A Closer Walk
As we are in tax season we are reminded of what Jesus commanded. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. “Then the Pharisees went and counseled together how they might trap Him in what He said. And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, 'Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. Tell us therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?' ” But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” And hearing this, they marveled, and leaving Him, they went away,” Matthew 22:15-22 NASB.
“For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all it contains,” Psalm 50:10-12 NASB. Our God is the owner of everything. When He says, “...the world is mine, and all it contains,” who or what does that leave out? By the way, a Pastor once illuminated the cattle on a thousand hills quote this way. “God not only owns the cattle on the hills, He also owns the hills, and the taters growin' under the hills.” He owns the world and ALL it contains.
Additionally, as the ancient Israelites made an offering to the Lord of all the materials they had assembled to build a temple in Jerusalem for the Lord God Almighty, King David in his offering prayer said this, “But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from Thee, and from Thy hand we have given Thee,” 1 Chronicles 29:14 NASB. For all things come from our God, and from His own hand we give back to Him. Further, “O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build Thee a house for Thy holy name, it is from Thy hand, and all is Thine,” 1 Chronicles 29:16 NASB. Our God owns the entire world. And all it contains. Whether or not we agree with this statement has no impact on our Lord's ownership.
So render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. What does that mean? Well, in Jesus’ time Caesar was the Emperor of the Roman Empire which ruled over the western world at that time. He was the head of the Roman government and represented the government. The government imposed taxes to pay for the armies, the roads, the aqueducts, and the other infrastructure they built. In our day and time governments around the world impose taxes on their people for the same reasons. As civilized societies we agree as citizens that we will pay taxes in order to have good roads, schools, sewers, clean running water, etc. provided by the government using those taxes. It is one of the commands we are given by our God as direction in how we interact with our governments.
We should follow the command to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. But at the same time we should not neglect the rest of the command. “...and to God the things that are God's.” How do we do that? Well, giving back to God a portion of what He has so graciously provided for us is a start. We are instructed, even commanded, to give to the Lord and His Kingdom. Is that because God needs our money? Hardly. He owns everything. Then if the giving is not for God who is it for? Here's a quote from the late Billy Graham, “Give me five minutes with a person's checkbook, and I will tell you where their heart is.” As humans we put our money into what we value. When raising families that took a good portion of our income. As they always have, our children grew up and are on their own supporting their own families. So we have the opportunity, perhaps, to give an extra measure to those things we value and want to support. Our first and foremost responsibility is providing for and taking care of ourselves so that we are not depending on our families, or if we can help it, the government.
The Bible teaches us to give, “tithes and offerings.” A tithe (one tenth of our income) is the first thing we should honor, and that should go to our local church as our support. Then beyond that our offerings. And we get to choose where those go. And it isn't required that they go to the same place every month or every year. But do a quick self check on your checkbook. To see where your heart is. And then pray and see if our Lord would have you go in a different direction or if there are things you would like to change.
“But we never can prove the delights of his love until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows, for the joy he bestows, are for them who will trust and obey. [Refrain] Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” Third verse and refrain from the hymn “Trust And Obey,” words by John H. Sammis, 1846-1919, music by Daniel B. Towner, 1850-1919.