This journey we take daily is delicate. We face many obstacles, and in such instances, run the risk of becoming obstacles along the way. How then do we navigate the path? With Y’shua, of course. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat, which offers us a prime example.
Matthew 17:27 NIV
[27] “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth, and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
So as not to Offend
They started casting aspersions on Y’shua’s character. Not only did they suggest that He was parsimonious, but their accusation implied that Y’shua was robbing God.
It was not a good look for one who was claiming to be of God and also the Son of God. Y’shua needed to respond, although the accusation was directed at Him via His disciple, Peter.
Self-Check
How would we have responded in such situations? (I can just hear one of my godmothers, Aunt Enid, saying, ‘If I was ever God, I would …’, and sometimes I think she would make good on that promise if God allowed her.)
Application
Yet Y’shua didn’t take them to task for asking Peter about the tax. Nor did He not pay the tax. He would have been within His rights as the only begotten Son of God. As Y’shua indicated to Peter in the verse prior to our Nougat, the child of the king or emperor is not wholly bound to taxation as the vassals are.
Rather, Y’shua determined that the path of least offence was best. And, under certain circumstances, so should we.
In any given moment, we’re making decisions. It is believed that the human brain makes 35,000 decisions daily. Hence, what we consider to be involuntary or natural responses may also be the result of decisions we made in a second. We realize that our brain could perhaps be trained, Pavlovian-style, therefore, to make Christ-pleasing decisions. When better to start than now?
Siblings, responding in hurt is as natural as responding in love. Except that choosing love may have the long-term impact of transforming a mindset that wasn’t inclined towards Christ. Sometimes, our love response means that we intentionally and consciously (yes, I know they are similar) choose to avoid offending the other. Even if they set out to intentionally offend us. In many cases, choosing not to offend in return requires divine intervention. That’s fine, too. Y’shua is happy to allow God’s Spirit to transform us.
Point to Ponder
Sometimes, choosing not to offend is about our own transformation. Are we ready to be transformed?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
https://www.bible.com/bible/111/mat.17.27.NIV
