Give to Caesar What Belongs to Caesar
Why the Church looks more like a political party than a people shaped by Jesus
3 min read
Lately, I’ve had this unsettled feeling when I think about the Church in America. It’s hard to explain, but it feels like we’ve started becoming something other than a Church. Like we’ve moved from being a people following Jesus to being a people following a political agenda and calling it faith.
I don’t mean all churches or all people. But it’s hard to ignore the way Christian culture has increasingly aligned itself with political power. The way some churches have become more known for who they vote for than how they love their neighbor. The tone has shifted. There’s more anger. More fear. More pressure to pick a side. I feel it too.
But when I look at Jesus, I don’t see a guy going around town lobbying to take down the local Roman-controlled outpost. Even back then, people wanted Him to step into the political fight. They wanted Him to lead a rebellion, to take on Rome, conquer the empire, Jesus!
But He didn’t.
In fact, He actually said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). He didn’t rally a movement to take back the empire. He fed people. He healed the sick. He welcomed outcasts. He sat with sinners. He washed people's feet.
He loved people. And not just the ones who followed Him, but the ones who mocked Him too.
That kind of love is harder to find right now.
We’ve gotten good at defending truth, but not always good at doing it in love. We know how to draw battle lines, but not always how to sit at the table with someone who disagrees with us. We talk a lot about boldness, but sometimes forget that gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit too.
Fear has a way of twisting our witness. It convinces us that we have to fight to protect what’s ours. That if we don’t speak up, we’ll lose everything. That being faithful means being forceful. But Jesus never seemed interested in controlling people. He was interested in freeing them.
I don’t have a clean answer for where all this is headed. But I keep coming back to the way Jesus moved through the world. He didn’t ignore truth. He didn’t water it down. But He led with compassion, not control.
He didn’t come to take sides. He came to transform hearts.
And if the Church loses that, I’m not sure what we’re left with.