Almighty ever-living God
grant that we may always conform our will to Yours
and serve Your majesty in sincerity of heart.
In making this prayer tangible the following reflection questions emerged:
1.What is my will?
2. What do I understand God's will for me?
3. What areas of my life conform to God's will and which areas do not yet conform?
4. Why do these areas do not yet conform to God's will?
5. What changes could I make to ensure that these non confirming areas move towards conforming to God will?
6. How will I serve God in sincerity of heart this week?
The gospel reminds us today that we are not only heirs to the kingdom but we are citizens of God on earth. In that regard, we must behave accordingly and ''give to Caeasar the things that belong to Caesar and those that belong to God''.
So what does this gospel mean for me then? We belong to God in body, mind and spirit- we need to put Him first in our lives in every way. The catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that our purpose in life is to know love and serve God in this life and be happy with Him for ever in Heaven. How are you doing with this purpose in your life? I know I am struggling in my life right now.
It follows then that if we belong to God and are wholeheartedly knowing, loving and serving Him in in sincerity of heart that we would do all that is right and just towards the world we share. Many people justify cheating on their tax- they feel they are being put upon and being treated unfairly and so, take the next step of dishonesty to ''balance the scales'' in their favour. However, they are not only being dishonest financially but dishonest to the society in which they live and more importantly, dishonest in the sight of God.
This does not only apply to financial matters but to time as well. Time wasting at work is another way of being dishonest and not giving to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. I am not talking about here where people are expected to work long hours and given insufficient breaks as if they are a machine- the so called human resources which takes the humanity out of the workforce.
If you are an employer and do not give your employees genuine breaks, then you are treating your employees unjustly and are not serving God. For example an half hour for lunch is disgraceful when the employee often has to spend 5 minutes each way to get to/from lunch room- they may have 15 minutes to hurry down food causing digestion problems, more stress and not building any collegiality amongst staff. It does not give them enough rest to renew themselves before they begin again. It is short sighted as well as staff will find other ways when they feel put upon to get the time they need to work effectively. So then the employee becomes dishonest in time by necessity ( still wrong) and cycle of dishonesty of time is rife in no time.
Then there are issues of wages and contracts. It is unjust to treat someone as a casual when in fact they are working a regular shift for years. Are you as an employer being just to your staff- are you being just in the sight of God to your staff? Do you treat your staff as people not machines? Is money your god not God Himself?
There are so many ways that we as employers and employees can give to Caesar the things that are Caesar and the things that belong to God.
We may ask ourselves what belongs to God as we hear this gospel? Remember what the catechism says'' We must love God with our whole heart, soul and mind and our neighbour as ourselves''. Our whole being belongs to God so give Him everything. Know love and serve God in this life so you can be happy with Him for ever.
Part of knowing, loving and serving God then is to know and carry out your affairs in honesty and justness (whether you are an employee or employer) or regardless what you are doing in your life. Remember the way you treat another person is the way you are treating God as God lives in the other person.
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