Government Employees

Many employees of our government, on all levels, have a tendency to forget it is the people that they serve. From your local health department or tax assessor to the Federal Department of Health and Human Services or the IRS, employees of our government have will put on "job blinders", basically defining the function of their job by how important they believe they are to the nation. Parents have a natural animosity toward DFACS because of the overstepping by some employees of the bounds of their job. The IRS has claimed their fair share of ruined lives because of the seizing of property because of back taxes.

A few years ago, when I first became a homeowner, the tax office in our county had my address incorrectly entered into their database. I did not receive my tax bill, but I thought all along that it would eventually arrive. One day, a "door hanger" showed up on my front door knob, stating that I was three months behind on my tax bill.

I went to the tax office, and then discovered that my address was entered incorrectly. The clerk promptly corrected my address, but she balked at removing the late charges from my tax bill. I was advised to speak to her manager. When I spoke with the manager, I told her the situation, and told her that I was prepared to pay my taxes in full, but not the late charges. She then promptly refused my original tax amount as a "partial payment", and threatened to have a warrant served for my arrest by the probate judge if I refused to pay the tax. Reluctantly, I paid the tax in full.

In thinking about these types of people, who feel that they have a duty to be their brothers' keeper, I am reminded of Saul of Tarsus. Saul was given authority by the Jewish government to persecute Christians. He was well versed in the Jewish law, and he even thought that he was doing the will of God. Stephen was stoned by his consent. But soon he found himself to be convicted, regenerated, and converted to a Christian. As Paul, he found himself at odds with the Jewish authorities. He found that the Jewish authorities of the day manipulated the law to further their own importance and prominence, denying the spirit of the law, the same law that prophesied of the coming of the Son of God, whom they denied and crucified.

Sounds a lot like some of our government employees of today.