Civic Responsibility

The issue of taxes and government, what a touchy subject, however the Lord brought it to my attention today. So since it was brought to my attention, I thought you might like to read about it. Just what is our civic responsibility as Christians? What do we owe to the government? Well to understand a little better lets look at Matthew 22:15-22.

• 15-Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.
• 16-And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.”
• 17-”Tell us , therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
• 18-But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?
• 19-Show Me the tax money.” So they brought him a denarius.
• 20-And he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
• 21-They said to him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they had heard these words they marveled and went their way.

~Entangle: means to snare, like a trapper catching his prey.~
~Herodians were those who followed Herod, and his authority over Israel by Rome, Herodians believed in political law.~
~The Jews despised paying taxes to Roman, Rome was viewed as the oppressor~
~Hypocrites are people with false intentions~
The younger generation today do not have the old-time political religion. They look at voting to be an irrational act. In a way we are just like the Jews we hate to pay taxes, because the money is going to causes we do not believe in such as, ~ the fight for gay marriage that is a direct assault to the family unit~the ever increasing military budget~. We may even question whether we have a civic responsibility or not. Jesus reminds us that we have a dual citizenship. Human authority and spiritual authority we are responsible to both, but the greater is to the spiritual. Government may have authority, but God has ultimate authority.
Today our government has gotten very big and is getting bigger. the founding father’s of this country understood that their was a higher law, and did their best to preserve that higher law. Something our current government has forgotten.