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MARK 12:13-17 NIV
Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.
REFERENCES: MARK 12:30, 2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5, LUKE 20:22, GENESIS 1:27, ROMANS 12:1-2
Money can be a difficult and delicate topic to discuss. But if you give it some thought, money is simply an idea. It represents something of worth and only has value because an authority maintains it. Yet, its influence is broad when it is designed to have boundaries. While it shapes how we interact, think, and live, if we’re not careful, it can easily become an idol. In Mark, Jesus had a discussion about money. On the surface, it appears to be about taxes. However, when we dive deeper, it is revealed this tax or “tribute coin” bared an image of Caesar that changed their worship. It represented an expression of and devotion to Caesar. Have you ever considered if money has ever changed the image of who you worship? When we remember that we are a reflection of the image of God, we can choose to realign our minds to better serve Jesus, our one true worship.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” —Mark 12:30
The human mind is the most powerful tool in the universe. It can either lead to destruction or to creation. As Christians, we’re called to love the Lord with our minds—our thoughts, understanding, knowledge, perspective, and reasoning.
When the religious leaders asked Jesus whether or not to pay taxes to Caesar, the conversation appeared to be about money. In truth, it goes much deeper. The Roman coin had Caesar's image, but we bear God's image. We should pay our taxes to whom they are due, but we belong to God and God alone.
The way we choose to think will determine the way we live. We can either use our thoughts to learn who God created us to be or believe the lie of the enemy. When it comes to money we must understand that money can either pay tribute to God or turn into a god. Our thoughts toward money speak volumes in how we honor God. Money bears an image and is a concept but we each also bear an image and an inscription. We were created in the image of God. Therefore our reason, knowledge, perspective, and understanding need to be founded on loving Jesus, not money. May our thoughts focus on who God is and live according to how he wants us to live. May we love God with our minds.
Take a moment to evaluate your life and list areas where you’ve placed more value on money rather than God.
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