Romans 13:1-7 reads, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.  Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed (ESV).
Once again, the passage was addressed to the Christians of Rome regarding their relationship and obligation toward their government. The obedience of this passage was not dependent on whether the government or its leaders were morally upright and good. Paying taxes is not dependent on what they use my tax money for or whether they issue good policies. It is not based on whether I was punished by the government for either wrongdoing or no wrongdoing. Injustices, poor decisions, and actions continue for as long as we exist on this planet. Governments of the first century persecuted saints of the era and, yet, the Christians still had to pay taxes. As far as I am concerned, if God has ordained it, I should honor it even if it is difficult to do.
Furthermore, if leaders honor God’s will, they will protect the innocent and punish the “wrongdoer.” That responsibility is not based on whether the individual shares their policies or is a supporter of their political party.
Jesus came to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. If his actions were based on our worthiness, he would have never gone to the cross in our place. He would have given up on us a long time ago. But, despite ourselves, he chose to love us.