Nation-building 11: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's"

The eleventh in a series of reflections on citizenship and governance from a Biblical perspective by Rev. David Johnson Rowe of Greenfield Hill Church, Fairfield CT. Recorded on January 28, 2026.

Transcript

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Hi, I'm David Rowe. My wife and I serve as pastors of the Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield, Connecticut. While I'm writing this particular podcast script, it's six degrees outside, the thirteenth hour of a white out snowstorm, the old fashioned rip roaring kind. My fingers still haven't thought out from feeding our outdoor feral cats. A convenient excuse for not being able to write this eleventh episode of my podcast series on citizenship, leadership, and governance from a biblical and faith perspective. But that wouldn't explain the six week delay between the tenth and eleventh episode. Writer's block, holiday hangover from too much joy between Christmas and New Year's, or uncertainty about the topic. Sad to say, I actually started writing this episode first eight months ago. It seemed obvious. When questioned about paying taxes, especially about the legitimacy of supporting an oppressive, malignant government, Jesus uttered one of his most famous statements render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's. That's from Matthew chapter twenty two, verse twenty one. It's short, pithy, obviously memorable, and clear as mud. Christians have spent two thousand years debating what is rightfully Caesar's and what is reserved for God. And by extension, it's fair to ask what is Caesar's as opposed to what is ours, mine, yours, and not subject to being taken by Caesar. Now everybody agrees that Caesar is a stand in for Donald Trump right now, the Joe Biden administration before him, and whomever comes next. Caesar is anybody in charge, no matter how they got there, or if they're good or bad, liked or disliked. Caesar is a stand in for any government that has sway over us. We should render, give to, fund whatever government we are party to as a citizen, whatever we rightfully owe them. Now, didn't I state that delicately with just enough wiggle room to be patriotic enough for today and rebellious enough for 1776? Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's. The question about whether to pay taxes was asked of Jews to trip him up. If he says yes, pay taxes, he'll be unpopular with the people who want Roman military presence out of Jerusalem and out of Israel. In other words, let's defund all those heavily armed intruders who stand in every street corner harassing decent citizens, frightening everybody. But if Jesus says no, don't pay taxes, join the protest, that will infuriate the Roman authorities, threaten the stability of whatever is left of Israel's autonomy, and would certainly lead to Jesus' arrest for sure, if not worse. So Jesus' answer is nuanced. The government has a right to some things, but not other things, he says. The taxes are a stand in for what degree of participation we owe any administration over us. Every organized anything has an administration. Sports, scouts, schools, clubs. What do we owe this or that administration? Every nation has governing authorities. What do we owe our governing authority? In other words, what do we owe America? And what is within our rights to withhold from America that is properly reserved for God? By the late 60s there was a strong anti-Vietnam war sentiment. Among the various levels of protest and resistance was the movement to withhold taxes from the government, because the government used the taxes to fund the war. So some people stopped paying taxes. Well, you can guess the problem. Others asked the tax resistors, are you going to stop using the roads, drinking the water, sending your kids to public school, using the sewer system and the fire department? All of that is funded by the taxes you're now withholding. Well, then some folks did the math. They researched how much of the federal budget went to the war, divided it by the 300 million people at the time who were part of America to guesstimate their portion and withhold that amount. Well, with Pandora's box open, can a citizen pay their water tax but not property tax? Can you help fund the fire department but not the police? Could you help pay for the war but not welfare for the poor? Can you designate your taxes to benefit poor children but not poor adults? Such debate is endless, but triggered by Jesus' tax answer, leaving us to ponder what of us can the nation require, and what is reserved for God? America provides its own significant answer in our Declaration of Independence, emphasizing our unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Anything that infringes on those three is out of order, whether initiated by the state or individual actors. My life, my liberty, my pursuit of happiness are my rights. America does not give them to me, nor can America take them from me. Short of criminal behavior on my part, during which I take away someone else's life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness, short of that, my rights are my rights. Yours are yours. When we render unto our Caesars, we are not giving any form of a representative of the government the right to infringe on our rights. A wiser mind than mine warned that your freedom ends at the tip of my nose. In line with the overarching theme of these podcasts, citizenship, leadership, and governance, good leadership is determining what can be demanded of us. Good citizenship is determining what we will proudly surrender and what no one can ask of us. And good governance is peacefully traversing that landscape, keeping both authoritarianism and rebellion off the menu. We start to see some common ground, I think. If we use what the government provides, then we owe the government a level of support equal to what we use. But no government has any right to take what is uniquely ours, as represented by life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Does the government want my body, maybe even my life to fight a war? Fine. Convince me. The government has all sorts of power of persuasion to marshal forces needed to fight. Uncle Sam, impressive flyovers, war bonds, media, propaganda, heart wrenching stories and photos from the bad places run by bad people whom we need to stop. During America's war history, our government Caesars have done a fairly convincing job most of the time, and mostly we won. When they weren't convincing, we paid the price. Immigration is a hot button case in point, ripped from the headlines, as we used to say. Even the dedicated pro-immigrant defenders agree that our southern border has been a mess for decades, providing ample fuel for today's incendiary debates. But the overreach is sending shockwaves across America. Last Saturday night I watched conflict brewing on the streets of a major city. An increased military presence met an animated response by the public. A woman gets caught in the turmoil, a man rushes to the rescue, shots ring out, and a citizen bleeds to death on the street. Minneapolis 2026? No. That was a Spanish language film, a true story, set in 1973 in Santiago, Chile. Pinochet's dictatorship was taking over the country, unleashing targeted violence that led to blood in the streets, massive disappearances, and the near death of democracy. I felt like I was in an alternate parallel universe watching a 2004 Spanish language film set in 1973 Chile mirroring the lead news story that I'd just been following on three cable TV networks about events in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis killing of an ICU nurse from a veterans hospital follows a familiar script. U.S. citizen is killed. Government spokesperson assures us of the great evil being planned by that dead person. Multiple videos from multiple angles and multiple sources force citizens to choose between what our eyes are seeing versus what our ears are being told. At this exact moment, what do we render unto Caesar? What do we willingly give up to Caesar? And what do we refuse to surrender? When Caesar says the sky is blue and all is sunshine and I'm standing outdoors in the pouring rain, what is my patriotic response? Is it my country right or wrong? The classic nineteen sixties shut the door on all debate slogan? Or is it the classic hymn we often sing Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me? Open my eyes, illumine me, spirit divine. With the recent killings of both Renee Good and Alex Pretti at anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, I've had to look hard and think hard about where Caesar's interests and God interests stand and where I stand. For the most part, I've written this podcast series from the perspective of the long haul, the long view, not tied to any particular administration or leader or era. I believe that the guidance of the scriptures I've used are universal, and the points that I've made are applicable to the here and now and to the there and then. I'm keenly interested in good citizenship, good leadership, and good governance in my Connecticut town, on the boards I've served on and charities I've worked at, the sports leagues I've coached in, the countries that I've visited, the states that I once lived in, the companies that I like to do business with, as well as my own beloved America. Admittedly, certain events give us clearer perspective. I bring this hot off the press's current issue to the debate because this is precisely the toughest kind of place to determine what we render unto whom. Our government, our modern day Caesars, they tell us this and that. To complicate matters, our patriotism gets measured by our response to this and that. And not surprisingly, both sides do the measuring. I'd rather we all did more thinking and praying, more evaluating and analyzing, more digging into matters rather than measuring someone else's patriotism. When I have rendered unto Caesar, I'm a patriot. And when I keep Caesar from overreaching into God's territory or mine, I'm a patriot. Helping a government do what they should do, and helping to keep the government from doing what they should not do, both are patriotic. As an icebreaker at our midwinter retreat, I asked a group of men to name their top two moments in American history. I was surprised at the tenor of their choices. Most were moments of great tragedy and enormous loss. People mentioned Pearl Harbor, 9 11, the Civil War, D-Day, the assassinations of Jack and Bobby Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Now with that tenor of choices established, I went down the same rabbit hole, adding more moments of impactful tragedy, like the Kent State killings of college students, or the killing of little school kids in a nearby Sandy Hook, Newtown, Connecticut school. Among all the evil and goodness, some make the case for Caesar's priorities very clear. And some make the case for God very clear. And some of us can't help but hear Jesus warning to render carefully. Is it too trite for me to say that render is two thirds of the words sir render? Maybe that makes this episode starker. What are you willing to surrender? And to whom? To what entity? And what does no one, no entity, have a right to demand that you surrender? Sticking with current events, Minneapolis edition, both killings began with hyperbolic news reports. But when the smoke cleared, videos appeared, witnesses weighed in, partisanship set aside, we're left with two uncomplicated stories. Renee Good seemed determined to use her vehicle to obstruct ICE from doing their work. Attempting to flee, she grazed an ICE agent. Does that require deserve and okay three fatal bullets? Alex Pretti seemed determined to video ICE actions, and then went to protect a woman being manhandled. After being chemically sprayed, he's gang tackled to the ground. His holstered, legally permitted gun is taken away from him. Does that deserve require an okay nine fatal bullets? Are we a safer country after both killings? Are we more a nation of laws now? Are we better served by the taxes we rendered unto Caesar with this usage? How responsible am I for what is going on? If it is time to balance Caesar rendering with God rendering, what form would that take? Our choice is to choose the kind of nation we desire to be, the kind of government we want to guide the nation, and the kind of leaders who will follow the guidance and deliver what we desire. Guide me, O thou great Jehovah. Pilgrim through this barren land. I am weak, but thou art mighty. Hold me with thy powerful hand. But we need to be real picky, whose hand holds the might and power. As always, I treasure your thoughts, questions, and pushback. Again, I'm David Rowe, and I can be reached at Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield, Connecticut.