In modern society many like painting Jesus as a self-styled revolutionary -- a person who liked to defy authority, and purposely ignore social norms. In some respects, He certainly did buck the accepted traditions of His day. There is little doubt He harbored a low opinion of those who set up their banks in the Temple. But to say His purpose was to buck authority in general, or to discard tradition cart blanch would be badly mistaken. Jesus' issue with tradition was not tradition, per se, but it was tradition that set itself above God's revealed word. He did not resist properly ordained authority. But He did understand the hierarchy of authority, and recognized who was at the top of that hierarchy.

A good example is Jesus teaching on taxation. Isn't it interesting that the place of His birth, from a human perspective, was dictated by an edict of taxation?

That Jesus recognized and respected earthly authorities is well demonstrated in his discussion of the issue of taxation. Taxation has never been a popular subject, unless you are the tax collector. And, even in Jesus' day, tax collectors were considered an unseemly bunch. His choice of a tax collector as one of his disciples is often used as an example of how he chose his follower from the lower echelons of society. But when put to the test of whether one ought to pay taxes, He asked for a coin. Then, of his interrogator He asked, "whose image is this?" "Caesar's," was the quick reply. Then, without a hint of uncertainty, Jesus said, "Give to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and give to God that which is God's."

Some would then ask, "OK, what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God? Isn't it all God's?" Certainly, there is a sense in which all things are ultimately God's. Yet, does He not admit in His word that others have rights of ownership too? Does not the story of Ananias and Sephira clearly teach that the land they claimed to give to God belonged to them before they gave it? (See Acts 5:4) Without doubt, it does. So, paying full attention to Christ's words, how did he infer that ownership of the money was Caesar's? Was it not by the image that was impressed upon it, and the inscription? Precisely. (See Mt 22:20-22) And in that same manner, we can then deduce that God's property -- that which we must render unto Him, is that upon which He has impressed His image.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26 KJV)

So, while Jesus may have revolted against many of the common social norms of His day, based on the authority of scripture, he was no tax protester. He was not a revolutionary. While governments - even our current administration - are all fraught with corruption, and while they all support many ungodly principles and plans, can they be worse than those of the Roman empire under which our Savior spoke those words?

Having established, by scripture, the authority of governments to demand taxes, I offer this opinion. Pay not one cent more than legally required. And, if you can get a fish to cough up a coin, let me know where you are fishing!

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In this current economy, anyone who does not take advantage of the ability to reduce taxes by owning and operating a home-based business is simply throwing dollars away. If you have a home based business, be sure you are taking full advantage of every legal tax deduction. If you are looking for a sound home based business, here are two you should consider:

• Own your own on line, turnkey, Christian shopping portal
• Provide protection to people and companies against legal predators and identity thieves

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