Pay to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.
What does it look like to be a good citizen where you live? When we start to think about some of the things a good citizen does, many of those actions feel small compared to the problems in our world today. Sometimes it feels easier to sit on the sidelines and make our own determination of how we will live, but Paul’s words in this verse call us to something different than what might feel natural to us.
Each of these statements are actions, a beckoning to contribute to, respect, and honor those in leadership. Doing these things is hard work when we don’t agree or when we feel like the situation is hopeless. However, Paul’s call to action is not meant to bring recognition to us or anyone in power; his call is to glorify God wherever we are. As we contribute to our community through paying what is due and honoring those in authority, we show that we trust God with even if what’s happening around us doesn’t make sense.
You are a citizen, not a bystander, in your community. You have an active role to play. It may seem small, but your contribution matters from the ways you post on social media to how you speak to your friends or pay your property tax. Wherever you find yourself today, you can glorify God in the way you honor and serve your community. We can trust God to equip us to be active citizens wherever we are as we follow Him.
- How have you contributed to your community? What makes it difficult to contribute to your community? How does knowing this honors God shape your view of what it means to be a citizen?
- What does it look like to be a good, contributing, citizen in your neighborhood, town, and country?
- Pray and ask God to guide you as you live as a contributing citizen in your community.
