September 1
(Luke 20:23-25 NIV) ““He saw through their duplicity and said to them, {24} “Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?” {25} “Caesar’s,” they replied. He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.””
(Job 38:1-3 NIV) ““Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said: {2} “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? {3} Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.””
The religious hot shots asked Jesus a question about paying taxes to Caesar. They thought they had Him in a bind. But putting God in a bind is impossible. Christ saw through their duplicity and asked, “Whose portrait is on your coins?” Everyone knew it was Caesar’s. Jesus told them to give to Caesar what belonged to him, and give to God what was His. It was a genius answer. Jesus never taught hostility toward government. Government is neutral. It will never be perfect because the people who run them aren’t perfect. People mess government up, and one of those people is the person you look at in the mirror every day. You don’t hear hostility toward government coming from Jesus. Neither does He endorse any particular form of government. Christ operates on a different plane. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Just do not give to Caesar what belongs to God. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day
