Give to Caesar, Give to God

Give to Caesar, Give to God

In medieval Europe, tax collection was often oppressive and corruption was endemic. A young Franciscan friar named Duns Scotus was asked by a noble patron whether he was obligated to pay taxes to a corrupt lord. Scotus replied with a distinction: 'You owe Caesar what bears Caesar's image. Your money bears his image. But you bear God's image. What bears God's image belongs to God.' The nobleman gave him a long look and said: 'Then I owe God everything and Caesar my money.' Scotus nodded. The friar had simply unpacked what Jesus had said: the coin bears Caesar's image and belongs to Caesar. The human being bears God's image and belongs to God.

Jesus' answer to the Pharisees' trap about taxes is famous for being simultaneously politically safe and theologically explosive. The coin bears Caesar's image — return it to him. But everything that bears God's image belongs to God. What bears God's image? Human beings (Genesis 1:27). The implication is that while civil obligation is real, it is limited. The full person — the inner life, the allegiance of the soul, the deepest loyalties — belongs to the One whose image we bear. Stewardship of finances is one aspect of this, but the deeper call is to recognize that we ourselves belong to God. On this tax day, the question is not only what we give Caesar but what we are giving back to the One who owns us.