Taxes

Around this time each year, I begin the task of putting together my tax return. As the various tax documents trickle in, I stuff them into a folder until I have an unexpected day off work or I decide that I'd rather work on my tax return than clean my house. (Even doing taxes ranks above cleaning my house.)

It never fails that when I work on my taxes I always think about the question that the Pharisees asked Jesus: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

Matthew 22:21b And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." 

I've read the verse, quoted the verse and often don't finish the verse. I get the taxes part, no problem there. But what about the end of the verse? "Render to God the things that are God's." I've often substituted the word 'pay' for 'render', but what am I paying to God?

I looked up the word render and found another definition that makes more sense to me. Render - give in acknowledgment of dependence. So here's my rephrasing of the second part of the verse.

In acknowledgment of dependence on God, give to God the things that are God's. We give to God our time and abilities because we want to say thank you to God for allowing us to depend on Him.