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SUBMISSION

An unemployed New York man pretending to be a millionaire filed an income tax return claiming he was owed a refund of $1.5 million. Quick thinking on the part of his bank kept him from getting away with the scheme.

Forty-seven year-old Benjamin Harris of Brooklyn, New York was arrested April 15th and charged with filing a false claim last year with the Internal Revenue Service. Prosecutors allege Harris filed a 2001 return, which included a doctored W-2 form showing he made nearly $9 million as an attorney for an employment agency. He claimed he paid over $3 million in taxes and was due of refund of $1.5 million.

Harris allegedly checked the box requesting the refund be deposited directly into his checking account at a Manhattan bank. Since the average balance of the account was around $2,000, the bank alerted the IRS when the “unusually large deposit” arrived and put a hold on the account.

Though Harris submitted a copy of the altered W-2 form to prove the large deposit was legitimate, the bank refused to release the money. The bank’s actions triggered a federal investigation, which lead to Harris’ arrest. IRS Spokesman, Joseph Foy, credited the bank with being “perceptive enough to freeze the funds and notify us.”

At his arraignment, a defense attorney told the judge her client had always worked temporary jobs, had no criminal record, and had even volunteered to meet with IRS investigators.

—Associated Press, April 16, 2003. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Romans 14:6-7 NIV “Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.”
 

SUBMISSION/REBELLION

When San Antonio computer consultant David Williamson was called for federal jury duty and told him to keep the month of August free of commitments, he replied he was ready to serve—at his normal rate of $100 per hour. Williamson prepared an invoice for “Court ordered professional services,” and sent a bill for $16,800—$100 an hour, eight hours a day, 21 days during the month of August.

Williamson’s bill warned court officials that the invoice was due at the end of the month, and after that would begin accumulating interest at 2 percent a month, if not paid. There was no reply to Williamson’s initial invoice, so he mailed it two more times.

The response Williamson finally received was not the one he expected. The court sent a form ordering him to report August 26, for a seven-week trial. Williamson wrote back that as a principal partner in a small software firm, he could not miss seven weeks of work. He asked that his jury duty be postponed until next year—as it had been in 2000 and 2001. He added, “If you would like to meet and discuss this, please have his Honor call and schedule an appointment.”

The answer from U.S. District Judge Fred Biery appeared on Williamson’s answering machine the next Monday. It read, “ The Court is happy to accommodate Mr. Williamson’s suggestion for an appointment: Mr. Williamson is HEREBY ORDERED TO APPEAR in Courtroom 2 of the John H. Wood Jr, United State Courthouse to show cause why he should not be held in CONTEMPT OF THE COURT AND JAILED ACCORDINGLY. The order described Williamson as “arrogant” and asserted that the man had shirked federal jury duty for several years.

Court officials said it’s rare that a court needs to resort to the threat of jail, but said they did not know what else to do with Williamson. Though Williamson disputes some of the Court’s figures, he says he will show up for the hearing.

—Associated Press, August 13, 2002, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Romans 13:1-2 “ Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so bring judgment on themselves.”

The knuckleball is a difficult pitch to master. Most pitchers want to control it like they do their fastball, curve, slider, or change up. According to knuckleballer R.A. Dickey the only way to master it is to surrender to it. He was responding to a question from World Magazine interviewer Marvin Olasky on the knuckleball as a metaphor for the mysteries of God’s providence in the Christian life. Dickey said, “An element of surrender has enabled me to get to the next place with the knuckleball. An element of surrender in my own life has helped me get to the next place in my faith and relationship to Christ.” –Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Marvin Olasky, “Worship on the mound.” World, July 28, 2012 p. 28

Matthew 26:39 (HCSB) Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”