Mark 12:17 … The Emperor’s due (07/25/14)
“Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ~ Jesus Christ (Mark 12:17)
What folks seem to so easily forget about this verse is that absolutely nothing of worth belongs to any emperor, and that everything of true value belongs to “God” (a.k.a. Allah, Chi, Prana, Buddha, the Soul, the True Self, the Soul, the Source, the ONE, quantum interconnection, collective consciousness, etc) …
In this sense, on a more subtle & more profound level of Truth, Jesus is saying here that we are to quietly give our “leaders” whatever petty material things they desire of us, and focus all our energies & all our intentions on the Meaning-full tasks of the Divine: selfless service, willing self-sacrifice, amazed wonderment, grateful revelry, sincere forgiveness, active compassion, and radical kindness.
After all, for us to be truly “Saved”, we must first be free to choose that liberation, and to be so free, we must beforehand liberate ourselves from all our manly “masters”.
Even the self-proclaimed “apostle” Paul accidentally tripped over this Truth when he said, “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and submit never again to any yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) … Ironically, again on a more subtle & more profound level, these “yokes of slavery” from which we are to free ourselves are not only our political rulers & their selfish demands, but all our conservative religious dogmas & all our materialistic, superficial, fear-instilling cultural norms as well.
*Where politics says “tow the line” and “finance our war” and “accept us pandering to corporate evils”, the Free Soul says “rebel Peace-fully” and “protest for Peace” and “rgwo your own foodstuffs”.
*Where religion says “kiss my feet to be saved” and “damn the heathens”, the Free Soul tells us to “stand boldly for Love over bigotry” and “Love the members of ALL faiths”.
*Where our culture demands that we “act normal” and “behave appropriately” and “don’t rock the boat”, the Free Soul in-Courages us to go forth and openly become the change our communities so desperately need to see — to protest the poisoning of our food while starting community gardens; to protest the unjust incarceration of petty “criminals” while visiting them in their prison cells; to protest the needless & cruel abuse of innocent animals while putting only plants on our plates.
These are the keys to our Freedom, and this is how we can most effectively show all “emperors” that we know just how truly little actually belongs to them.
Be well, my Friends … and be FREE!
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