[Juba, South Sudan, TCT] while addressing his congregation on a christmas day, Archbishop Daniel Deng urged Christians to pay taxes in honor and respect of law of the land. Archbishop Daniel Deng who heads the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan and whose church was questioned by Juba city council for having delayed paying land taxes challenged those who collect taxes and use it for their individual enrichment other than using it for betterment of people and building nation.
“When we pay tax in our own country it makes us loyal citizens to the nation, Joseph and Mary were loyal citizens. But what we collect from our people should not go to individual pockets. It must be used for the betterment of the society and the poor”, he said.
According to the archbishop, he said, in the world today, there are injustices being practiced by individuals, states, and nations with some imposed by popular cultures.
The archbishop also recounted that millions of people around the world live in poverty and many children die from huger and starvation.
“There is gender inequality. The elderly are often ignored, and widows and orphans are not care for,” he stated.
In his message, the archbishop also said, tribalism and ethnic fighting, physical abuse of men, women, boys and girls, human trafficking and rape, and war are the dominant practices of the present sinful world.
The archbishop stressed that there is hope in Jesus.
“Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He came to bring peace to men and women” he remarked.
The archbishop added that the peace Jesus offers is firstly with God (Rom. 5:1). “Without peace with God, no real peace is possible. We quarrel, we fight and we kill because we are empty of God (James 4:1-8,)” he explained quoting scriptures.
In his conclusion, the archbishop urged South Sudanese people to live together in peace and harmony so that they may share life and resources together as united people.
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