At our house this is the time of year I begin to fret and fuss. No, not about the piles of snow or lack of winter sunlight. It is just that I seem to need to work up a certain amount of angst before I jump into full tax return preparation mode. I try not to file for an extension but sometimes the task seems so daunting and life tasks seem more important making sense of a year just lived. I’m a “big picture” thinker and taxes are full of “little pictures.” I know many people consider the New Year as a main time of reflection and self-evaluation, but for me it is just the beginning of tax time.
My accountant sends me a checklist to help me prepare for this self-evaluation so this should just be easy. I just have to work through the boxes of questions to help her describe my life to some government agencies. So what do these boxes ask?
The first box asks me to gather numbers so I can compare myself to last year – did I make more or less money than last year? Did I pay more or fewer dollars in expenses and taxes than last year? Are my investments worth more or less than last year? But there are other ways to look at these questions.
This is the time of year when I open my statements from the retirement funds to find out if I can retire. (No, no I can’t). Aunt Betty once told me there was no Biblical precedent for retirement anyway so I’m safe from having to explain myself to her for another year. What I really want to know for that first set of questions is if I’m a richer person in the ways that really count – in love, grace, friends and family. Read the opening sentences to the books of Timothy or Titus. When Paul writes to Timothy and Titus you can just feel how blessed Paul feels to have known and mentored these two men. Paul was in prison but his riches grew from year to year.
The second set of boxes in my financial checklist has to do with what I give away. Again, there are other ways to look at these questions. I find this a good time to double check my values.
I recently decided that the Christian call to charity should not necessarily be reflected on my Form 1040. I know there are Evangelicals who link the tax code with their charity but I’m not one of them. This is really an odd thought but let me explain. More and more I find myself being called to give in ways that can’t be used in a tax deduction – drives my accountant crazy but it is true. Conventional wisdom is that you give in a purposeful and focused manner so one can measure what one has given away. I’m more and more inclined to give a gift card for a grocery store to someone who is hungry, or buy a tank of gas for someone short on cash or pay a bill for someone in need simply because I’m feeling led to do so. After all, God’s love toward me did not come connected to the tax code so why should my gifts back be so limited.
The third set of boxes on my checklist is supposed to measure my financial goals. Yes, there is another way to look at these questions as well.
I could have a folder full of graphs that provide some measure of what I have acquired. But does it really describe what I have. There is no line on the Form 1040 for the investment of a new friendship, or time spent with a piece of art or music, or working to make sure my marriage reflects our values and goals. I am now more inclined to invest in things I can share with a friend or family member from time to time: taking Debbie to hear the annual George Maurer Christmas concert; sharing a Pandora radio station with my son; taking a family member hunting; working with a friend at my reloading bench; sharing the affections of a working dog or laughing over coffee with a friend. It is really hard to graph those special times. Maybe I’ll suggest a fourth box to my accountant where I can list what I really want to have: adequate health; time alone with God; time to read God’s truths; time in ministry and service to others that He wants me to do; the reassuring knowledge that I’ve used my resources wisely. These are all good goals but hard to put on a spreadsheet.
My preparation checklist has many more boxes but they just get more laborious – requiring folders and bags of receipts, forms and calculator tapes. They don’t seem to focus on what is really important but I had better get back at it. While God extends his grace to me over and over the IRS only offers one extension!
In Christ,
Phil
