GIVING TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR’S

There is a news story in the most recent issue of National Review (NR) that caught my eye. I’m sure that many of you might have seen it yourselves if not there, then elsewhere. The headline on the NR article is: “Former Kentucky Clerk Ordered to Pay $260,000 in Legal Fees after Refusing to Issue Marriage License to Same-Sex Couples.” Kim Davis was the former County Clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, and she was elected to be the clerk in 2014. Almost a year later in August 2015, she defied an opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges which required civil governments at all levels to recognize gay (i.e., same-sex) marriage. This also applied to Rowan County where Ms Davis, was a civil (i.e., government) employee. Still, she refused to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. She refused at least in part because she believed to do so would compromise her Christian beliefs. In fact, her first response to the incident was not to issue any marriage licenses at all! I’m not sure what her thinking was, but she probably did not want to single out gay couples for discrimination, so she shut down the entire application process and no one–gay or straight–could get a marriage license through her office in Rowan County during that short period.

Now, I’m not sure who the County Clerk in Rowan County reports to (other than to the voters), but possibly the County Judge or someone else had a private, informal chat with her. That person may have said that they admired her “grit,” being true to her beliefs. It is important to have convictions. That in-house peer may have even said that he or she personally and privately agrees with Ms Davis’ opposition to gay marriage. But that county official might likely also have said that the whole country, coast-to-coast, was watching, and the odds are that she would not prevail in the long run. Plus, if the county supported her in not carrying out the decision of the High Court, the 24,658 residents of the county might be hit with a multi-million dollar law suit which it could not possibly win. If it had fallen to me to advise her, I would have repectfuly urged her to comply with the Writ or to resign from her position with dignity and without animus. This is what Keith Bardwell, the elected justice-of-the-peace in Lousiana did in 2009 when told he had to perform interracial marriages according to the law. Said Bardwell: “I found out I can’t be a justice of the peace and have a conscience.” There is some truth in that statement, depending on what your conscience tells you, of course. This situation was not about a wedding photographer who owns a private business and who does not want to take pictures at a gay wedding or a baker who does not wish to bake a cake for a homosexual couple’s anniversary. Davis and Bardwell before her were agents of the state and same-sex marriage, rightly or wrongly was now the law of the land. There is a saying in law that says dura lex sed lex. It translates roughly as “a hard law but nevertheless still the law.”

So, going back to the summer of 2015, Kim Davis was at some point sentenced to jail for five days for contempt of court. There are many other details in this case which for the sake of brevity I will not include. Ultimately, she was sued (Miller v. Davis), losing the case and losing her reelection bid as well Now, eleven years later, the court is ordering her to pay legal fees and or judgments to selected plaintiffs who filed against her. Quite possibly some interest group or wealthy individual will write a check on her behalf, but I’m sure life hasn’t been easy for her these past few years.

Before we go any further, let’s consult the Scripture passage to which I am anchoring this post (Matthew 22:15-22.) Matthew is a very difficult book. It’s not that it is hard to understand. What is difficult is to obey what Jesus asks of us, because he clearly asks us to go against our natural (fallen) impulses.

WHAT IS JESUS SAYING IN THIS PASSAGE?

As you read this short passage, remember that the Bible is not written in secret code. It was written most often in plain Hebrew or Greek for the sake of ordinary people like us to understand. So, let’s look at Matthew 22:15-22:

Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words. They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance. So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?‘

But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, ‘You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?  Show Me the coin used for the tax.‘

And they brought Him a denarius.

 ‘Whose image is this,’ He asked, ‘and whose inscription?‘

 ‘Caesar’s,’ they answered. 

So Jesus told them, ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.‘

And when they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.”

At the moment, we’re in the midst of our tax season. Many Americans just don’t like paying taxes. If they owe the IRS $10,000, it is $10,000 too much as far as they are concerned. If they owe the government a dime, it is ten cents too much. Deena and I may pay $14,073 in a certain year while some wealthy charlatan or scoundrel only pays $750 to the IRS for the same year. When I eventually discover this, Deena has to listen to me complain about how unfair it is. You can never satisfy everyone. However, I personally support fair levels of taxes. Tax dollars fund free breakfast (and lunch) to poor children at school. They fund my Medicare program, Deena’s Tricare, our social security, pensions and so on. Taxes provide wheel chairs for people who cannot walk and cannot afford them, body armor for our troops in harm’s way, health care for the poor, FEMA grants and loans for victims of natural disasters who need housing, law enforcement and fire protection for all, and so on.

Sometimes, taxes may pay for more controversial programs, such as gender affirming medical or surgical procedures, abortions or college tuition to young people who meet certain means requirements. Quite possibly your local library has a book called Das Kapital by Karl Marx in the stacks or It’s Okay to be Gay by Amy Graefe in the children’s section of the library. These books might have been purchased with tax dollars. In 2022, the U.S. budget had appropriated $38 billion dollars for foreign aid to other countries. We provide aid to Israel. We provide aid to the Palestinians. But part of your tax dollars likely fund programs that you are morally against. These are programs that you may believe God is against as well. Does that mean you need not comply? Absolutely not.

Giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s

This was probably one reason why the Pharisees (religious leaders) complained about taxes so much. The tax money collected or extorted from the Jews back then paid for Roman weapons that were used against the people of Judea and Samaria. Taxes taken from religious Jews subsidized whatever alcohol Tiberias Caesar or Pontius Pilate drank, the private parties they gave to their friends, the gladiator games, monies to maintain the temples of false gods, support to enforce slavery and each of these programs were immoral to the Jewish people back then.

But what does Jesus say? Did He say that Christians were under no obligation to pay taxes? No. Did He encourage His followers to resist paying taxes, or just pay for those programs they supported? No. He said pay your taxes. Pay what you owe to the civil authorities over you. To Rome. To Washington. Period. Jesus did not preach revoltution or rebellion. He taught people that He had a second kingdom in mind, each adamently opposed to the other and that the Children of God had responsibilities to each. Like oil and water, the two kingdoms do not mix. In Matthew 6:24 Jesus says:

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”

Isn’t this what the Church in America is trying to do today? We say “We want God’s will to be done, but we want Donald J. Trump to be President.” We say we want to talk to people about their salvation, but first we need to focus and organize our precinct to win our primary later this year. There is no time now for other stuff when Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are nipping at our candidate’s heels and the Iowa caucus is just a week away. I’ve read of a cadre of true believer’s at DJT rallies who drive a thousand miles or more to stand in line for hours in order to attend a rally, to bask in the presence of the 45th President of the United States, oblivious to the fact that God Almighty is much closer to them than that, parking is free, and there is no waiting in line. You can have a “meet and greet” with Him at this very second!

The case against Kim Davis was cast as religious persecution by the government against God-fearing people. In fact, it was not. It was that of a civil servant who refused to obey a lawful order not only from her governor, but also from the Supreme Court of the United States, and unfortunate circumstances followed. We know there are all sorts of caveats and exceptions. In his Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King reminds us that some laws are unjust. The Nazi’s no doubt had laws forbidding Germans from hiding Jews. What was a German Christian to do? Then there is the subject of civil disobedience. Any of these have the potential of derailing my stream of thought, so I’ll resist the temptation to hop about.

The cost of discipleship

My faith as a Christian might keep me from certain opportunities as far as the state is concerned. Because I believe in intelligent design, I might not be selected to teach biology or paleoenthology at a public college in courses that depend of evolutionary theory. Who would hire an incel to teach Womens Studies? If I were a police officer, I could not as a Christian accept an undercover assignment which required that I lie about who I am while on the streets, that I commit felonies and misdemeanors for the sake of establishing my credentials to criminals, or that I behave immorally, and so on. Or, if I were an attorney, I could not as a Christian accept an appointment to the bench of a state or federal district court which requires that in some capital cases, I pronounce the death penalty because I do not support the death penalty. My belief, my conscience disqualifies me from that particular position. The death penalty is included in legislation voted on by elected representatives. Who am I to nullify the wishes of the majority based on my personal religious belief?

The state does many things I do not like. They make me pass a vision test before I can renew my drivers license. Sometimes, I am disappointed that prosecutors and judges go “too easy” on criminals. American service members are told to fight wars until we are victorious against the enemy, and then the nation gives up half way through after thousands of young men and women have fallen in battle (for what?) I don’t agree that streets in American cities should be covered with tents and boxes for homeless people to live in. When I worked in Dallas, TX, I would have to step over people sleeping on sidewalks at 6:00 a.m. States out West are wrestling with this problem at the moment. And now, the federal government has waded into the issue of gender. Currently, there are at least 74 genders recognized (see an alphabetized list here) and each citizen wants to be respected according to their own gender beliefs, including AMAB (Assigned Male at Birth) who want to compete for scholarships and recognition in womens’ sports.

So, should Christians just not participate in government?

You do not foreclose on your rights and privileges when you become a Christian. The Apostle Paul was a Roman citizen and he demanded that the Roman authorities not treat him as a barbarian. His citizenship granted him certain “perks” including the assurance that if he were sentenced to death, he would be beheaded rather than crucified like a common criminal. He also had the right to a personal audience with Caesar which is why he wound up in Rome near the end of his life. While the New Testament is silent about his civil activities, there is no reason to believe that he did not vote in elections back then. But Paul didn’t support Tiberias, or Caligula or Nero. He understood that the Kingdom of God did not depend on mortals; a republican for President or a Congress controlled by democrats. Paul was not going to let the politics of Rome distract him from his mission. He needed to stay focused on his mission. And so do we.

In Romans 13:1-2, this same Paul writes:

Obey the government, for God is the One who has put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power. So those who refuse to obey the law of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow.”

When in December the Electoral College ballots for the next President of the United States are cast, when a year from now the electoral votes are counted in Congress and all legal challenges and appeals have been exhausted, you will not find me pulling doors off their hinges or smashing windows at the Capitol Building. Hopefully, you won’t find any Christians there, either.