Word: Honor

Series: The Word

Romans 13:7 ESV

Philippians 4:19 ESV

Philippians 4:29 ESV

Sometimes when the we read something that is so absolutely elemental it leaves us a little speechless.

In some ways, that’s how Romans 13:7 appears upon first reading.

Romans 13:7 says, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”

In my mind, it seems to come down to doing the right thing. At one time or another when I was growing up I was taught to do all of those things. I taught my children all of those things. My grandchildren are learning all of those things.

The problem is, doing the right thing isn’t always as easy as it sounds. It isn’t always apparent or easy.

Let’s say a tree frog had been out of work for quite a while. He was keeping up with his responsibilities as best he could, but sometimes that wasn’t easy.

He had been saving for quite a while so he would have enough money to pay his taxes. He estimated how much he thought he would need.

The honest tree frog did everything he could do to to pay every bill on time. However, he recently had a problem because one of his young girl tree frogs suddenly became ill. The tree frog doctor explained what was needed in order for her to get better. The medicine was necessary, but expensive.

The tree frog prayed about what to do. He had the money that he set aside to pay his taxes, but that’s all the extra money he had.

He ended up borrowing from his tax fund so he could get his young girl tree frog the medicine she needed.

He knew it would be difficult to pay it back, but he vowed he would try.

He worked a full time job but he started looking for a second job so he could make extra money. He did have good skills that were generally marketable so he hoped that would help.

Every day he looked at all of the advertisements for employment. He hoped he could find a part-time job in his skill set, but if that wasn’t possible, he was willing to do just about anything…within limits. Daddy tree frog wasn’t willing to take a job that was “shady”.

He was an honorable tree frog.

Week after week and month after month passed and he knew he didn’t have quite enough money to pay his taxes. He was watching every penny and put away as much as he could to replenish the tax fund.

As tax time approached, he was starting to get worried.

He had never ever been late paying his taxes and he sure didn’t want to start now. Years ago he heard of a tree frog who could not pay his taxes on time and he heard the penalties were pretty steep. That tree frog got into a position where he had a lot of financial trouble because he couldn’t get ahead of the tax burden.

Plus, the tree frog wanted to do the right thing. He really wanted to set a good example for his tree frog children.

When he had exhausted every logical step he could think of, he realized he might not be able to do this on his own. At that point, the tree frog started praying about what he should do.

He believed in God, and he went to tree frog church, but he’d never been in a spot where he hadn’t been able to pay his taxes.

He was pretty sad and with each passing day he became more and more afraid.

The week before his taxes were due, he one night after everyone in his family was asleep, he was sitting in his favorite chair and he reached for his Bible.

He wasn’t sure where to start reading so he prayed, “God, show me the way. Lead me to the right scripture. I need to know how to pray.”

He sat quietly for a while and then he opened his Bible. It opened to Philippians 4.

Then, he couldn’t believe his eyes…Philippians 4:19 was 3D!

Philippians 4:19 said, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.“

The tree frog thought, could it be possible that God was personally telling HIM every need would be supplied? Could that include the money for his taxes?

He wasn’t sure, so he looked at his Bible again and Philippians 4:20 said, “To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

The tree frog started repeating Philippians 4:20 over and over again. He went to bed and he repeated it until he fell asleep.

The next morning when he woke up he thought about that verse and he started saying it over and over again.

That afternoon when the tree frog mail came, his tree frog wife went lo the mailbox (like she did every day). When she came back she had a letter for him. He didn’t recognize the name on the letter but he opened the envelop. There was a letter and when he opened the letter something fell out.

When he looked down at the floor he realized it was a special kind of check. He was the only one who could cash this check.

When he read the check, he couldn’t believe his eyes…it was for the exact amount he needed to be able to pay his taxes that were due in two days!

By this time, the tree frog was crying. The letter had been mailed the day before and that was when he read Philippians 4:19 and repeated Philippians 4:20 all day!

It goes without saying that the tree frog spent the rest of the day praising and honoring God for the money he needed to pay his taxes. The tree frog remembered the scripture that says, “honor whom honor is owed.” The tree frog prayed for the anonymous person who send the gift. He asked God to bless the person who sent the gift!

Even though he didn’t know who the person was, he was grateful for their connection!

He would have loved to send a thank you letter to the sender, but there was no name or return address. It was clear the sender wanted the gift to be a true gift!

Spiritual Practice: Ask for what you need

The situation and name were changed, but the details of this story were similar to a true life event. God really does provide!

In God, Deborah

acrazyjourney.com