Today's passage sets a familiar scene: the Pharisees conspiring to trap Jesus by asking him a trick question.

He responded, as his habit, by turning the question back to them. His subsequent comment, though, is the best-known verse in the passage: "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar." Taken out of context, this pronouncement of Jesus is often cited in debates over relationship of church and state.

At the heart of the passage, however, lies the truth that ultimately our allegiance belongs to God.

As I have said, the Pharisees were once again plotting against Jesus. They had a question for him. They were trying to trap him into saying something that would discredit him.

They wanted to silence him and make him look bad in front of the crowd. Being the hypocrites that they were they baited their trap with a compliment. "Teacher, we know that you are sincere," one of them said, "and teach the way of God in accordance with truth."

Say, what? They didn't believe that for a minute, but they wanted the people listening to think they were giving Jesus a fair chance.

Then they asked him a loaded question. "Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?"

Uh-oh. If Jesus says it is all right to pay taxes to the Roman government, then he will lose face with the majority of his audience. For the pious Jews it was offensive to pay taxes to the hated Romans. Paying taxes was like saying they are supporting this detestable occupation.

On the other hand, if Jesus says it's wrong to pay taxes, then he will be in trouble with the Romans. He will be siding with the revolutionaries who want to overthrow the Roman government. It's a no-win situation.

Jesus knew the Pharisees were trying to trap him. Fortunately he was wiser than they. He asks, "Show me the coin used for tax." Jesus is using a subtle strategy here.

One of the Pharisees produces a Roman coin from his pocket. Little did the Pharisee realize that in even possessing a Roman coin he already was well on his way to losing the argument.

The Jewish people found the inscription on the Roman coins offensive, "Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, Pontifex Maximus." To the pious Jews the inscription on the Roman coin was a deliberate break with the ten commandments which prohibits "graven images."

For these and other reasons the Jewish people did not use Roman coins. They had their own temple currency. In producing a Roman coin the Pharisee showed which side he was really on.

And that is true for us as well. The use of our money shows which side we are really on. "Where's a person's treasure is, there is his heart also."

If someone wanted to know what you and I truly value in this world, all they would have to do would be to look at our checkbook and our calendars. Where we spend our money and our time is what we really are about.

Many people value their cars more than they do God. Many people value their leisure time more than they do God. There are those of us who value jewelry and ornament more than we value God.

As a pastor greeted persons at the door following a stewardship sermon in which he discussed pledging, a disgruntled member asked accusingly, "Where in the Bible do you find anything about pledging?"

Like many of us this man was uncomfortable being challenged to pledge to his church.

Instead of being defensive about his sermon the pastor answered good-naturedly, "That's a good question. Let's get together over lunch and talk about it this week." The gentleman agreed; a time and place were set.

Later that week the two of them did get together for lunch. After they had ordered, the pastor brought up the subject. "You know, your question was a good one."

The pastor said the question forced him to do some thinking. "The Bible is full of references to pledging," he told the reluctant church member. But the church member remained unconvinced. "Come on now, Pastor," he said. He knew that sometimes pastors have a way of exaggerating."

The pastor told him that he looked up the word "pledge," in a Bible dictionary. He had written down some of the words he found there that pertain to pledging: "Commit, promise, devote, covenant, vow"-very familiar biblical words. That made the man think more about stewardship.

His pastor explained, "Christian stewardship is merely a reflection of our spiritual commitment to Christ. Stewardship is first of all our response to God."

The man's attitude about pledging changed as result of their lunch together.

How we use our money shows which side we are really on. Jesus exposed the Pharisees as hypocrites. They said one thing, but their lives said the opposite.

Jesus takes the coin and asks, "Whose head is this, and whose title?"

Without a moments thought the Pharisee answer, "The emperor's." Quietly Jesus says, "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's and to God the things that are God's."

When an emperor came to power he would immediately have coins minted with his name and portrait on it. That would signify that the coins belonged to him.

In his answer Jesus said that since the coins already belong to the emperor give them back to him. Give back to the emperor what belongs to the emperor and give to God what belongs to God.

Jesus wanted the Pharisees to consider what was really important-their allegiance to God.

The same is true for us today. We get caught up in all kinds of activities, but we need to continually ask ourselves "what is most important in my life? What do I really care about?"

When we answer those two questions, it will show in our stewardship of all life-including our material possessions.

The late Danny Thomas lost his life savings of $600.00 at a time when he was out of work. He and his wife, Rosie, had a baby on the way, and they needed money.

Danny worked at part-time jobs so Rosie could buy groceries. He also borrowed money from friends. It was a tough time in his life.

A week before the baby was born, Danny had the grand total of seven dollars and eighty-five cents to his name. What would he do?

"My despair led me to my first exposure to the powers of faith." Danny would later recall.

On Sunday morning Danny went to church. When the offering plate was passed he put his usual one dollar. But something unexpected happened that day. A special mission offering was taken. The minister explained where the mission offering would go, and Danny felt he had to give something.

"I got carried away," Danny said, "and ended up giving my seven dollars."

He had given away all his money that Sunday. What in the world had he done? He walked up to the altar rail, got on his knees and prayed aloud, "Look, I've given my last seven bucks," he prayed. "I need it back tenfold because I've got a kid on the way, and I have to pay the hospital bill."

He went home with a mere eighty-five cents in his pocket-all the money he had in the world.

"You won't believe this," Danny Thomas later wrote, "but the next morning the phone rang." It was a job offer. He was offered a job. It wasn't much but the pay was good-seventy-five dollars.

"I literally dropped the telephone receiver," Danny remembered. "First I whooped with joy; then a strange feeling came over me."

He remembered what he had prayed at church the day before. "The seventy-five dollar pay," he said, "unheard of for me at that time was almost exactly ten times the amount I gave to the church."

The important truth about the story is not that Danny Thomas received ten-fold return on his money. He might have done just as well at the racetrack. The important thing was Danny Thomas' life-long allegiance to God.

Those who know his story know that St Jude's Hospital for Children stands today as a silent testimony to that allegiance.

Often when God asks us, "What will you give?" we take the bit than we can spare, the part we can easily give and offer it to God.

The question is one of total allegiance. How committed are you to God? But there's one thing more we need to see. There is also joy in giving.

When I was a youngster in the Philippines I was strucked by this commercial on television of a poor boy who was walking down the streets of Manila. As the stop light became red he approached a car. At the back of the vehicle was another boy who was given a new pair of shoes by his folks. The poor lad can only look at this new pair that of shoes that his counterpart had. Noticing that the poor boy didn't have any footwear he opened his window and gave up his new pair of shoes. The only consolation that the rich boy got was the smile that came out of his poor counterparts face; and the joy that that act brought.

When I was in high school I experienced a similar kind of situation. Our church was involved in a district sports fest. I was part of the basketball team. One of my teammates did not have any shoe to wear for the event. It just so happen that my mom arrived from the United States. As you can expect she got me a lot of stuff including a nice pair of basketball shoes. I can remember God's voice urging me if I could let my friend borrow my new pair of shoes. At first I was not willing to do so since that was my first imported shoes in a long time. Why do I have to give it up? Why can't I be the first one to wear it?

"If you did it to the last of these you have done it to me." So I lost the battle of the shoes. But I gained the joy of a lifetime as I saw that smile and appreciation from my friend.

Jesus said, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that the emperor's and to God the things that are God's." It is a matter of declaring which side you are on. It's a matter of allegiance. But it is also a matter of joy. Amen