God in Your Wallet ~ Matthew 22:15-22 ~ Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
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| Image courtesy of Gualberto 107 / freedigitalphotos.net |
The Bible teaches us that the love of money is the root of
all evil. Greed creates wars and
crimes. Greed rips apart countries,
communities, families, and churches.
Money is unquestionably our greatest cause of stress. It comes only through the ache of our back
and the sweat of our brow. It is
entirely possible to work ‘till you drop, and still not have enough.
You have taxes, rent, mortgages, utility bills, medical
bills.
Then you have to worry about recessions; inflation; the
national debt; a stock market in free fall…
Money is the world’s biggest problem that will never go
away.
Needless to say, money (or the lack thereof) was a just as
much a scourge in Jesus’ day. Jews would
have hated taxes even more than we do.
Most working people barely had enough money to live on. Still, they had taxes to support the Jewish
religious establishment, PLUS an annual tax to the Roman Emperor, levied on men
and women as young as teenagers. One
denarius—a whole day’s wage. (That may
not sound like much, but when you have nothing to begin with, it’s
excruciating—especially when you’re paying it to an ruthless, oppressive Roman
government.)
And who’s face was on the coin you used to pay? Tiberius Caesar’s—along with the inscription
“son of god.”
Jesus’ enemies thought they found the perfect trap for Jesus
with a question about money. “Is it lawful
to pay taxes to Caesar?”
If he says it’s lawful to pay for taxes to Caesar, he’s
guilty of blasphemy. Remember—Rome is
the enemy. Rome is evil. On the other hand, if he says that it’s not
lawful, he’s guilty of treason against the Empire. Both of these crimes were punishable by
death.
But listen to Jesus’ answer: “give to Caesar what belongs to
Caesar, give to God what is God’s.”
Jesus’ answer does more than just humiliate his opponents; he reveals
God’s answer to the scourge that money creates.
The images on money reveal a very honest truth—your money
doesn’t belong to you, even if it’s in your wallet. You know how it says “this note is legal
tender for all debts, public and private?”
You only have it because you owe to someone else, be it the IRS, the
landlord, Wal-Mart, or the gas company.
Money and the stuff it buys is so easily here today, and gone tomorrow.
At the same time, does it sound like good news when Jesus
says “give to God what is God’s?” Most
of us probably groaned when we heard those words, because we know that we
should give more, and perhaps we feel guilty because we don’t. Raising up the topic of money and giving in
church only serves to bring more aggravation into what is already a sore
subject for so many of us.
But do you know what contains the image of God? YOU DO!!!
You bear God’s image because you belong to God. God created you! Therefore, you give to God YOU—all that
you have, all that you are, all that you will be. The reason why Jesus teaches us to give it all
to God is because God created you for a purpose. God created you to be loved. You are the apple of God’s eye, so precious
that he gave his only son for you. You
were made to love God. And, you were
created to bear God’s image in the world—to reveal to all the world God’s
mercy; God’s forgiveness; and God’s abounding steadfast love. We give ourselves to God so that God’s
purposes may be fulfilled, both TO us and THROUGH us.
Giving unto Caesar what is Caesar’s is just a fact of
life. Like it or not, there will always
be taxes, bills, greed, and worries about money. The love of money—and the lack of
money—can wreak all kinds of destruction on human lives and the world God
created. But in giving to God what is
God’s (which is everything), the promise is life.
So before you worry about money—and before you go spending
it on something other a necessity of life, do this:
1)
Stop and give thanks to God
for every good gift in your life. If
you’re finding this hard to do for whatever reason, start by looking at
yourself in the mirror and saying, “I am made in God’s image. I belong to God. I am beloved and accepted. I am forgiven.”
2)
Then name before God
everything that’s lacking; everything that’s aching; everything for which you
need grace.
3)
Then rise up, trusting that
God will be doing good unto you today.
But don’t let it stop there.
Anything that God provides in abundance is a gift to be
shared—and what you have in abundance, someone else may not. We’re used to hoarding and holding on for
dear life everything that’s good, for fear of losing it or missing out. But we can work as brothers and sisters to
build a better life for all.
Our clothing closet is a great start. Out of God’s abundance, the needs of many are
met.
In the same way, God has made you rich with something
good—something through which God can create new life. You will always find more life and more joy
not in what you keep to yourself, but in what you share. God can do more with that one hour; that one
tithe; that one listening ear; that one piece of clothing; that one single act
of kindness—than you can ever imagine if you kept it to yourself.
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