When religious people fill in that blank with “Caesar,”you know things have gone sideways.
Of course, it’s not always literally “Caesar.” “Caesar” is a metaphor, a type, a placeholder for whatever else or whoever else demands our allegiance, influences our values, or drives our decisions. We humans have many “Caesars, ” and we are endlessly creative at inventing new ones.
Nor is “Caesar” always stated so clearly. There are more ways to affirm loyalty than with words. How we use our time, money, resources, relationships and more are often the real pudding in which you can find the Proof.
Nor does a “Caesar” come to power overnight. Loyalty doesn’t usually go off the rails all at once. The plot gets lost one little step at a time, one little compromise at a time, one little moment of surrender at a time. “Caesars” have a way of patiently grinding down the faithful, playing the long game as needed.
Standing before Pilate, the Jewish leaders could have said, “We have no King But Yahweh.” But they did not; they declared their true allegiance at the top of their lungs.
Facing the immense pressure of the “Caesars” of our world, and counting the very high stakes of offending them, may you and I take to declare, “We have no King But Jesus.”
