Let’s Talk About Money

Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s -
(Matthew 22:21)

   Ahhh! Tax time, that period of year where I begrudgingly pay money towards the governments that serve me. With gritted teeth, I “rub my neck and write ‘em a check”. This time of year can become bothersome for some individuals. Do you ever get the niggling notion (like I do) to become a revolutionary, to throw off the oppression of a tyrannical master and march tax-free into the sunset waving the Stars and Stripes with new vigor? Get a life. When asked whether the Pharisees should pay taxes to Caesar, our Lord, in his typically succinct manner, distinguishes clearly between serving man and serving God. He did not forget his Father’s first commandment “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me” (Deuteronomy 5:7) . . . not money, not power, not nuthin’. Give Caesar what is Caesar’s.

   One question I have asked myself many times throughout my life is “How important is money?” The answer normally comes back that it is better to have more than less, that having enough to pay the bills stress-free while accumulating some comfort and possessions is not necessarily a bad thing. But is that Biblical? It is written that Jesus definitely held a detachment regarding money and possessions. Would someone who held the slightest regard for materialism utter the famous words “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy . . .”? We all know the statement that it is easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, but is this a direct admonition for us, we Americans who are the richest society on earth and who, on a regular basis, parcel our wealth to other endeavors before giving the first tenth to God?

   ersonally I have always found it difficult to tithe (“A tithe of everything from the land . . . belongs to the Lord” Leviticus 27:30), not because I could not have done it but because it would have drastically altered the American lifestyle for both me and my family. Again, the vaporous American who is more concerned with comfort than pleasing God. That’s weak faith! I am praying for greater faith, especially now that my dependents are leaving the nest and I have every opportunity to simplify my life over the coming years.

   The apostle Paul charged his disciple Timothy by saying, “For the love of money is the root of all evil… But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” 1 Timothy 6:10, 11. So we, as men and women of God, should adopt that same charge and include the following precepts of today’s lesson:

1. Pay your taxes . . . with a grin, not a grimace.
2. Do not concern yourself with storing up treasures on earth . . .
   storage centers are expensive.
3. Try to tithe to God . . . yes I know it hurts.
4. Simplify your life . . . but don’t get simple-minded to the point of
   living in a cave and cutting yourself off from integrating with
   your Christian brothers and sisters and in the process forgetting
   from whom all blessings flow.

Dear Heavenly Father,
     Let me understand your view of money. Make me a giver that is neither reluctant or under compulsion, for I know that you love a cheerful giver. Amen.

Contributed by Donald
Monday April 15, 2013
Liturgical Year C: Week 20
Liturgical Color: White
Sunday Gospel reading:
Third Sunday of Easter