Across the Lines

We made another discovery while working on our taxes this past week. It relates to poker directly - and it comes with a confessional.

We live in Kentucky - a state with no poker rooms, as far as we know. It's famous for "the sport of kings" (horse racing), but not pocket Kings. We cross rivers into Ohio and Indiana to play poker. And while filling out an Ohio state income tax form for another reason, we found out we must pay income tax on our Cincinnati casino winnings.

That led to a guilt cloud, then a check of Indiana's income tax rules. Sure enough - we have to pay that state as well on our casino winnings in Lawrenceburg, even though we've never lived there.

To be honest, we should have thought of this before. We'd heard stories of professional athletes being ordered to pay such out-of-state taxes, when their team goes on road trips. After all, they're working in the state of the team they're trying to beat.

But we never thought of applying this to us. And we crossed state lines to win at poker, well before moving to our current area. We're not sure if the statute of limitations has run out for those states - but we apologize to the states we may have stiffed. (Don't expect casinos to tell you about this; they never have with us.)

Why are we so concerned about this? In part, because of these words...

Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.... "Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" - Matthew 22:15, 17

This was a question to Jesus, whom some people thought had come to start a rebellion against the Roman leadership. What better way to do it than with a tax protest - right? Well, keep reading....

But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Some me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" - Matthew 22:18-20

We don't think the words "In God we trust" was on that coin. But we've heard people try to argue against paying taxes, based on the government being "un-Christian" or other such things. Yet what did Jesus say to the crowd?

"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." When they heard him, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. - Mathew 22:21-22

Jesus never told anyone not to pay their taxes. For one thing, you'd be breaking the law in the U.S. if you did that. For another thing, Jesus had a disciple pay a "temple tax" earlier in His ministry (17:24-28). To us, it's about obedience....

Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. - I Peter 2:17

That "king" has a small king, indicating a human leader. God puts those leaders in charge (Romans 13:1, KJV) - so if you say you fear God and not them, what does that say about you?