Mark 12:17 … God and the Emperor (01/29/17)
“Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s
and to God the things that are God’s”
~ Jesus (Mark 12:17)
While this verse has Jesus specifically speaking of paying taxes to the reigning government (and is thereby used by many a conservative Christian to champion the same), there are several deeper meanings at play here that needn’t be overlooked …
First of all, what Jesus is actually saying here is not that we should focus on paying taxes, but rather that we should actually not worry about doing so. After all, taxes are clearly not “of God” in this particular scene, and Jesus makes it oh so clear elsewhere that we can only have one master – either wealth or God (see Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 19:24-26, Luke 12:20, Luke 16:13-15, as well as Matthew 17:24-27).
Secondly, and even more importantly, it is worthwhile to remember that – for Jesus at least – God was the essence of perfect, unconditional Love (Matthew 5:48), and that as such we are to Love others with a similarly selfless purity — at least if we ever wish to truly “give to God the things that are God’s” (see John 13:15-17, Matthew 7:21-27 et al).
Amen … Let it be so.
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