There are 6 Bible Verses each with questions. Please read each section and answer the questions. Plese DO NOT type in the questions as a part of your answer and word count. Each of the 6 sections should be one-half page of written text; 3 pages total. Simply label each #1, #2, etc.
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Bible Verse
?What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 16:26 (New International Version)
Background
This is a valid question, is it not? As you delve further into issues of how profit and loss are determined in this world, Jesus adds this consideration. What value do you assign to your soul? The Bible teaches this is your one eternal asset. As you have seen repeatedly in recent years, there are numerous ways for people (and corporations) to make a loss appear to be again in the books. Tragically, many folks use the same finesse in regard to their soul. Jesus? words
Questions
What value do you assign to your soul?
How can managers incorporation reconcile cooking books to increase stock payouts and bonuses with their eternal soul?
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Bible Verse
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.?
Galatians 5:22-23 (New International Version)
Background
Dennis Lee Curtis, an armed robber in Rapid City, South Dakota, was carrying the following list of personal rules in his wallet when he was arrested:
? I will not kill anyone unless I have to.
? I will take cash and food stamps?no checks.
? I will rob only at night.
? I will not wear a mask.
? I will not rob Mini-Marts or 7-Eleven stores.
? If chased by cops on foot I will get away. If chased by a vehicle I will not put the lives of innocent citizens on the line.
? I will rob only seven months out of the year.
? I will enjoy robbing from the poor to give to the poor.
Few of us debate the value of rules and structure in society, but fewer would find any value in Mr. Curtis? credo. The benefit of rules hinges on the activity to which they are applied. The pertinent word in ?organized crime? is crime. Organization is good. Organization applied to criminal endeavors is bad. Learning the intricacies of tax law equips you for both criminal and legal practices. The value of all you?re learning will flow from the use to which it is put.
Questions
Can a business entity that must pay expenses including taxes, also, extend love, joy, peace etc. to employees, suppliers, customers and more?
Do business entities have a moral responsibility to do what is right for others. The tobacco industry lied for decades recording their own research relevant to the detrimental health effects of tobacco use. The lies brought joy to the stockholders, employees, etc. by increasing their income. How do we balance the benefit to the business vs possible present or future harm to others?
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Bible Verse
?What will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account??
Job 31:14 (New International Version)
Background Information
Internal Revenue Service! It?s amazing how certain words can arrest your attention. Unfortunately, this wasn?t the familiar envelope announcing the arrival of my tax refund. Nervously I unfolded the letter. ?Notice of proposed audit. This is not a bill and does not require a response. These items were missing?.?
I was going to be audited for the last four years of my life. I was given a date, a time, and a place to be. I was told to be prepared to give an account for everything I did during those years. The notice started a mad scramble to find the shoeboxes labeled by years. Why didn?t I start that filing system back in college? When the day arrived there were several of us in the waiting area. One man clutched a briefcase and stared silently. A lady nervously played with the corner of a manila folder while another gentleman went over some figures on a balance sheet. I felt silly with my shoeboxes.
Eventually, an agent stepped out and I was escorted to a cubicle where I surrendered my records for examination. She would add up each number; pausing occasionally to ask an explanation. My thoughts kept flashing back to the words ?these items were missing.? Was it possible that due to my carelessness, whole areas of my account simply weren?t there? How could I answer for areas I never realized I?d be held accountable? I resolved that after this I?d learn the things for which I am accountable. If there is a next time, I?ll be ready.
It?s amazing how certain words can arrest your attention. The Bible teaches that one of these days I am heading into another audit. Will there be ?items missing? from my account? Is it possible that God expects a receipt for my writing ability? Some account of how I invested my understanding of computers? Will He question my use of mechanical, janitorial, secretarial, or managerial skills? Does the ability to push a broom, hammer a nail, type a letter, dial a phone, or tune a car ? do these require an accounting to God?
These days I don?t have much use for my shoeboxes. I can?t afford to be haphazard in my life. I?m getting ready for an audit. And as my life is examined by Him from whom nothing is hidden, I plan to have nothing missing. How about you?
Questions
Why would someone fill uncomfortable with an IRS audit when they know they did not intentionally do anything wrong?
When called to account for your soul, will you feel guilty?
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Bible Verse
?By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, \”Sing us one of the songs of Zion!?
Psalm 137:1-3 (New International Version)
Background Information
Most of us would find this protest sensible. How can we be expected to ?sing? under these circumstances? This isn?t where we want to be. It?s not what we wish to do. Why should we be expected to perform under these conditions?
Note God?s words to these same people.
?Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.?
Jeremiah 29:7
It?s not easy. Little of what God requires is. It all takes His help. But wherever life finds me, I will be engaged in making it the best it can be. In doing this I will honor God and find myself blessed.
Questions
As accountants and tax preparers, how can we make life better for those who require our services?
How are we servants to others?
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Bible Verse
?What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul??
Matthew 16:26 (New International Version)
Background
This is a valid question, is it not? As you delve further into issues of how profit and loss are determined in this world, Jesus adds this consideration. What value do you assign to your soul? The Bible teaches this is your one eternal asset. As you have seen repeatedly in recent years, there are numerous ways for people (and corporations) to make a loss appear to be a gain in the books. Tragically, many folks use the same finesse in regard to their soul. Jesus? words bring the matter to the forefront again. Jim Eliot, one of the missionaries whose story is told in the feature film End of the Spear once put it this way:
\”He is no fool who give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.\”
Questions
What could a tax preparer give away that would forfeit their soul?
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Bible Verse
?Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.?
Ecclesiastes 12:12-13 (New International Version)
Background
As this course wraps up, the truth of the above passage is very fitting. I?m sure you agree with the first part, but be sure to notice the second. Sometimes in the busyness of life we never get to the bottom line. This verse reminds us of the bottom line.
Question
The bottom line for your client is the lowest taxes or largest refund. If a client, should ask you to fudge a bit on the tax return, what would be your bottom line from a Christian perspective?
