One Saturday morning a deacon at the church looked out his dining room window and noticed that a car had just pulled into his driveway. The two passengers appeared to be gathering up their literature. They got out and started walking to the front door. "Honey, hurry! Go get the American flag out of the closet. Jehovah's Witnesses are here. I'm ready for them this time."

This deacon was smart. He knew that Jehovah's Witnesses do not view the American flag with patriotism like most citizens do. They will not say the Pledge of Allegiance. The wife brought the flag in and prominently displayed it in their family room.

The doorbell rang. Two women with their small brief cases stood at the door. And before any introductions could be made, the deacon whisked them into the family room and let them know how thrilled he was to see them. Then he promptly said to the women, "It is customary in our home before entertaining guests to say the Pledge to the flag." So the four of them put their hands on their hearts and said the Pledge with great pride.

Immediately after saying, "…and justice for all," one of the guests said, "That is wonderful. I've been in the Tupperware business for 18 years, and this has never happened before."

Today we continue our series of messages called "Did Jesus Really Say That?" Desiring to stick with the patriotic theme of our worship today, I tried to select a quotation from Jesus that reflects His teachings on how believers should relate to their government. Admittedly, my selection today doesn't necessarily represent a shocking statement from our perspective. But in His day, what He said would certainly have left His listeners with their mouths wide open. Let's read the story in Matthew 22:15-22.

It was Tuesday of Passion week, the last week of Jesus' earthly existence. Jesus was hanging around the Temple courts when a group of Pharisees and Herodians confronted Him with a question. This wasn't just a spur of the moment occasion. This team represented a well-calculated attempt to trap Jesus. They had plotted ahead of time exactly how they were going to put Jesus in a difficult situation. They wanted to prove that He was no better than any other rabbi.

We know that the Pharisees were the religious leaders of Jesus' day. They knew the Bible letter for letter but had no love. The Herodians represented a group of Jews who supported the emperor. They were pro-Herod and pro-Roman. So this team was not just an envoy. They were sent with a mission to ensnare Jesus. That was their motive.

Paying the poll tax was the most obvious sign of submission to Rome. A significant segment of the Jewish population was a group called the Zealots. They believed the poll tax dishonored God. They saw it as a badge of slavery, a tax given to pagans. So the question the Pharisees and Herodians posed was designed to put Jesus in the position of having to alienate Himself from a major part of the population or to lay Himself open to charges of treason.

Notice the long introduction. The delegation buttered up Jesus with all kinds of flattery. Again, a calculated strategy. They said He was a man of integrity, one not swayed by the opinions of men. So, if Jesus refused to answer this question, He would compromise His integrity and demonstrate that He does let others sway Him.

Even the way the team phrased the question was strategic. "Is it right…or not?" A typical rabbinical way of dealing with theological questions. "Is it right or not," demanded a yes-no answer.

But Jesus saw right through their motives and knew they were trying to trap Him. Notice in verse 15 the word trap and in verse 18 the word trap. Two different words in the original language. In verse 18 the word means to test or tempt. Jesus knew they were trying to bait Him into doing something that He would later regret. With great skill He asked for a Roman coin, a denarius, the coin used to pay the poll tax. On the heads side of the coin was the emperor's head with an offensive inscription—"Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus." On the tails side it read, "pontifex maximus" meaning "high priest." The coin's inscription would have been offensive to most Jews.

Jesus turned their question into a question of His own. He was a master at that. "Whose inscription is on the coin?" "Caesar's," they replied. Then Jesus astonished them all by saying, "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." By responding in this way, He nullified the belief that the Messiah would come and provide immediate deliverance from Roman rule.

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's. Give to God what is God's." That statement represents a valuable truth for every believer. It teaches that Christians should provide support for its governing leaders. Christians should lead the way in abiding by the laws of the land, praying for its leaders, and engaging in deeds of good citizenship. The only time this support should not be present is when the governing authorities demand an allegiance that would supersede your allegiance to God.

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's." Of course, in the original context of this story, the issue was taxation—money. Does anyone here love to pay taxes? How many of you work for the government? Even you wish that you didn't have to pay taxes even though your income depends on citizens paying for your salary. You have heard it before—there are only two things certain in life—death and taxes. Don't you wish they came in that order?

I believe we are overtaxed. And I believe there will come a point that Americans will rise up and say, "No more!" But as much as I believe taxes are too high, paying them does not compromise my allegiance to God. So I pay them and recognize that by doing so, I am on the receiving end of police protection, decent roads, schools, libraries, parks and recreation, and military personnel who fight to protect our freedom. So God wants me to give to Caesar what belongs to him.

"Give to God what is God's." Again, the context is money. What should I give to God? Basically, it goes like this. God owns everything, including my money and including even the money that I pay taxes with. But the standard He set forth in the Bible is the tithe, the ten percent. And not just the ten percent, but the first ten percent. When you give the first ten percent, you demonstrate that God takes priority over everything, including the government. So the ten percent is the benchmark. On top of that ten percent we also look for other ways to support His kingdom work and other worthwhile charities.

Even though the context in this story is money, certainly the application extends beyond our tithes and taxes. God wants every believer to give to Caesar—and not just taxes. Whether it's adopting a highway or volunteering on election day or praying for our leaders or sending goody bags to our troops or running for public office, God wants every believer to flesh out what it means to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Usually when we hear this story about Jesus, we tend to focus on the first part of His statement, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's." We use this passage to preach messages about good citizenship and God's ordination of governing bodies. All of this is well and good. But I wonder sometimes if we focus so much on the first part that we actually do a better job of giving to Caesar than we do of giving to God.

Give to God what is God's. What belongs to God? Your money, your time, your talents, your family—your life. I've known folks that think you ought to pledge to the flag and sing "God Bless America" every Sunday in church. But if you ask them to serve in the children's ministry or as a greeter, they say no. They don't have time. I'm a firm believer in patriotism and waving a flag in support of our nation. But I have an allegiance that runs much greater than my allegiance to this country. And that's my allegiance to my Savior Jesus Christ.

Do you remember going to the playground as a child? I have fond memories of a playground on Murray Avenue in Anderson. There's nothing like a sliding board on a hot July afternoon. Second degree burns on the back of your legs from that shiny hot metal slide. My friends and I would get on the little carousel. We'd grab hold of the bars and run around several times to get that thing spinning as fast as we could and then jump on. Sometimes I'd puke afterwards. And sometimes I'd accidentally let go and that thing would hurl me forward ten or fifteen feet. I know child safety features are important; but sometimes they take all the fun out of stuff.

And then there was the see-saw. That was a frightful piece of equipment when you were tiny. But when you got a little older, that thing could be fun. We'd try to sling each other off the thing. You'd put all the force of your weight as you went down and the other guy would go flying up with hands on the grip and bottom two feet in the air. I guess I understand now why the see saw needs adult supervision.

I want you to think about giving to Caesar and giving to God as two ends of a see-saw. The center piece of the see-saw serves as a fulcrum that balances both ends. "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's." On the surface the verse sounds like there needs to be an even balance, like same-weighted riders on a see-saw who have balanced the board to where it is parallel to the ground.

But that's not what Jesus is teaching here. As I mentioned earlier, I'm afraid that many believers put more weight on the patriotism side, thereby putting that end of the see-saw down toward the ground and the "give to God" side up in the air. Our commitment to God and our commitment to country are both important but not equally important. Giving to God should always maintain a higher priority so that our commitment to Him is on the weighted side of the see-saw and commitment to country is the side that is in the air.

Give God what is due Him—your whole life. And as a part of your commitment to God, give allegiance to our country. But remember, God always comes first.