Rendering to Caesar
A little reminder of Jesus’ words about rendering to Caesar
the things that are Caesar’s may be beneficial for us as Tax Day arrives. So often we are frustrated with the governing
authorities: their taxation and their poor leadership. The Jews of the first century were also
frustrated with the occupying Empire.
They had many reasons to be upset with Rome, the greatest being a
theological one: Rome occupied the Promised Land and oppressed God’s chosen
people.
Heavy taxation was only part of the problem that the Jews
had with the Romans, but it was a constant reminder of their own inferiority to
a Gentile Empire. Some of the Pharisees
and Herodians, two groups of Jews, thought that they could set a trap for Jesus
by getting Him to publicly speak ill of the authorities. Yet, as usual, Jesus knew the wickedness in
their hearts (yes, the ill will they had toward the Romans but, even more so,
the ill will that they had toward Jesus).
So, how does Jesus respond? Did
He tell the people that they were right to rebel against the governing
authorities? Did He tell them to not
give in to the tax demands and pay hard earned money to the filthy Gentiles?
Jesus, in a most clever fashion, tells His opponents to give
to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. He
also told them to give to God what belongs to God (we may have to talk about
this next week). Is it hard to honor
such corrupt American leadership like we have today? Sure.
No one is denying that. Is it
difficult to send so much money to the government every year? Yes, it is a hard pill to swallow. Is it the right thing to do? Honoring the governing authorities and paying
our taxes is most certainly the right thing to do because the Lord has
instructed us to do so. He has commanded
us on several occasions, Himself and through His apostles, to submit to the
governing authorities and to honor the national leadership. Part of living as a good citizen of the
Kingdom of Heaven is living as a good citizen of the kingdoms is this world (in
our case, the United States). Let us
stand for what is right despite how corrupt our culture or government may
become.
Rendering to God
When we begin to ponder what Jesus meant by, “Render to
God the things that are God’s,” we may feel a little guilty over the many
compromises we have made when it comes to our Christian responsibilities. One commentator has said, “The most
significant part of life is that which belongs to God. . .” (Morris, 558).
And yet, we so often neglect this part of our lives. We are blinded by the things of this
world. We are distracted by trivial
pursuits. We get wrapped up in things
that do not last. We often times do not
use our energy, time, finances, minds, possessions, and the rest in service to
God in the ways that we should.
This writer goes on to say, “We should be clear, too,
that Jesus is not saying that we can divide life into separate compartments so
that God has nothing to do with that section which belongs to Caesar. The obligation to God covers all of life; we
must serve Caesar in a way that is honoring to God” (Ibid.). In reality, for
the Christian, there is no divide between the sacred and the secular. All of life is sacred. Every part of our lives should be influenced
and, often, directly determined by the Lord.
We like to think that Sunday is God’s day (if we even give Him that
anymore) and the rest of the week is “mine.”
We like to think that 10% of our money should be “paid back” to God
when, in fact, it all belongs to Him. We
like to think that we can serve a few minutes here and maybe an hour there, but
God wants us to serve Him at all times (often by serving others). We like to separate “sacred” and “secular”
but there is no room for such thinking in the Christian life.
To use the idea of Caesar again: Caesar most certainly
represents the worldly government, but he may also represent all of the things
of this world. The Christian realizes
and submits to God’s Lordship above all others, the worldly government and all
of the things of this world. God is,
therefore, sovereign over Caesar, the President, America, or any other. We have obligations to the authorities and
systems of this world; we also have obligations to our families, employers, and
communities, but our greatest obligation is to the Lord Himself. Let’s render unto God the things that are
God’s, that is, the entirety of our lives.