You have heard the saying, “There are two things that one must do in life – pay his or her taxes and die.”  I have seen it and heard about how if one does not pay taxes, the Federal government will track you down.  They will garnish your wages until your taxes or paid.  There are no easy ways out of paying your taxes.  We all must pay our fair share of taxes for the good of our society.  Secondly, no one is exempt from death.   We would like to think we are indispensable, but we are not – not by any stretch of the imagination.  We all will die.  We all must pay our taxes.

In Matthew 22:15-33, the Pharisees are looking for a way to trap Jesus.  So, they send some of their disciples to ask Jesus if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar or not.  Jesus knew right away that they were up to no good and trying to put him on the spot.  However, Jesus asked to see a coin.  With the coin in his hand, Jesus then asked them whose face is engraved on the coin.  They responded, “Caesar,” who was the Emperor at that time.  Jesus then says, “Give to Caesar what is his, and give to God what is his” (Matthew 22:33).

Jesus makes it clear that we are to pay our taxes.  After all, our tax dollars are supposed to be good for our society, as a whole.  Of course, many of us agree and disagree about how our tax dollars are being spent; however, that is not the point here.  But, Jesus then says, “Give God what is God’s.”  Well, here is the thing…Everything belongs to God!  Everything that we have – our home, families, and all our belongings are a gift from God and ultimately belong to God.  Without God, we would have nothing!  Without God, we would not even exist!

So, is this a trick question?  Here is what I think and believe…Jesus doesn’t care about our money.  What Jesus wants from us is our hearts – all of it – all of you!  So, if your heart belongs to God, then you are bound to your conscious to do the right thing.  The right thing is to pay your taxes for the good of human kind.

Let us pray…Gracious God, we belong to you.  We are bound to our conscious to do the right thing for the good of all people.  Help us to not only do what is right, but also to give you what is yours – our heart, soul, and mind.  We love you so much, Amen.