Spiritual CliffsNotes

I must make a confession. During a literature course in college, I did not read the assigned books; instead I used CliffsNotes — study guides that present and explain literature in shortened form. Many would criticize my shortcut. There is certainly no...

Based on a True Story

I sometimes read Reader’s Digest — true stories about real people delivering a more powerful punch than fiction. In fact, movies and books often carry the tagline, based on a true story. We often say that truth is stranger than fiction.   I remember...

Exempt from Obligation

I have never joyfully written a check for taxes. However, this is not a new phenomenon. I doubt the Egyptians enjoyed paying taxes on their cooking oil. The Greeks surely did not enjoy paying taxes to wage wars but amazingly received refunds when excess was raised....