June 07, 2007

User Tax

I’d like for my daughter to find her knight in shining amour, but that just hasn’t happened yet. If Leslie were to ever marry, it’s doubtful she would have a church wedding. No, it’s not what you thinking. She’s been raised in the church. Her dream and our desire would be to have a wedding held in the church she has attended all her life. However, the restrictions and requirements for the facility make it almost prohibitive to use. Those now setting policy have put the cost of using the building out of price range for its members. I understand the need to distinguish between member and non-member use, but our facilities were built with tithes and offerings from members and for the members. It feels sort of like co-signing a loan with your kid so he can buy a car and then he decides to charge you to ride in it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Gail;
-----In the accounting world there are two basic categories of assets: tangible and intangible. The intangible assets are those that have no physical existence. They are rights, such as copyrights, trademarks, future contracts, etc. Intangible assets also exist outside the accounting world. A person has intangible assets in his/her good nature, integrity, and consideration for others. All of us who know the Lord have great value in the future contract of eternal life.
-----Intangibles are as much a part of a person’s treasure as are his physical things and money. The Lord was referring to the intangibles of the true spiritual life when He told us to store up our treasure in heaven. Paul expounds on this concept in I Corinthians 3:12-17. What a person builds upon Christ, the foundation, goes beyond actions, doctrines, and gifts. What is built upon the foundation are also the intangibles of truth, honesty, consideration, respect, acknowledgment, sympathy, care, generosity and all else contained in the package called love. For if we have these genuinely built into our characters on Earth, then much more of what our character is now will survive the refining fire to enter heaven. That will be rewarding, and will there be treasure.
-----IRS also has some definitions regarding treasure. One is called the unrelated business profits of a non-profit organization. Those profits can generate healthy taxes for Uncle Sam! And whenever a non-profit organization charges more than its actual cost for the use of any of its facility, that tax applies.
-----I am saddened to hear that the leaders of your church have still not discovered where their treasure is. I wonder how long it will take IRS to discover its whereabouts?