Render Unto Caesar...

The other day a scripture verse popped into my head and got me thinking about the relationship between the Church and the government.

When the Pharisees asked Jesus, in an attempt to trick Him, whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar, Jesus answered after showing them a Roman coin, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." (Matt 20:21 KJV)

One of the debates over the meaning of this verse is in regards to whether this means that we should pay our taxes, obey laws passed by our government, and acknowledge the authority that our government and leaders represent. The apostle Paul, in writing to the church at Rome said, "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." (Rom 13:1 NIV)

Jesus also had much to say about how His followers were to treat others. Admonitions to love your neighbor (and your enemies,) to feed the poor, and to show mercy and kindness to the alien were things that Jesus told his followers to do. Who were His followers? Who are His followers today? Isn't it the body of believers that we commonly refer to as the Church? Didn't Jesus tell the Church that it was its responsibility to do these things? Does the Church today believe that it is still its responsibility?

Clearly, Jesus (and Paul) made distinctions between the Church and the governing authorities.

Today, there are many Christians in the US that believe that it is incumbent upon the government, through the taxing of its citizens, to fund and implement policies in order to fulfill the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus never told His followers to send money to Rome to accomplish what He clearly was holding His Church (His followers) accountable for. Somewhere along the way, we have, for the most part, replaced the Church with the Government when it comes to taking care of those whom Jesus told us to take care of.

Some Christians argue that the US government should have policies and programs in place to fulfill various social issues because that is what Jesus told His followers to do. But why the government and not our own Churches? And isn't it true that by making all citizens pay for these social programs, we are imposing Christian values on US citizens that may not necessarily embrace Christian teachings? When did the US government become a proxy for the Church?

I am all for Christians (which includes me) to follow the teachings and obey the commands of our Lord when it comes to how we are to treat and take care of those around us that are in need. I'm just a little uncomfortable when we outsource that job to Caesar.

Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the KING JAMES VERSION (KJV): KING JAMES VERSION, public domain

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan