A Pause to Ponder God's Word
"Give To God..."
There are times we probably shouldn’t laugh, but we cannot seem to help ourselves. They thought they were so smart. They had it all figured out. They finally devised a question they believed would trap Jesus. So they came to him and buttered Him up. Teacher, they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Then they snidely popped the question:  Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar? The question had hardly been asked before Jesus flipped the coin on them. Show me a coin. Whose picture is on it? It was Caesar’s of course. Jesus continued; Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. (Matthew 22:15-22) They were rendered speechless, dumbfounded and they slipped away quietly. “Gotch ya! Sizzle! Chuckle…” Jesus probably didn’t feel that way, but we do.

Our chuckling doesn’t last long for we soon realize that we have been gotten as well. No, we were not trying to trap Jesus, but His reply to those who tried cuts deep into our lives. Not the taxes. We may not like paying taxes but we really don’t have much choice there. But the second part of Jesus’ reply reaches out and grabs us, going deep to a heart matter. Give to God what is God’s. We begin to calculate things. We take inventory separating things – this is the government’s, this is the family’s, this is mine, this is God’s. We’re missing the point.

Those who attempted to trap Jesus walked away quietly not because they were embarrassed, but because they were amazed. (Matthew 22:22) They were amazed that He saw through them and obviously knew their hearts. Give to God what is God’s! We cannot ignore it. We cannot skirt around it. There is no other way.  It’s all God’s. He gets it all. We are to give Him our lives, wholly! It is in losing our lives for His sake that we find life. (John 12:25; Matthew 10:39) Our life is not ours but His. Our lives are not our own, we are bought with a price. (1 Corinthians 6:20) Our attempts to segregate our lives into compartments are at best misdirected and erroneous. Anything less than all or any attempts to negotiate with God are foolish. Doing so leaves us longingly incomplete and desperately unfulfilled. Anything we attempt to retain hinders and hampers our living and enjoying the holy life. This was the problem of the rich young man who came to Jesus (Matthew 19:16-24). He walked away sad for he had great wealth. (v. 22) He was unwilling to give all. Are we? Will we walk away sad or give all to God and live?

Beloved, Jesus makes it simple and clear; give to God what is God’s. Let us release it all to Him and live!

Keep close to Jesus.
Pastor Gerry


A Pause To Ponder God's Word is written and distributed by Gerald Whetstone, Ordained Elder and teacher in the Church of the Nazarene. These devotionals may be transmitted, duplicated, used in part or in entirety without permission for nonprofit purposes only. Responses welcome. To Subscribe Click Here.
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