People were always trying to trap Jesus with tricky questions. Some asked him if it were permissible to pay taxes to Caesar, the Roman emperor.

If he said yes, he was a traitor to his people. If he refused, he was a rebel against Rome. Definitely a no-win situation!

But Jesus was wiser than all of them: he asked whose image was on the coin, and they replied, 'Caesar.' Fine - then give to Caesar what belongs to him and to God what belongs to God.

But as the people of Israel knew, everything belonged to God. Wealth and proerty were on loan to people, and in the end, all would be restored to God.

The answer seemed to satisfy both sides, but it highlights a difficulty that we have. Sometimes it is difficult to sort out what is Caesar's and what belongs to God. It is easy to allow our faith to become mixed with partisan politics, power, money, and privilege.

None of these things will be worth anything when we pass from this world, only the love we have shown others and to God. God should always be our first love.