Judging the Law or the Facts?

After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. Judges 2:10-13

As I understand it, there are three primary duties of a United States citizen:

• Somehow serve the country, state, county, and/or city in which you live
• Vote in elections
• Serve on a jury

This week, I had the opportunity to serve as a potential jury member. As with any government led activity, it was slow and tedious - and, I was glad to have followed the advice of my wife and brought something to read as I waited. While I was not seated as a juror, I did experience the jury selection process and learned something from the presiding judge regarding the duties of a juror and a judge.

The judge will judge the Law. The jury will judge the Facts.

Interesting.

In the same way, I thought that Christ followers are to look over the evidence and judge the facts. For example, how closely are we following the Law of Christ? Or, are we? How are we living our lives in response to what He has already done for us as Savior and Lord? What will the conversation be, in the end, when we meet Him face to face? Of course, as we "judge the Facts" of our lives (our motivations, thoughts, words, and actions), we recognize that Christ will be the final judge and His judgment is just and pure.

I also thought that what we are not to do, however, is judge the Law. Yet, we do it all the time. While the Bible is relevant for today - even though it is centuries old - we cast it against the common culture and diminish its significance. Gossip is an industry. Envy, jealousy, and coveting have become accepted and encouraged as normal. Parents are disrespected, dishonored. and disregarded. Relationships are redefined between people against the teachings of God.

The judge judges the Law.

What laws of God are we judging instead of simply following?

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” - John 14:21

Did you know? Big Oil pays Big Taxes!

Way back in 2008, I posted some data that I simply don't hear or read about from the media - namely that oil companies make a lot of money AND pay hefty taxes.

Well, as we hear and read that oil companies don't pay enough taxes, we need to understand these figures from Exxon:

		2011				2010				2009
		(millions of dollars)
Income taxes			$31,051				$21,561				$15,119
Effective income tax rate			46%				45%				47%
Sales-based taxes			33,503				28,547				25,936
All other taxes and duties			43,544				39,127				37,571
Total			$108,098				$89,235				$78,626

Wow.

Remember, these are SEC documents not marketing fodder. This company really paid $108 Billion (with a 'B') in taxes in 2011. When Big Oil is demonized, we need to remember that in 2011 just one company paid this much in taxes as a result of a 46% income tax rate.

What would your taxes be if you had to pay an effective rate of 46% in just income tax - not including sales, ad valorem, tariffs, and other duties or taxes?

...probably more than you'd want to pay.

The Day

If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 (NIV)

Lately, I've been reminded, again and again, about "the Day". This is the Day we meet Jesus face to face - no longer "through a poor reflection as in a mirror" but really face to face. At the judgment seat of Christ, all words and actions (including this post) will be laid bare before the King of Kings.

How does that thought grab you?

It has reminded me to return to the basic question: what am I doing with what God has given me?

I've written previously about being a man of God in what we do and how we do it. The last part of the definition of a man remains clear: expect the greater reward. For the work that remains after the fire of testing endured at judgment, we will be rewarded. The thoughts that captured our attention, the words we shared, and the actions of our wills all will either be disintegrated or refined.

Now, thinking of that moment, let's ask the next questions of priority:

What should take up our focus, time, and energy?

What is taking our focus, time, and energy but really won't matter on that Day?