Render Unto Caesar…But Only What is Caesar’s
My dad had his own paraphrase of Matthew 22:21.
“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. But only what belongs to Caesar.”
He usually said it with a grin. He meant it seriously.
The Pharisees tried to trap him. They wanted Jesus to either endorse Roman taxation and alienate the crowd or oppose it and give them grounds for arrest. His answer did neither. He looked at the coin, noted whose portrait was on it, and said give it back. Simple. Disarming. And, as I have come to believe, about far more than taxes.
But stay with the taxes for a moment, because many churches and nonprofits have not thought carefully enough about this.
The assumption most ministry leaders carry is this: we are tax exempt, so Caesar does not have much claim on us. In many respects, that is true. But "many respects" is where the trouble starts.
Here’s what I mean.
They pay taxes they do not owe.
This one surprises people every time I bring it up. Most states exempt churches and nonprofit organizations from paying sales tax on purchases made for ministry purposes. You know that tax-free weekend before school starts that everyone looks forward to? Churches and nonprofits get that benefit year round. Every supply order, every service contract, every purchase tied to ministry operations, potentially tax-free.
But claiming that exemption requires a certificate and the discipline to use it. Some retailers let you present it at the register. Others, like Walmart, require an application process so they have your certificate on file before they'll honor it. Some won't accommodate it at all. It takes a little legwork upfront.
I will be honest with you. Qavah Ministries, the nonprofit my wife Pam and I co-founded, does not spend enough on sales-taxable items to make the compliance effort feel worth it. When you're talking about saving twelve dollars, the paperwork costs more than the tax. But I have worked with organizations spending tens of thousands on supplies and services who were quietly handing Caesar money he was never entitled to, simply because nobody had gotten around to setting up the exemption. At that scale, it is not a minor oversight. It is a budget line.
They owe taxes they do not pay.
Churches are not exempt from everything. Payroll taxes still apply, including for pastoral staff, and the deadlines are real. Miss a deposit and the penalties compound fast. Housing allowances for ministers come with specific rules and limits that are easy to miscalculate. Revenue generated outside an organization's exempt purpose can trigger unrelated business income tax. These are not exotic edge cases. They show up in ordinary ministry operations, often quietly.
They lack the proper documentation
Donors who give $250 or more in a single gift need written acknowledgment that meets IRS standards before they file their return. The responsibility for getting that receipt rests with the donor. The responsibility for issuing it rests with the organization. When that process breaks down, donors lose deductions they were entitled to, and trust erodes in ways that are hard to rebuild.
I want to be clear about my lane here, and I mean that literally. I am a cyclist. Not a tax preparer and not a compliance expert. What I bring is a lot of miles on roads many ministry leaders have not ridden yet. I know where the terrain gets technical, where the shortcuts create headaches, and when it is time to call in a ride-leader with the right credentials for the route. That usually means a CPA who knows nonprofit and church tax law specifically. Not every CPA does.
Here is the part my dad's paraphrase does not cover, but Jesus did.
After "give to Caesar what is Caesar's," He said "and give to God what is God's." Most readings treat that as a tithe reminder. I think He meant something much more.
Whose portrait appears on a coin? Caesar's. Give it back.
Whose portrait appears on a human life? God's. Give that back too.
Caesar wants compliance. God wants us. The organizations that understand that distinction tend to handle both better. They pay what they owe without resentment, reclaim what they do not owe without guilt, and hold all of it loosely because none of it was theirs to begin with.
That is not just good theology. It’s good stewardship.
Do you know what your organization actually owes, and what it does not? If you have never had someone walk those questions with you, that conversation might be worth having. Start at connect@inspiringchurches.com.