Wisdom is not Cowardice; Foolishness is not Courage

 More on what “rendering unto Caesar” means.  

Here is what Ann Barnhardt says about it, emphasis in the original:

Now let's think logically. The words, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's; and render unto the Lord that which is the Lord's” have as a direct corollary the asking of a question. What is that question? Come on. Think. You can do this.

The question is, what rightfully belongs to Caesar and what rightfully belongs to God? The God part is easy. EVERYTHING belongs to God. Uh-oh. Now we have a mathematical conundrum, don't we? If we believe in God, and we believe in the First Commandment, then “Caesar” is truly OWED nothing. We can CONSENT to pay taxes in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity and freedom, but only if those four specific ends are served by our taxes.  

I’m not criticizing or condemning Miss Barnhardt.  I can only assume that she has been, as we say, convicted -- convinced of the rightness of her path by the Holy Spirit.  I applaud and admire her stance.  I am praying for her.  Most likely she could care less what I think, and more power to her.  If she bothers to follow the link over here to see what I have to say – quite unlikely – I ask only that she forgive my riffing on her stuff for the benefit of myself and my two or three regular readers.  Conversely, if she thinks I’m a coward, a pagan idiot, a fool or an appeaser, well, I, fortunately, do not have to answer to her.  So we leave it there.    

I do not deal in theology here for the most part, but I have no qualms about saying what I believe or that I am a Christian.  I’m not a Catholic though I have great respect and admiration for the last two pontiffs, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.  These are both great men of God and profound Christian thinkers.  As a Christian, I fully agree with Miss Barnhardt that I am required to obey God rather than man.  If it comes to it, we will go to prison or death rejoicing that we may suffer FOR CHRIST’S SAKE.  Not for stupidity, not for bravado, not for our own glory. 

That everything belongs to God is hardly debatable if one believes in God, however, contrary to Miss Barnhardt’s contention, that has, literally, nothing to do with the point Jesus was making.  The question Jesus asked was, “Whose image is on the coin?”  The answer comes back, Caesar’s.  Now, to whom was Christ speaking?  To Pharisees, to Jews, to people who knew by heart the words of Genesis, among which are, “Let us make man in our IMAGE and likeness”.    In other words, Jesus was not concerned about what was given to Caesar or what bore the image of Caesar.  Yes, all the gold and all the silver belongs to God, but much more importantly, man, who bears the image of God, is to give himself – render himself unto God. 
 
The same Bible that tells us we must obey God above all, says, in Romans 12:18 --  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

How about this?  Romans 13:5-7, Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.  For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.  Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Thus one can say that in paying taxes – i.e., “rendering unto Caesar” – one is obeying God.  Now, obviously it reaches a point where this is not possible, just as Paul qualified it in the preceding chapter when he said, “If possible, so far as it depends on YOU”, because many times it is out of our hands and we can no longer be cooperative.  We are never asked to surrender to evil. 

Christianity is not for the faint-of-heart.  It’s not easy.  The new man fears nothing except God.  Any time we operate out of fear, we are operating out of the old, fallen nature and feeding that old man.  Don’t do it. 

We are not, though, to offer provocation when it is possible to avoid it.  Paul, again, in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,  for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Keep in mind this was the very same Paul who used his privileges as a Roman citizen to travel and preach throughout the Empire, only to be executed by beheading – as befit a citizen. 

Or, to quote Lynyrd Skynyrd from  “Mississippi Kid”:  “I ain’t lookin’ for no trouble, but nobody dogs me ‘round.”  Our goal as Christians is to become Christ-like, to walk through this material world in truth, to learn the lessons that fit us for Heaven, to bear witness of Christ and the Cross.  We are not here to start rebellions and overthrow governments.  That happens because kings and emperors and presidents who think they are emperors oppose the Church and go up against King Jesus, but we don’t do it on purpose. 

I am obeying God as best I can tell and as best I can at this point by warning people to prepare themselves, their homes and their families for an upheaval brought about by man’s disobedience to God and the ignoring of simple arithmetic.  Ann Barnhardt is obeying God by getting up in the face of carnal authority and defying them, daring them to prosecute and persecute her.  She’s heard from God; she’ll be all right.  What God asks of me could change.  The same for you.  For now, “… let us press on to know the Lord …” (Hosea 6:3).