CAESAR'S DUE - Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Matthew 22:15-22
Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.
Matthew 22:21

Remember the words of Jesus when He said, “give unto Caesar the things that belong to Caesar and unto God the things that are God’s. Every father, no matter who he is, is due the honour commanded by God for him. God does not lose anything when Caesar receives the taxes that belong to him. That is why Jesus said that people should go ahead and give Caesar his taxes.

God’s kingdom does not lose anything when fathers receive the honour that belong to them. The morals, the holiness and the righteousness of the kingdom of God will not be compromised when a father is honoured. Many people are “over righteous”, self righteous and judgmental when it comes to the sins of their fathers. They use the errors, the flaws and the obvious sins of their fathers as excuses to withhold the honour that is due them.

Like Pharisees, they see the commandments of God as mutually exclusive. In other words, you cannot maintain the moral standards and at the same time give honour to a father if he has committed any such sins.

If it were the case that only perfect fathers were to be honoured, then there would be no need of the fifth commandment, “Honour thy father…” (Exodus 20:12) because there is no perfect father on this earth!