Render Unto Caesar . . .

I just filed my income taxes. This always brings to mind the trap about taxes that the Pharisees tried to set for Jesus (Mark 12:13-17).

The entanglement of our Catholic beliefs with politics is not a new, modern development. And it is no less fraught with complexity and potential peril now than it was in the time of Christ.

Of course, abortion is the hot-button issue, often in the news and present as an active political issue. But it is not the only area of potential conflict presented by certain strict interpretations of scripture.

For instance, lending at interest – at least between Christians – was long held to be immoral. And there are plenty of denominations and sects that prohibit dancing and have various strictures on immodest dress.

My early life in Texas also left me very familiar with the politics of local liquor option elections and the accompanying campaign appeals to moral standards. And coming of age during the Vietnam era, I heard more than a few debates about the morality of war and the requirements for registering as a Conscientious Objector with the draft.

The Balance

On the whole, our system has done a fairly good job – so far – of institutionalizing a balance between allowing for individual conscience while administering an increasingly secular State. There are noteworthy, unhappy exceptions.

The issue of slavery, for instance, was eventually settled by a civil war. But the aftermaths of that conflict reverberate into this very day. It has resulted in legislation and argumentation on everything from how to measure equal access to reparation payments to descendents of slaves.

Last June the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. The decision sent the issue of abortion regulation back to the states where the fights have become local and sometimes even more intense. And, of course, the Hyde Amendment, which strictly limits the use of federal funds for abortions, is still in effect. But efforts to turn it back have been a recurring argument from its inception to the present day.

Science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein once wrote that the central issue of politics was how much one group of people were prepared to require another group of people to suffer for the first group’s moral principles. (Of course, suffer is a stand-in term for a range of accommodations.  These accommodations stretch from mere inconvenience to what some people characterize as actual physical suffering and/or moral outrage.)

Politics is the process through which we work out these questions without resorting to violence, at least most of the time. Street violence over political questions is all too common, and has been for most of our history. But apart from 1860, it does not usually erupt into full fledged war.

Transferring Our Responsibilities

There is another problem with rendering to Caesar that people do not always think of, and the effects can be insidious. That is the transfer of our responsibility to care for others into the hands of the state.

Consider the infamous words of Ebenezer Scrooge when asked to make a Christmas donation for the poor.

[Unnamed gentleman] “At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.”

“Are there no prisons?” asks Scrooge.

“Plenty of prisons…”

“And the Union workhouses?” demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in operation?”

“Both very busy, sir…”

“Those who are badly off must go there” replies Scrooge.

“Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.”

“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

Even now, with all our wealth and administrative technology, the government cannot do it all. And when we look at the myriad unintended consequences of various programs, we must at times ask ourselves if handing everything off to secular authority is wise.

When we attempt to transfer our duties of charity to the government, we need to consider what we are really doing. We not only take on the responsibility for the generally coercive approach the government takes both in funding and in implementing policies, we also accept the secular values incorporated in government programs.

Whose Responsibility Is It?

The disincentives for marriage in Aid To Dependent Children, for instance, have been documented extensively since the program began to take effect. The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan sounded a warning as early as 1965, in what has been called a “controversial report.”  It was titled “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action.”

It is not my intent to critique the social safety net; I have not the credentials, educational background, experience, or desire to do so. I do think that we need to be mindful, however, when we render unto Caesar. We must be sure that what we turn over to Caesar is in fact Caesar’s .

The person in the dialog above who has abdicated his moral responsibility to those less fortunate than himself is Scrooge, and he seems to be saying that because those sorts of things have been rendered to Caesar that he bears no further responsibility.

As Scrooge will learn, that is a grievous error.

Scrooge’s redemption lies in his personal involvement with a need known to him personally. He brings his own gifts and blessings into a relationship that he has previously seen as a burden rather than a blessing.

Rendering Unto Caesar

When Jesus said to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, he was holding a coin. When he advised giving to God what is God’s, he was looking at a person and into the heart of that person.

Lord, you will open my lips;
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
For you do not desire sacrifice – or I would give it;
a burnt offering you would not accept.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn [Psalms 51:17-19].

Render unto Caesar of course. But give what is God’s in person: the treasure of yourself, your talents, and your love.

Prayer

Father in heaven, help us recognize and see when it is of ourselves you wish us to give, that we may serve you directly and with all that you have given us.  
Amen!