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THE BIBLICAL QUOTE:
“For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Saint Paul (c. 5 A.D - 64 A.D.)
One of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and key founder of the Christian Church
The King James Bible version of Romans 6:23
Romans is the sixth book of the Bible. It’s one of the “Pauline epistles” (or letters), written by Paul around 55 A.D. His Epistles, sent to members of early Christian churches, were incorporated into the New Testament and became foundational texts for the Christian religion. In Chapter 6 of Romans, Paul discusses a fundamental part of his vision for the Christian faith: the belief that sinners can be forgiven, redeemed and go to heaven if they accept Jesus and become faithful Christians.
Verse 23 is the origin of the cautionary saying “the wages of sin is death,” which is sometimes used literally. Indeed, there are many risky “sins” that increase your odds of dying. But most Biblical scholars say that in Romans 6:23 Paul was not talking about the literal death of the body. He was suggesting that the spirit, or soul, of unrepentant sinners would be “dead,” and they would not go to Heaven. However, Paul explained, there is hope for sinners. If they stop sinning and accept Jesus Christ as their savior, they will be rewarded with the “gift” of eternal life in Heaven, where — according to legend — Saint Paul is stationed at the “the Pearly Gates” to admit the worthy and send the unworthy to Hell. |
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TAX PRINCIPLE #1:
“It is somewhat ironic that the first tax revenues that were imposed were those on the consumption of whiskey, which sparked the Whiskey Rebellion. But this rebellion was put down and provided legislators the opportunity to impose taxes and collect on them. It also established the custom of taxing 'sin' and enshrining the adage ‘The wages of sin is a tax.’”
Richard McGowan
Associate Professor at Boston College
In his 1994 book State Lotteries and Legalized Gambling: Painless Revenue or Painful Mirage. (Cartoon by J.D. Crowe.) |
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TAX PRINCIPLE #2:
“The wages of sin are death, but after taxes are taken out, it’s just kind of a tired feeling.”
Paula Poundstone
American comedienne and author
One of my favorite jokes from her stand-up comedy routines |
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THE UNPRINCIPLED INVESTORS’ PRINCIPLE:
“The wages of sin is outperformance for investors...investors often do well by investing in companies operating in ‘sin industries’ and countries where corruption is most developed. Doing bad, in other words, can often mean doing good for investor returns.”
Jonathan Davis
British author, editor and journalist specializing in finance
In an article in the Financial Times, February 22, 2015. Davis suggests that “sin industries” may now not only include tobacco, alcohol, and gambling but, arguably, scandal-ridden banks. |
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GRAMMY’S OBSERVATION:
“The wages of sin is when people do unta you what ya did unta them.”
Rodman Philbrick
American writer of novels for adults and children
A bit of folk wisdom spoken to the character Zane Dupree by his grandmother, in the novel Zane and the Hurricane (2014)
The book is about Zane’s recollections of Hurricane Katrina. His grandma’s comment relates to a local drug dealer, though it certainly has wider application. Kane recalls:
“Dylan Toomey...was killed by one of the underage kids who worked for him selling drugs. It's awful and all, but Grammy said it best when she heard the news. She said, ‘The wages of sin is when people do unta you what ya did unta them.’ Amen to that. To be honest there’s a lot I don’t understand about what happened after the storm, and why some people were so good and full of love and others so mean and hateful. |
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MA’S WARNING:
“Remember, Ezra, the wages of sin are syphilis, gonorrhea and death.”
Ma Cobb (played by actress Cosette Lee), in the cult horror movie Deranged (1974).
Ma Cobb is a religious fanatic who teaches her son Ezra to fear and hate women. Ezra overcomes his fear, but not his hate, becoming a serial killer who prefers female victims. But he loves Ma and after she’s dead and buried, he digs her up and brings her corpse home to keep him company. It’s a nice, family-oriented horror flick. (NOT!) |
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THE ERRANT HUSBAND “MAXIOM”:
“The wages of sin is alimony.”
Carolyn Wells (1862-1942)
American writer and poet.
A line from her book of verse, Folly for the Wise (1904)
It comes from a section called “Maxioms,” which includes a litany of humorous twists on old sayings, including:
“Reward is its own virtue.
The wages of sin is alimony.
A penny saved spoils the broth.
Of two evils, choose the prettier.
Nonsense makes the heart grow fonder.
A word to the wise is a dangerous thing.” |
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THE ERRANT CODE CURSE:
“The wages of sin is debugging.”
Ron Jeffries
American software developer and writer
A saying Jeffries coined that is widely quoted by and well known to computer coding geeks |
