January 9
(Luke 3:12-14 NIV) ““Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" {13} "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them.”” {14} Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely--be content with your pay.””
(Proverbs 11:1-4 NIV) “The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight. {2} When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. {3} The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. {4} Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.”
We cannot separate our faith from how we work or run our business. Our businesses and places of work are where most people see our faith represented. In Christ’s day, tax collectors could charge people more than they actually owed and pocket the extra for themselves. They were seen as traitors and despised. But John doesn’t tell them to stop collecting taxes. He tells them to be fair, and not to cheat people. He told soldiers not to extort money from people, or bring false charges against them. These words apply today. Christians should be among the most honest people in the world. Yet almost weekly, we hear of one caught in some kind of dishonesty or lying. Walk carefully believers! The world revels and delights in exposing Christian hypocrites. When you walk in the light, you become highly visible. You will either be a rising star or a falling star. But you cannot be both at the same time. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day
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