“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” This was the response of Jesus to the tricky question that the Pharisees asked him. This response of Jesus was least expected of the Pharisees. What does this saying of Jesus really mean? Several interpretations have been given to this statement and most of the times not correctly.
Some have interpreted it to mean that the church or her leaders should not interfere in political matters or politics, and that the state or the government too, should not interfere in religious matters. It would be wrong to understand this statement of Jesus to mean that the world is divided into two parts, one part belongs to Caesar and the other part belongs to God. The world is one and all of it belongs to God including Caesar himself, his money and everything he had because he was created by God.
What Jesus wants us to know by this response of his is that, there are secular obligations and there are religious obligations, just like man by nature is a social being and a religious being, and he must attend to both obligations if he wants to be a happy person. We cannot hide behind the excuse of religion and neglect to carry out our civil obligations, for example, like paying our taxes, going out to vote at election time, and our duties to our family.
Also, we cannot use our involvement in secular affairs as an excuse for neglecting our religious duties, for example, refusing to come for Mass on Sunday, contributing or supporting the mission of the church like we have today, or other religious activities. No matter the family situation we have the duty to support the church.