In the 27th chapter of Matthew the disciples were discussing the obligation to pay taxes to the government. Most of the teaching on these verses focuses on whether or not a Christian is obligated to pay taxes to the government of the country in which they reside. There are a lot of different interpretations on these verses but I think that the more important focus has been left undiscovered.

27 However in order not to give offense and cause them to stumble [that is, to cause them [c]to judge unfavorably and unjustly] go down to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find there a shekel. Take it and give it to them to pay the temple tax for Me and for yourself.

  • Our actions should be based more on integrity, character and morals than on obligations to a government. In other words, maintaining an effective witness to a lost world should be a first consideration, not what it will cost us.

    Jesus told Peter to go down to the sea and throw in a hook. Here is a lesson for all of us. When it came down to provision ? meeting a financial obligation, the Lord did not cause strangers to give them money, or say a few words and turn straw into gold. He did not say go and ask (beg) for alms.

    What He did was use that which Peter was fully capable of performing. He used that which Peter had been raised, mentored and in which he excelled. He used his job, business, career, etc. You get the idea?

    Most of the time for most people our call to the ministry is simply a working out of God?s will in our vocations. That which you are born to do is exactly what the Lord wants to use to bring reconciliation to a world on a collision course with eternity.

    As ministers in the marketplace, we are in a more favorable environment to minister to those in need than most of the ?preachers? in this country. When we begin to see that our vocations are God ordained, God called and God implemented, then we will begin to see results in the marketplace. Results are created and maintained, not by some artificially or emotional high, but the knowledge that we are being used of the Lord to transform lives.

  • Take the first fish that comes up, this is a great truth! Have you ever thought about the miracle that took place here? Now, how many fish do you think was in that sea that had a shekel in its mouth? Or was the shekel created by a miracle in the first fish caught? Any way you look at it, it has to be supernatural.

    I believe that is the message that the Lord wants us to see in this teaching. The Lord wants to make a difference in our lives, our jobs, our schools, our government, and our businesses. There is a part that we do. We prepare ourselves by education, training, mentoring and so on. We learn all we can about our professions, we endeavor to excel in all that we do and then we trust the Lord to intervene supernaturally to help us to accomplish our tasks. It truly is a partnership with our God in all that we do in life.

    That is why there is no artificial separation between the sacred and the secular. Our Father is totally involved with us on a moment by moment basis, in order to fulfill that which we have been called to accomplish.

    It makes no difference in what you are doing in life right now. The Lord will energize and help you to succeed. You might have a job that you or most people would consider insignificant. However, when you realize and have the revelation that you are called of God to be a minister where you are, your life will take on a new dimension of fulfillment that always accompanies the knowledge that you are fulfilling God?s purpose for life.

    In the business world there is an axiom that the cream will rise to the top. In other words those who are contributing the most will eventually rise in the organization to greater levels of accomplishment.

    When you begin to exercise your spiritual gifts and God given abilities in the world, there is nothing that can stop you from being successful.

    Receive the revelation today in your own spirit that YOU are called of God into a full time ministry, serving the Lord in your vocation.

    Jim Watkins

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