Manage your resources well. The Bible tells us to be good stewards or managers, of money. We are to pay our taxes, give faithfully to the church, and then live wisely off of the rest. If we get that out of order our financial house begins to crumble.
Mark 12:17
“And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him.”
A Trick Question
The thought of giving any money to Rome was repulsive to the Jew. The Israelites are God’s chosen people; they thought they shouldn’t have to pay anything to the evil dictator Caesar. The Pharisees tried to use this to trap Jesus by asking him a trick question: “Should we pay taxes to Caesar?” In their mind he was trapped either way. Answer yes and the people would turn on him, answer no and he would be a traitor they could turn into the Roman government. Jesus turned the question on its ear by telling them to give to Caesar what is his and to God what is his. This left the Pharisees dumbfounded.
A Point of Contention
Money is a major point of contention in most people’s lives. There is never enough, and we can’t stop spending it. When it comes to giving back to God, we have nothing left. This leads to constant stress and sleepless nights worrying about how we are going to pay the bills and still buy the things they want. This makes it easy blame the government for all the taxes we have to pay. The basic fact is that we haven’t managed our resources well.
Be a Good Steward
In God’s economy, there is enough to pay our taxes, pay our tithe, and still have enough to live on afterward. The question we need to ask ourselves is: “How am I managing the money God has given me?” If we are being foolish, we need to repent of that and start being wise with our money. Render to the Lord that which is his and the fruit of that will abound to you. You always harvest more than you planted. Manage your resources well.