Jose Pena Mr.

Bates May 2nd, 12 History 111A Final

The Christian dilemma

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells the people Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperors, and to God the things that are Gods. I believe this statement can be interpreted in many ways, and I believe that it was extremely hard for a Christian to follow this quote of God, especially at the time they lived in. One of the more obvious meanings that can be taken from this quote is that you must give material things to your emperor, but not give him anything you would give God. The things that God is most concerned about are love and loyalty towards him, and those are also the things that should not be given to the emperor. This also means that material things of offerings should not be mistaken as signs of love towards God since the only way to truly love God Is to know inside yourself that you do. A lot of wealthy people would give offerings to God to simply show people that they were Christian. This was a big problem since you could never really tell who was a true Christian. A significant quote from the Gospel of Matthew asks the people what is better Having material things, or having the thing (God) in which they

come from. Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. (Gospel of Matthew 23:18). This quote also shows what I had stated above, which is the person with true faith will get to enjoy themselves in the kingdom of heaven. Although the quote that Jesus made about giving material possessions makes sense, another quote from the Gospel of Matthew somewhat tells how this is a bad thing -Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you. (Matthew 7:6). Although this can also be interpreted in many ways, I took it as if you give material things to the emperor, he still reigns over you, and you are simply another citizen in his eyes. Another interpretation of the quote Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperors, and to God the things that are Gods. is that God is saying that although we think we own our possessions, he ultimately owns everything on Earth. God is only looking out for us, and material possessions do not concern him, and should not concern his followers. God wants man to stray from become obsessed with material objects, and concentrate on loyalty to him. Keep the material possessions to the ones who only hunger for wealth. With everything that has been stated so far, it is apparent that the Christians would have had a rough time trying to balance God and loyalty to the emperor. The

dilemma Christians faced put them in a very tough spot. In Exodus, there is an outstanding quote that highlights one of the reasons why it was hard for Christians

For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). Christians were being in two directions God telling them to only worship him, and the emperor making it unlawful to be against him. Christian societies had an extremely tough time following the advice of God, because it could simply not be done. I feel that Christians could not please anyone with their actions, because the emperor might like his people to show him love and loyalty, but God is opposed to that. To balance God and loyalty to their kingdom was a daunting task, and even nearly impossible, but Christians had to make it work no matter what things that they had to resort to.