Matthew 23:23-24 NLT “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!”
As I read this today, I was amazed to see that Jesus did in fact tell the people that they should tithe. This is something that so many people will argue is not in the New Testament and will fight you over I have found in the past. Funny, God set it up as a way for His children to be blessed, but unfortunately people have made it all about the money and not about the relational portion that bringing your tithe to God that is the more important aspect. But I am not here to debate tithing, it is the other part of this passage that grabbed my attention.
Jesus says to tithe, but no to neglect the more important things; justice, mercy and faith. So that got me to thinking, do I do that? I mean my wife and I bring our tithe every week to our local storehouse, but when I bring it to God have I missed the more important things too? I don’t want to be a Pharisee, that much is for sure, but perhaps that’s been happening and I haven’t even realized it.
How many people do you come into contact with in a day’s time? My bride and I started to watch the movie Forrest Gump last night and as the movie progressed and Forrest told his story to whoever would listen, or even those who ignored him I had the thought, “How many times do I miss an interesting person because I dismiss them out of hand because they are different, or maybe someone I don’t think can help me?”
Gandalf tells Frodo in the Lord of the Rings, “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” Now unlike Frodo who was wishing that Bilbo had killed Gollum when he had the chance, I think sometimes I have dismissed the very people that God intended to use to bless me. And I’ve probably been dismissed by someone that God wanted to bless by using me too.
This is an interesting thing to me too because I say I want God’s best in my life, but if I’m not willing to try and relate to everyone the same way, regardless of how they look, or act how can that be true? I mean God is no respecter of people why should we be? I’m sure that I will have to give this some more consideration in the days ahead.
I think I’ll begin to work on doing the more important things of showing justice, mercy and faith in my relationships in a much larger way now, and each time I drop that offering envelope in the bucket maybe it will help me remember to do that as well. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!
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