Tonight I read the following words from today’s gospel reading (Mark 12:13-17):

Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?”
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.”
They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
They replied to him, “Caesar’s.”
So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

I immediately thought of my changing attitude toward taxes. For much of my adult life, I have earned a solid income, and have begrudgingly submitted to what I considered a heavy tax burden. Until recently, I have paid taxes almost angrily, as though money was being stolen from me. I could point to many examples of waste, and talk passionately about the need to reform our country’s welfare system.

So what’s changed? Well, we still waste entirely too much money. I see it first hand at work. (I work for a public utility.) Our country’s welfare system really does need to be reformed. While trying to do good for the less fortunate among us, our government robs people of their dignity by encouraging them to behave in an almost parasitic manner. But these are conversations for another day.

What has changed is my level of attachment to material things, money included. I’ve come to accept the fact that no government will ever be run as efficiently as I want it to be. For the rest of my life, I will pay a percentage of my income to support systems and programs, some of which I support, and others with which I disagree. I guess I’ve come to accept this fact, and my conversion has led me to feel a certain detachment from the material things in my life.

Money and “stuff” are playing a diminishing role in my life these days. No reasonable level of income or property tax will ever rob me of my ability to feed, clothe, and shelter my family. As long as we have these things, I am free to worship the God who has given me (and continues to give me) so much.

All of this is easy to theorize about, but what would happen if I were to really lose all of the material things in my life? Well, I can’t say for sure, but I had a thought the other night. I was coming home late, and had to step out of my vehicle to open a gate. I left my vehicle running and the door wide open. I thought to myself (since I was in an area rampant with transients) how would I react if someone were to try and steal my vehicle?

In the past, I would have fought wildly for my “hard-earned” vehicle. I may have even been carrying a concealed weapon to “protect what is rightfully mine.” As I draw closer to God through our Catholic Church, I feel that I would react much differently. I think I would step aside and willing offer the assailant my vehicle. It’s just a car, and nothing worth dying over. What’s the worst that could happen? I may never see my car again? So what? I could catch a ride to work from a buddy or ride the bus for awhile.

These days, I’m feeling less of a sense of entitlement toward my “stuff,” and more of a sense of gratitude. I truly believe that I’m willing to “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

Thank you, Lord, for this true sense of detachment from worldly goods. I pray that I might continue to grow closer to you, and serve you more with each passing day.