{"id":335,"date":"2016-10-04T14:35:10","date_gmt":"2016-10-04T14:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=335"},"modified":"2016-10-04T14:37:45","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T14:37:45","slug":"trump-taxes-throwing-first-stone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2016\/10\/trump-taxes-throwing-first-stone.html","title":{"rendered":"Trump, Taxes and Throwing the First Stone"},"content":{"rendered":"

“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, \u201cTeacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?\u201d\u00a0 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.\u00a0 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, \u201cLet anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.”
\nJohn 8:3-9<\/p>\n

In this election season, we have a lot to learn from the teachings of Jesus. One of the biggest lessons is about throwing stones.\u00a0 Both our political parties are very good at throwing stones.\u00a0 They are good at judging and criticizing, while ignoring their own sin.<\/p>\n

This week, we\u2019ve heard about Donald Trump\u2019s taxes, or rather his failure to pay income taxes. He\u2019s presumably done so within the law, but I\u2019ll admit that his failure to pay his fair share of taxes annoys me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always paid my taxes.\u00a0 And when I was a single mother and working hard to make ends meet, paying my taxes was burdensome.\u00a0 However, paying taxes is the price we pay for necessary things like roads, police, courts, schools, etc.\u00a0 So I don\u2019t mind paying my fair share of taxes.\u00a0 I do mind when others fail to do the same.<\/p>\n

The problem with news stories, like the ones about Trump\u2019s taxes or Hillary Clinton\u2019s email server, is that they encourage us to judge. Now there is nothing wrong with analyzing someone else\u2019s behavior.\u00a0 We do that all the time.\u00a0 We assess the past behavior of others so we can predict their future behavior.\u00a0 It allows us to know if someone is trustworthy or kind.\u00a0 We then can decide whether if someone will be a good candidate for a job, or whether that person would make a good friend, spouse, or babysitter for our children.<\/p>\n

Where we fall into a trap is when we judge<\/em>.\u00a0 Judging allows us to start throwing stones because when we judge, we conveniently forget about our own sin.\u00a0 The reality is that not one of us is in a position to throw that first stone.\u00a0 Like the scribes and Pharisees, we too would be walking away from the woman who had committed adultery.<\/p>\n

Of course, as human beings, we are prone to judge. We all like to cast aspersions and name call.\u00a0 But Jesus stops us dead in our tracks.\u00a0 Interestingly, he doesn\u2019t tell us not to judge because it is \u201cbad.\u201d\u00a0 He instead asks us to first look at our own sin.\u00a0 And then he wisely says, if you have no sin, feel free to throw stones.\u00a0 The point being that we should be paying closer attention to our own sin than to the sins of others.<\/p>\n

So while I\u2019ve paid my taxes, I can\u2019t throw stones at Donald Trump. I\u2019ve sinned in other ways.\u00a0 So I can use the information about Trump\u2019s tax returns to assess whether he would be a good president, but I can\u2019t use it to judge or condemn him.<\/p>\n

This week, when you read the news or watch the political coverage, try to remember that we are all imperfect. We all come before God burdened with sin.\u00a0 Don\u2019t waste your time judging our political candidates or even your family members or friends.\u00a0 Don\u2019t spend your time name calling or thinking that you are better than anyone else.\u00a0 Instead focus on this: In spite of your imperfection, in spite of your sin, God loves you.\u00a0 So instead of judging, work at being more God-like in your attitude toward others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, \u201cTeacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. 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