Give God What Is His (October 22, 2017).

GIVE GOD WHAT IS HIS

Text: Matthew 22:15 - 22

How many times have you heard someone say something like, “I only have to do two things, pay taxes and die”? Now they even have a new tax added on which is called by some a “death tax” which means that they tax the estate that is on by a will to the heirs. There is a lot of talk, debate and obstruction about cutting taxes in the last few days in current political affairs.

Today’s text is not about taxes but how we put things in their proper perspective. The Pharisees want to trap Jesus with a trick question about taxes that will make him side with their law or Caesar’s tax code. Jesus blows them away when He takes a coin with Caesar’s image on it and tells them, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God” (Matthew 6:21). Not to give God what belongs to God is to rob God according to Malachi 3:8 – 9. The Pharisees were astonished which seems to mean speechless as they departed (Matthew 22:22).

Why were the Pharisees wanting to try to trick Jesus? The reason why they wanted to try and trick Jesus was because Jesus’s authority rivaled their own! In trying to force Jesus to choose a side, they hoped to get Jesus to incriminate Himself. Did they have a thrifty devotion? What do our own decisions say about us?

THRIFTY DEVOTION

How is it is possible to have a devotion to God that falls short? The Pharisees had motives that were not pure. Their motives were not religious but political. Jesus sees through their plan and turns the tables by emphasizing that the proper thing is to give to both God and Caesar what belongs to them. 1) Thrifty Devotion: Is it possible that Jesus was calling the devotion of the Pharisees a thrifty devotion? Although the notion of thrifty devotion is not mentioned directly in this passage of scripture, it seems to be implied. There are times when we might approach our spiritual lives the same way we do our bargain shopping. 2) Totally committed devotion: Anything that is not whole-hearted devotion is nothing more than mediocre at best.

How is our devotion? Are there times when our bargain shopping echoes our devotion in our spiritual lives? Does God skimp us on offering us His grace? There are two extremes of how we spend money. (1) We either stockpile it (hoarding) because we are thrifty; (2) Or, perhaps we might be extravagant because we might be a little careless in spending more than we should have. Do we suffer from having a thrifty devotion?

Illustration: “In 1626, Peter Minuit, the director-general of Dutch West India Company's settlement in North America, made what he thought was a very good deal. He bought Manhattan Island from native Indian chiefs for $24. Unfortunately for him, company headquarters didn't think it was such a bargain and charged him a fine for his "extravagance." Mr. Minuit's extravagance would not purchase a square inch of Manhattan Island today. What we see as extravagant today may someday be seen as cheap”. (Raymond McHenry. ed. McHenry’s Quips, Quotes And Other Notes. [quoted from: The Timetables of History, Bernard Grun, 1975, p. 283; Houston Post, Nov. 11, 1992, p. 2]. Third Printing. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004, pp. 294- 295). Does God thinks of us as thrifty in our devotion to Him?

God does not think of us as cheap, because Jesus bought us with a price (I Corinthians 6:20)! Does God think of us as cheap? Of course not! We are made in God’s image! Just as God does not think we are cheap, God does not want us be thrifty in our potential for serving Him! God’s grace is free to us but it was extremely costly to Jesus Christ who paid the price that we could not have paid. Matthew 22:37 reminds us that … "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your min” (ESV).

WHAT DO OUR DECISIONS SAY ABOUT US?

Was their question a masquerade for a seemingly genuine curiosity? What is odd about the group that asked Jesus this question? 1) Usually polarized : The group that was asking Jesus this question was not a likely group. Why would we think that they were not a likely group? Herodians and Pharisees were both politically and religiously at odds with each other. 2) Opposites attract?: Was it a law of opposites attract? The Herodians would have been in favor of taxes whereas the Pharisees opposed taxation. The Pharisees dislike Roman oppression but would play the game so long as the Romans did not interfere in their religion.