Render to Caesar

A beautiful illustration from the Lord Jesus Christ reminded me of an occasion when I had to speak to a group of Eastern Cape farmers many years ago. The scripture verse is:

And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

Mark 12:17 (NKJV)

I accepted an invitation to be part of a panel discussion with a few others. I want to be honest: I do not like panels because people shoot questions at you, and I don't feel comfortable - especially with a large group of farmers! Anyway, there were a lot of farmers there, and the place was quite tense. One of the men stood up and said, I want to ask you a question, Angus, pointing at me. 
He said: "Is it lawful to pay your taxes to a government that is not doing its job correctly?"

I had to think about it and said: "Do you have a Ten Rand note on you?” He said, yes. "Can you bring it here, please?" I said. "Whose name is on that note?" The South African government, he replied. 
Then, of course, I quoted the Lord Jesus Christ. I said, "Well, we must render to the government what is the government's, and render to God what is God's.”

Needless to say, after that, there was no more talking.

Jesus bless you

Angus and Jill Buchan