Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and do not care what anyone thinks; for You are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it permissible to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? Are we to pay, or not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” And they brought one. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.

Have you ever heard it said, “I can see right through you”? We use this to communicate that we can see beyond a person’s actions to their intentions. The Pharisees’ and Herodians’ manipulative hearts were nothing new, even among those who have a relationship with God. We all have our own sinful motivations, whether pursuing status through good deeds or recognition by spiritual knowledge. Jesus could see through the question of the Pharisees and Herodians. He saw their hearts and He can see ours too.

Jesus’s response was to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. This is more than a quick fix answer. This response gets to the heart of our struggle: What is God’s? Giving to God what is God’s is more than just a call to tithe, it is a call to reflect on our lives and consider if we are truly giving Him our all. The Lord knows the answer to this question better than we do.  The question is if we will be honest with ourselves and surrender to Him.

• What does it mean to give to God your all?
• What are some of the things that belong to God that you struggle to surrender to Him?
• Pray and be honest with God about what belongs to Him and what you struggle to surrender.