our spirits through education. We develop ourselves enough to give ourselves to our jobs in exchange for the value they give back to us (usually quantified in a monetary value). While we are paying taxes and giving honor, we develop ourselves so we have a greater reservoir to give from.

It doesn't matter if you're not where you wanted to be in life. 

Many people who don’t have much money, wish they could have more so they could be important people and do important things. Many people who have much money secretly wish they had less so they would have less responsibilities and pressures to behave in certain ways. However, we can’t do anything with a life we haven’t been given. We have to be responsible with what we have been given (Luke 12:48b) and if we have nothing but our life and we don’t use it well, it will be taken away from us (Luke 12:48c).

Create a plan from where you are.

Since we cannot change what has been given to us, we have to make a plan to live responsibly from where we are. A life without a plan will not go far. A plan that doesn’t have a starting point can’t clearly define where it is going. The more we develop the things that are given to us, the more we will be equipped to give to others and help our neighbor. We need to demonstrate that we are responsible with what we have before we will be able to develop more. As we develop what we have, we will have more that we can enjoy and share with others.

Live with honor by supporting your government and responding to others who deserve your respect.