Taxes and the Christian

It's April 15th and everyone who lives in America knows that this is tax day here in the USA. The day when American citizens have to pay their taxes to the state and federal government. This year many Americans are protesting the current spending of our president and congress by having "tea parties" to awaken people to the gross overspending our government is currently doing. While I agree with their sentiment, I still will pay my taxes and abide by the laws of the land. Jesus gave us a command in Matthew 22:21 "... Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." In Christ’s time, taxes were paid to foreign invaders who were loathed by the Jewish people. It’s bad enough giving your money to the government, but it must be a hundred times worse giving it to a foreign government. That’s like saying to the invaders, “Thank you for destroying our country. Here’s some money to make you even stronger.”Because the Jews hated paying taxes to Caesar, some miscreants used this as a means to trap Jesus. He was becoming too popular, so His opponents tried to set Him up. They asked Him whether or not it was lawful to pay taxes. If Christ plainly agreed to pay the taxes, He would be portrayed as a collaborator. If He disagreed with paying taxes, then He would be denounced as a dangerous usurper.Jesus was in between a rock and a hard place, but He dealt with the situation beautifully. If the image on the coin was of Caesar, then obviously it belonged to Rome. And since it was an image, devout Jews would have nothing to do with holding on to graven images. Or as Jesus put it so succinctly: Give to Caesar what is his, and give to God what is God’s.Sometimes as Christians we are faced with similar dilemmas. We try to be faithful to Christ without being mean or confrontational in the world, but sometimes the world does things that confronts or demeans our faith. It’s a hard path to walk, but Christ understands. It’s a road that he traveled many times in His own life.