As Isaiah tells us, there is but one God. He is unchanging in His nature, He is love, and He seeks to guide us toward what is best for us. We may not always understand His plan, but it is a plan that has existed since before the world began, as our God stands outside of time and space as we know it. He created all, and seeks what is for our good, so that we can come to perfect union with Him for eternity.
It’s easy sometimes to confuse what is important in our secular lives with what is important to God. Our Lord’s words regarding payment to God what belongs to God, and to Caesar what belongs to Caeser, make the distinction between these two kingdoms quite plain. It is the distinction between the Divine, and the temporal. At the temporal level, we all seek the same basic needs, food/shelter/clothing/etc. but with varying emphasis on the accumulation of the resources to obtain these things. When we are in need, or perceived need, it is easy to be drawn into a mindset that places the accumulation of resources at a level that is more emphasized than it needs to be. It’s easy to fall into this trap, as we innately become more focused on immediate needs when we perceive them. What we need to keep in mind though is the balance that needs to be struck between what we actually need, versus what the needs of those around us are, and the real need we have for drawing close to God, especially during times of need.
When we began to realize the seriousness of this pandemic, there was a tremendous focus on garnering material goods that we thought might eventually become scarce. To that end, we began to obtain these things in larger quantities than were immediately necessary and created the very shortage we feared, and that did leave many of our brothers and sisters in actual need for some of these basics. We created a problem, where none existed because we focused on self, and on stuff, rather than consider the overall good of all God’s family. It’s true that some things can become scarce when something like this pandemic occurs, but we need to guard against too much focus on self and consider the broader picture. It’s all of us that need to come through this, not just ourselves. This is the capital that we pay back to God, to look out for one another, and in doing so to show love for Him in whose image we all were created. The natural fruits of this repayment to God, is the outpouring of concern and love for all.
The urge to gather material goods on the other hand, and to expend the funds necessary to do more than we actually need to in terms of meeting our actual needs is the mindset of paying tribute only to Caesar, to become too focused on the coin and the image upon it. The idol of money is an old adversary that is the downfall of many. I’m not trying to say we do not need money, the reality is that it is the means of commerce that we use for virtually everything, but we cannot let it become an idol to us, and to take on a more significant role than it ought to. This is the balance to be struck – to keep its role to serving our actual needs, and to stop short of it becoming the focus of our desires, and to unduly dictate our actions. We must also guard against its allure to spend more than what is needed, and in doing so garner more resources than what we actually need, while leaving others without the things they need.
What we are called to desire most is God, and to draw close to Him in all things. He will always take care of us, no matter the situation, the coin on the other hand is a fleeting consolation that has no desire to serve anything but itself. In the end analysis, we must decide what expenditure is more important to focus on, that which we owe to God, or that which we owe to the many uncaring Caesars that compete for our monetary resources.
Podcast Link
The Deacons Bench 