Do What You "Must"

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Hero′di-ans, to entrap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a coin, and let me look at it.” And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at him.

Mark 12:13-17

The world is an inconvenient place.

There are things that I want to do, and which I enjoy doing. Then there are things that I must do, and which I often do not enjoy doing.

I enjoy research. I enjoy writing.

I do not enjoy having to pay my rent or any of my other bills.

Yet if I do not take care that I have the money to pay my rent and my bills, I do not get to do any research, let alone any writing.

The world is often not a very fun place.

I do not want to devote even a second to any of the mundane tasks that go into keeping a roof over my head and food on the table. I want to spend all of that time pursuing my writing, researching new things, mastering new skills.

Nor am I alone in these wants. Many people, perhaps even most people, will say the same things about their lives.

Who among us does not have things that they wish they could be doing, but cannot because first there are things they must do?

Who among us does not approach the drudgery of what we “must” do with dread, while wishing we were free to do what we “want” to do?

I do not consider myself to be a lazy person by any means, yet I do not want to “work”. If something is a “job” it immediately is less interesting to me.

If I can think of a task as something other than a “job” it often becomes considerably more interesting. Even if the task is not complicated, if I can do it for reasons other than “work”, it will be more enjoyable.

If I do things because I “must” do them, I rarely have good thoughts about those things. Only when I do things because I “want” to do them am I going to have any good thoughts about them.

I want to do things. I want to be active. I want to keep my brain and even my body engaged.

I just do not want to do anything merely because I “must”.

Yet a great many things I do because I “must”—such as all those annoying things I must do in order to pay my rent and my other bills!

The world can be a frustrating place!

Yet this is the world that is around us. This is the world of which we are a part.

This is how life—at least my life—unfolds: I must first be about those things which I “must” do, and only when those are done can I do those things which I “want” to do.

This is not how I wish the world to be. This is how the world is, and I cannot change it.

Yet the body needs food. The body needs a safe place in which to rest, and clothes to protect it from the elements.

I may not want to “work”, but I definitely want to “eat”, and I vastly prefer having a safe space to “sleep” over the alternative.

I might not enjoy doing those things which I “must” do, but I definitely enjoy their outcomes—food and a bed in my own place!

Perhaps that makes the things which I “must” do not quite so bad.

When I am fed, when I am rested, I am then free to do those things which I “want” to do. I am free to write. I am free to research. I am free to master new skills.

When I do what I must, I am set free to do what I want.

I might not enjoy doing those things which I must do, but I do enjoy the freedom which I gain by having done them. That is no small gain.

The world can be a satisfying place.

The world is inconvenient. The world is not fun. The world is frustrating. The world is satisfying. Surely it is a paradox for the world to be all these at once, and yet it is.

But is this not the way of the world? We must attend to the burdens of this world in order that we may be free to celebrate the joys of this world. We must render to Caesar all that is Caesar’s in order that we may be free to render to God all that is God’s.

Does that elevate Caesar above God? It can. If we focus on rendering to Caesar to the point that we neglect to render to God, we certainly are guilty of exactly that.

We must render to Caesar only that which is Caesar’s, and not render to Caesar anything that is God’s.

If I spend too much time on those things which I “must” do, I deprive myself of time for those things which I “want” to do. If I worry too much about accumulating money for rent and paying bills, I deprive myself of time for writing, and researching, and mastering new skills.

If I focus too much on rendering to Caesar, I fail to render to God.

The challenge is to attend to those things which I “must” do only to the extent necessary to get them done, and then to move on. The challenge is to not devote one moment of effort more on those things which I “must” do than what is needed to get those things done. That makes the challenge also never losing sight of why I do what I “must” do—so that I can be free to do what I “want” to do.

We must render to Caesar only that which is Caesar’s, and not render to Caesar anything that is God’s.

I must attend to those things I “must” do in order to be free to attend to those things I “want” to do. I must render to Caesar in order to be free to render to God.

But those things which I “must” do are never an end unto themselves. Caesar is never an end unto himself.

Whether it is paying rent, paying bills, or paying taxes, these things are never anything but a means. Caesar can never be anything but a means.

Those things which I want to do are always the ultimate end for everything that I do. God, and a closer communion with God, necessarily must be the reason for all that I do.

My prayer is always that I can keep my focus on my real destination. My prayer is always that I will maintain that perspective, and that I will devote to the things which I “must” do only that effort necessary. My prayer is always that I will render to Caesar only that which is Caesar’s, not anything which is God’s.

My prayer for you is that you also will remain focused on what is your real destination. My prayer for you is that you also will maintain that perspective, and that you will only devote to the things you “must” do only that effort which is necessary. My prayer for your is that you also will render to Caesar only that which is Caesar’s, and not anything which is God’s.

In this world, we invariably need to attend to those things which we must do. We must take care of the burdens and the challenges of this world.

We invariably need to render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s.

When we do, we must be careful to render to Caesar only that which is Caesar’s, and not render to Caesar anything that is God’s.