Giving unto Caesar

The matter of taxes is a topic of much controversy, not unlike many issues in the Mennonite Church these days. Paying taxes is a fundamental responsibility to any citizen of any Western country, but the duty often becomes contentious among some in the faith.

This is due largely to studies of tax allocation which point to excessive military spending. Indeed, approximately 50 percent of our federal income tax will be spent on the military or on war. This article is meant to briefly present only one side to a complex issue. The issue asks how we as Mennonites are called to live as non-violent citizens of a country fundamentally supportive of mass armed might. I think the answer may be far simpler then we often make it.

In the gospels we see the familiar text in which Jesus is asked this very question. The question was meant to be a trick to bait Jesus into a reply inconsistent with the law, but backfired with Jesus’ response. He says "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s." What exactly does this mean? Does it mean that we are to give anything that Caesar requests? Clearly it does not, because it implies that some things are Caesar’s and that some are God’s. It is here that Jesus draws the line.

Clearly our life, our time, and our focus are the possession of God: this is repeated over and over throughout Jesus’ ministry. Mennonites are right to claim objection to war through sacrifice of their lives. This is not something we are entitled to give away. Furthermore, Jesus points out another dynamic with the following quote: "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" He speaks of the coin shown to him by the Pharisees and means to show that the money is earthly. It is not God’s primary concern, especially not as regards our faith focus.

Jesus further reinforces the legitimacy of earthly tax by associating and befriending tax collectors who were traitors to their fellow Jews. Jesus does not denounce the Romans’ authority to tax the population; however he does speak out against the idolatrous claims made on some of the coinage. Jesus criticizes things that are of spiritual substance and reserved effort for the substantial duties owed the spirit. He was living under the control of the Romans, one of the most violent and war-oriented nations in history, and still found that followers of God should not concern themselves with something that does not belong to them.

Indeed our money never really belongs to us but is a product of the world, a transient gift from God. It is not to be our concern nor should it ever become part of our faith, in this way tithes are voluntary sacrifice but are never a focus of salvation. Jesus was avoiding a trap in his statement, yes, but he also showed that some things are indeed owed Caesar.

We do not know where our money will definitely go. We do not know how it will be used nor are we responsible for such decisions. We should give our taxes to Caesar and our tithes to God and be concerned little with the use of each. They are surrendered voluntarily to each, fulfilling needs and duties in either sphere. Indeed give unto Caesar, but for Christians the more important things will always go to God.