Grace Community Christian Church

 

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The Audit (7/2/09)

For the first time in 30 years of marriage, Kim and I are being audited by the IRS. When she called me last week to give me the news, there was no hesitation at all as to what our course of action must be. As she rattled off all the supporting documentation they were demanding, I interrupted her and said, "Call John Dallavalle." She continued to read on, dumbfounded by the depth of Federal specificity. "Call John Dallavalle," I repeated.

John has been our accountant for the past three years. He's very good at what he does; he's a follower of Jesus; and he lets me beat him at racquetball. I know that there is no way we're going to go through this thing without his counsel. Kim faxed over the IRS letter, and shortly afterward he called with directions.

The whole thing is quite nerve-wracking. There are so many horror stories out there, and there is so much paperwork to gather together. In this age of electronically paying for everything, paper receipts can be hard to find, and I must confess, I haven't been as diligent as I should have been, trusting that we could re-create whatever was needed via computer records. The Federal Government holds all the cards here- they have power and resources and the Law behind them. It's unlikely, but we could be in for a lot of expensive difficulty.

Which gets me thinking. An IRS audit is a crap-shoot for most of us. We may or may not be audited, and if we are, it may or may not go well. But there's another audit that we all are intuitively aware of, and of which the Bible speaks pointedly. The writer of Hebrews says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13, NIV italics mine) Not that I'm trying to, but it's possible to hide stuff from the IRS. Good luck trying that with God!

Jesus himself said, "I can guarantee that on judgment day people will have to give an account of every careless word they say." (Matthew 12:36, GW) You think receipts are hard to keep track of? Try recalling every thing you've ever said to anyone. Ouch.

I spent most of yesterday poring over all our checking account statements for 2007. I was amazed at the detail, and at the memories that some of the expenditures brought back. There was my birthday dinner. There was the concert tickets for Denver. There was the new computer. There was the new carpet. On and on it went. If mere computers, which admittedly are not nearly as sophisticated or powerful as the eternal, life-giving, life-sustaining mind of God, can track fiduciary minutiae, doesn't it seem a fairly small thing for God to track everything every human's ever thought or said?! I am doomed!

Like Job, I cry out, "There must be Someone in heaven who knows the truth about me, in highest heaven, some Attorney who can clear my name." (Job 16:19-22, MSG) Except, the "truth about me" is bad, very bad. I have loved myself and my will in my life way more than God. I have no defense. The best I can do is fall on the mercy of God. Which, as it turns out, is all he wants!

John Dallavalle is good, but I have no expectation that he's going to offer to pay my taxes or penalties should the IRS rule against me. He'll apologize, empathize, and wish me well, but I'll be on my own. He's a number cruncher, not a penalty payer. Which is where Jesus comes in.

John wrote, ". . . if anyone does sin, we have Jesus Christ, who has God's full approval. He speaks on our behalf when we come into the presence of the Father. He is the payment for our sins, and not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2, GW, italics mine)

Paul wrote, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5, NIV)

I hope you never get audited by the IRS. But I know you've got an appointment with the holy God of the universe. Please, "call Jesus", now.


Jim Dewar --