Money, Money, Money
You have undoubtedly heard the statement: Money makes the world go round. The origin of this phrase is up for debate. Still, it was popularized in modern times by the musical Cabaret starring Liza Minnelli. The statement implies that everything done in the world involves money. Without money's existence and influence, the world would stop and fall apart. The idea's validity discourages any argument to the contrary. However, I will suggest an addendum to the statement. Money does make the world go round, and the love of it makes the world a *#@% hole.
Inherent in the saying is the truth that the world system is entirely propped up by money. Everything that the world is and does is anchored in money. So, as money makes the world go round, it entices people's adoration and, therefore, sponsors and encourages the corrupt institutions and practices for which our world system is so well known. The rich and poor dichotomy, slavery, governmental corruption, the raping of natural resources, genocide, war, sex trafficking, racism, religion, and the potentially endless list goes on.
To be fair to money, we need to recognize that cash, in and of itself, is powerless. The way humans animate money makes it so powerful and, unfortunately, destructive. As Paul tells his prodigy, Timothy, "The love of money is the root of all evil." The apostle was spot on; his statement is an excellent qualifier for the idea that money makes the world go round. As money spins the world, our desire and worship of it smear the world system with corruption that rots the world to its core.
The power to break the influence of money is in understanding to Whom you belong.
If money is so bad, why does it exist? Why do we use it? We can thank civilization for the existence of money. In ancient times, as people moved away from the hunter-gatherer living model, humans began to settle and form communities. These communities were more agrarian, and bartering became frequently used among people groups. At that time, barter involved products and services instead of a monetary structure. As commerce formalized, it was recognized that trading chickens for cabbage was inefficient. This realization gave rise to applied value currency systems backed by the rich and, ultimately, the government. This transition created the opportunity for significant wealth accumulation that was unavailable under the old barter system. Money also made commerce more efficient, so people could do more and expand the ways to get compensation. The system of the world was able to grow more rapidly and was also more vulnerable to being corrupted.
Once again, there is nothing wrong with money. There is nothing wrong with doing commerce via currency. However, the danger of corruption is inherent in the use of money. A pig is a pig; if you trade with it, the value is easily determined. When you trade for a pig, you have a pig. That pig serves a purpose and will exist as a pig. However, a dollar bill does not have a value beyond what the market gives. When you trade for a dollar, you receive a piece of cotton paper (or something like that). The dollar's purpose is only to be traded. It cannot be cut into the most delicious breakfast food in the history of the world, bacon! You cannot eat a dollar. It would make a tiny fire if burned. It has no worth except the value attributed to it by the world's system. Therein lies the potential for corruption. When humans love money, they will do evil things to get it. Governments may print a bunch of dollars, which devalues the dollar and, consequently, inflates the cost people must pay for essential needs. They may also say the paper dollar is useless and you must use digital dollars. Governments can influence and manipulate people's behavior based on the dollars in their bank accounts. It is much harder to do that with a pig!
This brings us to our scripture and Jesus. Our Lord understood the fact that money makes the world go round. How do we know? Chapter 22 of Matthew's Gospel tells us. This chapter of Matthew gives an account of some Pharisees who tried to "entangle" Jesus in his words. They were trying to trap the Messiah in controversy to have him dispatched. So these religious leaders sent a group of Pharisees to Jesus, and they brought along some "Herodians." The presence of the Herodians is of interest for reasons that will be discussed later. These intended entrappers begin with flattering words for Jesus. They say He teaches "the way of God truthfully." They follow up the flattery with a question, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
As always, the Son of God recognized the "malice" in the hearts of the Pharisees and called them "hypocrites." Jesus asked them to show Him "the coin for paying taxes." That is an interesting way to phrase the request. Jesus did not say, "Show me a coin," or even "Show me a denarius," which is precisely what the Pharisees showed Him. Jesus wanted to see what humans used to pay for the system of the world which they built. The Son of God asked the Pharisees to show Him what makes their world go round. The denarius shown to Jesus was a Roman coin valued at approximately a day's wages. Then the Messiah asked, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" In other words, what ruler's head and name were stamped on the coin. They replied it was Caesar's, so Jesus told them to "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's." That's pretty straightforward.
If it has a man's face on it and the man's name, it belongs to him. Give it to him. But since our Lord is of unchartered depth, it goes deeper. Jesus finishes the answer to these snakes by saying, "And to God [render] the things that are God's." Matthew reports that the Pharisees "marveled" and "walked away." Punked once again. But let's not simply walk away from this encounter without understanding what Jesus was saying to us. The Pharisees and Herodians received Jesus' answer as a lost opportunity to entrap this heretic. The Herodians wanted Jesus to offend the Roman emperor so that they could use their political influence to have Rome act against this rabbi's ascent in popularity. But, alas, the Son of God was again wise to their tricks.
But, rather than only focusing on these punked entrappers' response, let's see what Jesus was saying to us and every believer that lives out this human existence. The world is something with which we contend daily. It is tough to battle, and it can quickly grasp our attention and move us away from God. There are many weapons the world employs to lead believers astray. Money is definitely among the most powerful and the most prolifically used. What coin was shown to Jesus? The coin to pay taxes, a coin that represented a day's wage. Every single day of our lives, we face battles with the world involving money. It might be fear of losing money. It might be jealousy over not having as much money as another person. It might be cheating, stealing, or even killing to get money. Daily, we put on gloves and go around the ring with a money-clad world intent on taking our eyes off our loving Heavenly Father.
How did Jesus handle such temptation? How did our Lord defeat the world in the money game? He knew that money belonged to the world. But Jesus knew that He belonged to God. The coin shown to the Messiah had the likeness and name of the ruler of the world inscribed on it. But Jesus had God's likeness imprinted on His heart and the seal of the Name above all Names. Christian, the same is true of us. Believing in Jesus Christ, the Savior of all who believe, seals us with the Spirit of God. This seal is both a likeness and an inscription. The likeness is that of the Son of Glory, the Perfect and Righteous Lamb of God, and the inscription is the Word of God. The seal of the Holy Spirit indicates to Whom you belong and to Whom you should be given. You belong to God Almighty, and the world cannot possess you.
Believer, you overcome the world and the money it uses to make itself go around by remembering to Whom you belong. Give the world what belongs to the world. Give yourself to God Almighty.