Income Tax - a sacred exercise?

Whew! Income tax is done! Whether waiting for a refund or writing that check, or just coming out even, I’m always so glad to have that little task done.

Looking back at the year’s financial summary is a good spiritual exercise for me. Are my expenditures in line with what I say are my life priorities? Was there enough? Did I feel like there was enough when I was living out that year? Will there be enough this year? When will there be enough? If I have enough, (maybe even a little bit more than enough), what should I do with it? Buy a field?  If there isn’t enough, how do I keep from panicking? What does the curriculum of Stewardship 101 have to tell me about all of this?

I was reviewing Adam Hamilton’s book Enough that we studied at First Church this fall. Hamilton talks about ways to overcome fear: trust God, offer gratitude for what we have, live a life of service and generosity to others.  The first one seems the hardest to me.  I can do those other two and still have knots in my stomach and sleepless nights. How do I learn to trust God?  

Here are some ways I’ve found. I can turn to scripture and read God’s assurances.  The Psalms are full of them, for example, Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength…therefore we do not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea.”  I can remember my own experience, a time when I was afraid and God comforted or led me through, or listen to the experiences shared by those in this faith community. I can read the stories of John Wesley or other faith leaders of our tradition and learn about their faith experiences. I can practice prayer, stilling my troubled mind and listening in the quite for the still small voice of God. I can volunteer for one of First Church’s myriad service opportunities and learn from those who get by day to day on faith alone.

God’s abundance is a gift, but it’s a gift I don’t seem to know how to receive unless I unlearn what contemporary culture has taught me about who and whose I am. No matter how old I get, I never seem to outgrow my need for refresher courses. Believe it or not, income tax time has become one of those refreshers. Who'd have thought?