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Justice in Taxation

Ordinary Time (Second Section)Taxation, Public Revenue and the Common Good Week 36 · Day 1

Scripture References

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Old Testament

Deuteronomy 16:18-20

¹⁸ You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgement.
¹⁹ You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.
²⁰ You shall follow that which is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the LORD your God gives you.

New Testament

Matthew 22:15-22

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.
¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach; for you aren’t partial to anyone.
¹⁷ Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

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¹⁸ But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites?
¹⁹ Show me the tax money.” They brought to him a denarius.
²⁰ He asked them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
²¹ They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
²² When they heard it, they marvelled, and left him and went away.

Thought for the Day

Deuteronomy does not romanticise public life. Judges and officials must be appointed, cases must be heard, decisions must be made. And the Lord is uncomfortably specific about what ruins justice: “Do not show partiality; do not accept a bribe.” The little turnings of the heart, the quiet favours, the cosy loyalties, become a crooked road.

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In Matthew, Jesus is shown a coin. On it is Caesar’s image; around it, Caesar’s claim. His answer is neither flattery of empire nor cheap defiance: “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” It is a sober word for people who live under imperfect rule.

Perhaps the deeper question is the one the coin cannot answer. If a denarius bears Caesar’s image, who bears God’s? We do. Tax may be paid to a ruler, but worship belongs to the Lord; and justice belongs to our neighbours, who are not abstractions but image-bearers with names.

Lord, keep our public life from the slow corrosion of partiality. Give integrity to those who collect and allocate revenue. And teach us to speak about taxation without contempt and without idolatry, seeking a common life that honours dignity and pursues what is right.

Prayer Points

Respond

Give wisdom, steadiness, and integrity to those responsible for taxation and public revenue.
Restrain corruption, favouritism, and quiet bribery; make what is hidden come to light.
Protect households under financial strain; provide daily bread and timely support.

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Teach the Church to be truthful and neighbour-minded in public speech about money and government.
Form in us a clean conscience: neither cynical nor naive, but faithful in the ordinary duties of citizenship.

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