THE service at Crediton Methodist Church on Sunday, October 18 was led by Lloyd Smale.

His theme was Kingdom Values. It was our Shoebox service when shoeboxes are sent to poor countries via the charity Christian Response to Eastern Europe.

Lloyd led an activity where words/values were separated into Kingdom Values (love, mercy, compassion, humility, faithfulness) and Worldly Values (materialism, status, power, celebrity, pleasure).

The Pharisees were annoyed at Jesus’ teaching where He had called them to account. They needed to discredit Him quickly in the eyes of the people.

Herod and his supporters were not keen on Jesus either. Herod owed his position to the power of the conquering Romans. He served their interests – making him unpopular with his own people who despised the Romans. Herod did not want anyone stirring up trouble and attracting the attention of Rome.

Strangely, a common hated of Jesus joined these two groups together in an attempt to discredit Jesus. So they tried to trick Jesus by asking if it was right to give taxes to Caesar? Taxes was the contentious issue they schemed would be the topic to do this trick.

The Romans imposed three taxes:

1. Ground tax = 1/10th grain, 1/5th oil and wine paid in kind or monetary equivalent

2. Poll tax = paid by every male of 14 to 65 years @ 1 denarius (a bit more than one day’s pay)

3. Income tax @ 1% of a man’s income.

An anathema to Jewish people who abhorred paying dues to Rome and the Emperor who claimed divinity, usurping the one true God’s place in their hearts. They were a theocracy and tax paid to an earthly king was an insult to God.

So their cunning trick question ‘Is it right to pay Caesar taxes’. Say ‘yes’ and Jesus becomes discredited in the eyes of the people who looked for the Messiah to throw off the yoke of the Romans.

Say ’no’ and Jesus gives Herod grounds to act for turning the people towards rebellion against Caesar.

Jesus asked to see the coin used to pay the taxes. They showed Him a denarius. ‘Whose portrait is this and whose inscription?’ Jesus asks. ’Caesar’s’ they replied. ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s’

What Jesus did in a single sentence is to provide:

1. A statement of fact that we have two citizenships – one of the country we live in and one of the kingdom which straddles heaven and earth

2. A principle to live by in each

We are fortunate to live in the UK – a country which is constitutionally Christian. The Coronation Oath binds our constitutional monarch to ‘maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel’.

King Charles cannot do this on his own. During the same ceremony he sought God’s help. He is depending on each of the 69.5 million people to be good citizens in an ordered and just society.

So, what is our part, How do we apply the principle Jesus gives us?

The simple answer is to pay our taxes! Politics divides on how much is fair or sensible BUT there is a general consensus that in return for what the state provides, tax is due as part of a wider contribution citizens must make to society.

Part of that wider contribution laid upon us is to encourage the State to adopt Christian values, and be guided into enacting laws that reflect those Godly Values.

It is to be the conscience of the nation by understanding what God is saying through the scriptures and to articulate His word to our generation so that all find their way to godly living – all motivated by and grounded in love for God and our neighbour.

Part of that wider contribution is to be law-abiding. We need to think of being citizens of God’s Kingdom which straddles both Heaven and earth.

Here God’s values are enshrined – they do not have to be advocated for – they are His values and govern His Kingdom. They do not have to be enacted – they just ARE and are indivisible from God Himself.

He is His values and His values are Him and are reflective of His unchanging character, revealed through the stories and testimonies of the Old Testament made ever more real by Jesus.

We highlighted some of God’s values all encapsulated in LOVE which is the fulfilling of all that God requires. Kingdom Values representing the will of God .

To give God what is God’s is to attach ourselves to Divine Values, to practice them in daily lives and to aspire to them being more evident today than yesterday and more tomorrow than today.

This is akin to John Wesley’s definition of Christian Perfection ‘By perfection I mean the humble, gentle, patient love of God and our neighbour, ruling our tempers, words and actions’.

The full implementation of God’s values into every aspect of our lives – powered by love for God, for ourselves and for our neighbour – imagine such a world!

Such a giving to God what is God’s represents a primary allegiance – leaving our commitment to be good national citizens in second place. Our duty to God and to our country at times might clash – the point at which this happens is where we are convinced by the Holy Spirit, scripture and counsel of Christian ethics that what the nation requires or neglects to attend to, is contrary to God’s Kingdom values, We must take a stand – not violently but eloquently, quietly, confidently trusting in God’s promises,

Jesus took a stand for all God’s values, proclaiming ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

To proclaim freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour’.

Jesus expanded on God’s manifesto in the Beatitudes and parables and showed His giving to God what is God’s by submitting to the agony of the cross so God’s justice might be served. God’s mercy revealed and God’s love demonstrated as being available with an open invitation to all to come home.

Such costly grace compels our attention to God’s Kingdom values to obediently give to God what is His.

We will not get it right all the time BUT God’s grace is such that prayers are ringing in Heaven - such as St Paul prayed over the church in Ephesus and which echo still for us ‘I pray that out of His glorious riches our Father God may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all God’s holy people to grasp how wide, long, deep and high is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God’.

We can give God what is God’s and we can be good temporal citizens too.

Bronwyn Nott