Marriage from a ‘Christ Perspective’ - Part 7
(Mark 12: 17) – “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
It is amazing how simply Jesus stated these words and it is interesting how those who asked the question about paying taxes were so amazed at the answer. Yet even as we look back on this event, I wonder if we see the deeper lesson that Jesus lays out: everything belongs to God! That is everything but our willingness to choose Him or reject Him, which comes out of the free will He also gave us. Our choice is the only power we possess over God and the one that holds the most weight over our eternal happiness or eternal suffering.
Jesus is not holding the coin to indicate what should go to Caesar versus God, but is rather putting before us our own sinful willingness to image His gifts against Him. Then, once He has us see how our sinful choices have allowed the world around us to rule our lives and our actions, He wants us to think about the bigger decision we need to make: “Will I choose to trust all that I have to God or to the wisdom of the world?”
We have a choice everyday of whether to serve God or not by how we use the gifts that we have been given. Our ability to give is not just about how much money we possess, but also is about the time and talent we possess and are able to share. God is not concerned with the amounts of giving as much as He is concerned with how (attitude and spirit) we choose to give what we have to others. He does encourage tithing (giving a tenth of what we have) to Him. Why? Because He is trying to stretch our ability to love Him through the love and care of others to the point that it is sacrificial (or from the heart) versus just giving from our excess.
Jesus calls all of us to give to those in need and to give with a joyful heart. Every day, we should first give of ourselves to God and then to our spouse. We are called to serve them and our children in order to teach them what love truly looks like played out. However, it is also important to recognize again that it should always be: God first, our spouse second, our children third, and everything else after that.
ACTION STEP: This week, spend time with your spouse looking at how you can give more to the kingdom of God through your family life and then to the world around you.