Every year Australians go through a process of declaring their taxable income. If they haven’t deducted enough tax from their weekly income then they have to pay it to the government. If they have deducted too much, then the government pays it back. This is a great system if you get a refund, but sometimes it can create some headaches.

But then, tax headaches are nothing new. Even Jesus was hassled about taxes--more than once! In one instance, his enemies were intentionally trying to make him say something that could get him in trouble. So one of them posed a trick question: "Is it right to pay taxes to the Roman government or not?" If Jesus said yes, it would sound as if he were endorsing the selfish, hedonistic lifestyles of Rome's leaders. And what kind of leader, even today, gets much support by saying, "Yes, I think you all should go out and pay lots of taxes"?

But if Jesus said no, the Jewish leaders could rat him out to the Romans as someone advising crowds of people to dodge their loyalty to the Empire. It was a tough spot to be in.

Yet Jesus easily handled his crafty opponents. He borrowed a coin, held it up, and asked whose picture was on it. The crowd around him replied, "Caesar's." So Jesus told them: "Well, then, give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God" (Matthew 22:15-22).

Sometimes Christians only pay attention to the latter part of Jesus' response. We want to please God, and rightly so. But occasionally we tend to get a little snippy as we do. We also have duties to parents, school, friends and more. Yet we may try to use God (or church or youth group) as an excuse for not following through on those commitments. If we catch ourselves screaming, "Shut up, Mom! I'm trying to honor God over here!" perhaps something is amiss with our spiritual AND family lives.

While it's not possible to fully devote yourself to more than one master (Matthew 6:24), Jesus teaches that it IS possible (and desirable) to serve God while honoring responsibilities in other areas of life. So as taxpayers "give to Caesar" this week, it's a good time to consider if you ought to devote more of YOUR attention to other people or organizations. We prove our love for God by our love for others (1 John 3:10-17). If first-century believers were expected to give to Caesar, surely we need to be willing to support teachers, coaches, hurting friends and others we see every day.

We are called to be servants ... ambassadors ... bearers of God's good news to all kinds of people. If we spend ALL our time around other Christians, we're not getting the job done. But as we begin to see what a difference we can make, we soon discover that "giving to Caesar" isn't taxing at all.

Something to check out for yourself…..

In another case where people were giving Jesus and his disciples a hard time over a tax issue, Jesus settled the matter in quite a creative and miraculous way. Read Matthew 17:24-27 to see how Jesus handled the problem.
What do you think Jesus wanted Peter (and us) to learn from this experience?

FORGETTABLE FACT
A woman named Myra Franklin saw the film "The Sound of Music" more than 900 times.

POTENT QUOTABLES
In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes. - Benjamin Franklin In making out your income tax return, remember it's better to give than to deceive. - Joan Welsh

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO Mmmmmmmmm!
I like vending machines because snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar in a store, often times I will drop it, to release its maximum flavor potential.