The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Colleen H. during the 2007-2008 League.
Biblical Research on "Civil Government"
Civil: of, pertaining to, or consisting of citizens
Government: the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc.
Romans 13:1 - "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God."
There are many different positions of government that are in charge of our country. From the federal, to the state, to the city and township level, there are many different individuals that we are forced to submit ourselves to. Every person that lives in the specific district has to follow the rules set in place for their area. Even though most of our officials are elected, we don't agree with the principles that some of them have during their time in office. However, we are commanded by God to obey them. He is ultimately the one that has put this people in charge, and whether we want to or not, we must follow their orders.
But more than just obeying because God commands us to, we also need to obey with a cheerful attitude. Just as your parents taught you, you must obey willingly. Sometimes, we only follow the laws because we know that there are harsh consequences for not doing this. Our attitudes about this need to be changed. As it says in Romans, all authority is placed there by God. So basically, when we obey the government, we are obeying God. And also, when we disobey the government, we are disobeying God. When we think of it this way, maybe we will not be more willing to obey those that are in authority over us.
Mark 12:17 - "Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."
This also applies to taxes. We are all required, as American citizens to pay our taxes when they are due. We know that if we don't, then we are going to find ourselves in trouble with the IRS - somewhere where we don't want to be. But God commands us to pay these taxes. Our attitudes need to also be changed about this, also.
2 Corinthians 9:7 - "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
This verse is specifically talking about giving your tithes to the church, but I believe that it also applies to our taxes. We are paying money to our government for the privilege to live in our great country. If we think about all the blessings that we have in America, suddenly, the taxes that we pay to the government don't seem so high.
