Tax Collectors and Sinners

Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. — Luke 7:34.

If you didn’t know the verse you might think the above was about anybody but Jesus. But it was, and the sources were practicing the age old adage, “If you don’t like the message, attack the messenger.”

During this political season we are seeing a lot of attacks on the messengers, so much so the messages are obscure. Only a few politicians will say why someone should vote for them, and will give a thousand reasons why you should vote against their opponent. Many of us tune out both the messengers and messages out of frustration. I often wonder what a candidate would say if asked, “Why are you running for office?”

But back to our verse. Some of our best lessons come from those who aren’t too good to go where they are needed. It is easy to stand aloof in an ivory tower and critique those in the trenches. One of my favorite sayings is that when we point a finger, three fingers are pointing back toward you.

When the message is the truth, it matters not the source.

About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.

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