10-17-14 - What is God's?

"Then Jesus said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’”

Give to God the things that are God’s.
Okay, what belongs to God? Isn’t everything God’s? Doesn’t the emperor also belong to God?
And if everything belongs to God – why does God need our gifts? Our tithes? Our offerings?

Maybe God doesn’t need anything from us. Maybe we need to give, because things get squirrely when we don’t, and because we are transformed when we do.

It can be easy to view the two kinds of “giving” Jesus talks about here as similar, parallel tracks, if you will. We owe the government our taxes to pay for the goods and services we need governments to render. We owe God our “dues” to pay for… well, what? Clergy and church buildings? Charity? We worship a God who has freely given us everything. We don't have to pay for it. So why give to God and God's mission on earth, expressed through Christ's Body, the church?

We give because it is the best way to express our gratitude for all that we’ve received. We give because it sets us free, opens us, changes our hearts. We give because we love seeing what happens to others when we do.

If our giving is stunted, it may be that we are not all that grateful. If we equate giving of our money and resources to God’s mission to “taxes” or “dues,” it becomes an obligation, a contractual exchange. That is not what giving is intended to be for Christians.

Where does giving give you the most joy?
When do you feel the least willing?
Both answers give us some ground for prayer – and action. Maybe we are being invited to give additionally in both categories. Maybe we want to strengthen our gratitude muscles.

We are to give as God has given us – and in Christ, we see God giving us everything, his most beloved son, his life. I was reminded recently that the classic U2 song, “With or Without You” is not about a human relationship, but the struggle to exist in faith and intimacy with the God you cannot see. “See the stone set in your eyes/ See the thorn twist in your side.” – big Jesus reference there. (The “she” in U2 songs often refers to the Holy Spirit or to grace…)

“I can’t live, with or without you,” Bono sings.
And the repeated refrain applies to both God and us in relationship to the giving God:
“And you give, and you give, and you give yourself away.”

And you never run out.