|
Testing Our Loyalty Keith McFarren October 5, 2025 Matthew 22: 15-22 Where do your loyalties lie? Are you loyal to your family? Your job? Your friends? Your church? Maybe you’re loyal to all those things. I think it would be safe to say that we all have a loyalty towards something and many of us have multiple loyalties toward a number things. But maybe it’s possible to have too many loyalties…and when we have too many loyalties life can become hectic and sometimes overwhelming. Life can become like two men arguing over who would control the strings tied to a marionette on the stage below them. As they argued, one guy tried to grab the strings that controlled the marionette from the other guy. As they wrestled for control of the puppet, it was being pulled this way across the stage and then thrown that way, while one arm jerked this way while the leg was being yanked that way because the puppet was totally out of control. Sometimes we get to the point in life where we feel a lot like the marionette I just talked about. When we try to keep up with all of the things we’re loyal to, we get to the point where we feel like we’re being pulled in two or three directions at the same time and suddenly we feel like we’re just about ready to lose control. We feel like the strings of power and persuasion are tied to us and whether we like it or not, every time they are tugged on a little bit, we move in the direction they want us to go. Friends, family, work, and even the outside organizations we belong to - all these things exercise varying degrees of control over our lives. Our loyalties and our commitments control our lives. They determine how we spend our time, our money, our energy, and even how we deal with our wellbeing. And like the marionette being pulled this way and that way across the stage, we can find ourselves being pulled in so many different directions that we too find ourselves jumping and jerking across the stage of life, often feeling as though we’re out of control. The point is this – there is only so much of us to go around…we all have our limits. There is only so much time, so much energy, so much patience and so much loyalty to spread around. And if we have too many things going on in our life at once and we begin to get pulled in too many directions and we begin to spread ourselves too thin, that’s when we begin to lose control. There are so many things in life that challenge each other not only for our attention but for our time and for our resources. There are so many things, things that remind us of Caesar back in biblical times - things that start to rule over us, things that start to control our lives, things that seem to put pressure on us, things that begin to pull us in different directions, and take over our lives. And if we aren’t careful, we are going to find ourselves in a situation where we start “juggling” our lives to make ends meet or we start “burning the candle” at both ends or as the old saying goes we start “robbing Peter to pay Paul just to fulfill our obligations and our loyalties. Israel, the land where Jesus lived was ruled by Caesar. It is what was called an occupied land. Day in and day out the people of Israel could feel the weight of the Roman domination on their shoulders. They could feel the weight of the Roman taxes. They were taxed beyond their endurance. They were robbing Peter to pay Paul…they were burning the candle at both ends…they were being stretched too thin. And because of all these expectations, they had nothing left to live on after they pay all their taxes. And because the land was occupied by the Roman government and run by the Roman government one had to be very careful about what was said about Caesar and his taxes. It could be very dangerous for a Jew to give Caesar anything less than what he wanted; but at the same time it was very dangerous for a Jew to agree with Caesar and give him exactly what he wanted. To do so was to go against Jewish belief…and to go against Jewish belief and cooperate with the Romans was a good way for one to be termed a traitor and find a knife stuck in his back. So they ask Jesus a loaded question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” If Jesus says yes, then he’s going to lose the support of all his followers; the people who hate paying taxes and hate Caesar. If Jesus says no, then he is showing himself to be going against the system, to be a rebel rouser and a trouble maker and he may end up forfeiting his life. “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” There is some irony in all of this. After his opponents pose their question Jesus asks to see one of the coins used to make tax payments. So they show him a Roman coin that bears the image of the emperor. Jesus asks who is represented on the silver coin. “Caesar,” they say. So Jesus resolves the whole dilemma. They should give Caesar this piece of metal, because after all, it has his image on it. But in the same breath Jesus says they should give God what bears his divine image. Give Caesar what belongs to him…give him what bears his image and his name…give him his money or whatever it is that is due him. Pay your taxes with this money. But don’t forget to give God what is due him. Don’t forget to give God what bears his image!! And what is it, do you suppose, that bears God’s image? Let’s go back to the very beginning of the Bible for a moment…back to Genesis 1:26 and let me read you something: “Then God said, “Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life – the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the livestock, wild animals and small animals. So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.” What is it that bears God’s image? You! You bear God’s image. You were created in the image of God. So… Since God was so good to create us…since God was so good to give us life, we are to give ourselves, all 100% of us, back to God. Give your money to Caesar if you must…but give yourself back to God. God doesn’t want just a piece of who we are…he doesn’t want to be just another 10% piece or 30% piece of your life. God wants us to be all in. He wants all of us. God is not part of the competition that sets out to pull us this way and that way like a marionette. God is the one that gave us life…that brings us together…that makes us whole. Our relationship with God is not based on fractions or percentages. Our relationship with God is not based on portions that we are to give to him. Our relationship with God is based on 100% of everything we have. It’s a relationship based on all that we give him. Charles Hoffacker puts it this way, “Our relationship with God depends on the logic of love, which demands that we surrender ourselves [so] that we may truly live.” (Skill of the Baker, 2002) Outside this logic of love, outside of this piece of the pie that represents our life, God not only remains hidden from us but we remain hidden from the person that we were created to be. And here is the neat part in all of this. If we are willing to put God first then all these other demands, all of these other commitments, that are put upon us will all fall into place. They will all fall into place so that all of these divided loyalties that pull us here and there and everywhere will all come together in a life that will become diverse, and creative and ever changing. Once we decide to give of ourselves to God and once we decide to let God be the one to control our lives, then we are no longer marionettes, we are no longer controlled by the strings that other people pull to control our lives. But at the same time, we begin to reap the fruits of the Spirit and we become free to give of ourselves back to others. And when we give ourselves back to others we become not only givers, but we become receivers as well. In giving ourselves back to others we become recipients of God’s divine grace and of God’s divine generosity, a grace and generosity that is then passed on to those around us. As Christians, we have dual citizenships. One here on earth and one in heaven. So we give Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Honor every just claim that comes into your life – pay your taxes, pay for police and fire protection, pay for road maintenance and other necessities that we have come to expect, and pay your bills and pay your debts. But don’t forget about God. Don’t forget to give God what belongs to God. And that…is you. You belong to God. Give God the entirety of your life. Give him your heart and give him your soul. Give it all back to God. After all, he was the one who gave it all to you. |
Bethel United Methodist Church
|
|