Living in the Spirit

October 17, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Matthew 22:15-22

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

I did not want to deal with render under Caesar (KJV) today. A couple of days ago, I posted my concerns about the USAs tax system’s inequities on social media. Let me say up front; I strongly believe in paying my fair share of taxes. Problems arise in determining what a fair share is.

I am not sure in my faith group’s history when church and state began to be differentiated. Perhaps it was when tribal judges were identified. Maybe it was in the establishment of a king. David was charged with caring for the orphans and widows, along with his military responsibilities. The first ideas about democracy go back to Athens in the fifth century BCE. Jesus, however, lived under Roman occupation. While Rome practiced a representative government form, those it controlled did not have much input. So, in the modern states of democracy, we must glean from Jesus’ teaching guidance for how we work toward establishing the kingdom of God within the various forms of governance across our world.

At Least two tax collectors are described in the gospels, Matthew and Zacchaeus. Tax collectors, in general, are described as despised people. They were required to collect set amounts of taxes for the Roman government but could collect whatever they chose as their fee, and they did. Matthew became one of the twelve disciples, Zacchaeus became a follower of Jesus, repenting and making regarding his fees. That suggests that Jesus thought taxes should be fair.

In a world of separation of church and state, the larger question is the civic responsibility of a Christ-follower? We are called to do justice, and much of justice is related to the government. I think it is a civic responsibility to vote and share our suggestions regarding needed legislation or legislative changes. We need to vote for people of integrity dedicated to representing their diverse constituents, which is one tough job today. More importantly, I have not discerned in any of my studies that God wants us to force our beliefs about God on anyone. God calls us to love God by choice and to follow God’s ways by choice. We accomplish nothing regarding another person’s relationship with God by forcing them to follow our belief systems. Our actions may even be detrimental to another, choosing to love and follow God.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in discerning what is just as we comply with our civic responsibilities and help us be good role models as your servants. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.