Give to God what is God's
Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. âTeacher,â they said, âwe know how honest you are. You are impartial and donât play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us - is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them, or shouldnât we?â
Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, âWhy are you trying to tap me? Show me a Roman coin, and Iâll tell you.â When they handed it to him, he asked, âWhose picture and title are stamped on it?â
"Caesarâs," they replied.
"Well, then," Jesus said, "give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God."
His reply completely amazed them.
- Mark 12:13-17
__________
This is a very interesting situation that these Pharisees and supporters of Herod had put Jesus in. Their question, while seeming innocent enough to us, was a very mean question. If Jesus had said YES to paying Caesar, it would have made many of his followers angry, since most Jews hated Rome. However, if heâd said no to paying Caesar, he could have been arrested for treason. Instead, Jesus took the route that no one would have expected. He said to give to Caesar what was Caesarâs, but to give to God what was Godâs.
Now, letâs look at this in light of our own lives today. We live in a world very much run by governments. I, myself, and many of my readers, live in the USA. Our government doesnât always make the best decisions when it comes to what God wants, but we, as citizens, are still expected to obey our government (as Jesus above just said).
However, we also have another authority, a higher authority: God. In this living parable that Jesus said, he pointed out that Caesarâs face was stamped on the money, which means that you must yield to his authority with how to spend the money. However, God also has stamped his likeness on something. The Bible tells us that all mankind is made in the image of God. That means that, just like the coin, we ourselves have been stamped with the likeness of God. That means that God owns us, and we are to give him everything we have, are, and do.
Do you live a life in service to God? Do you understand that each day is not for you, or about you, but about God? The whole world is Godâs, and everything we have is only ours because God has chosen to give it to us.
What area in your life are you not giving to God, even though itâs already his?