Jesus warns his follower's to discern what is important (practicing justice, mercy, and faithfulness) over what is not as important (tithing insignificant items).
Matthew 23:23-24 23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
The point of tithing mint, dill, and cummin was to provide the priests and the poor with the abundance of God. While it is good for the priests and the poor to have mint, dill, and cummin (herbs used for flavoring and medicine), they aren't absolutely essential to their well being. Even their medicinal value was for comfort not life saving measures. The point is that Jesus doesn't want the Pharisees to feel good about tithing these insignificant things while failing to live lives that seek justice, mercy, and faith (better translated faithfulness).
"How is God calling me to practice justice*, mercy, and faithfulness in my life today?"
Do we ignore Jesus' teaching to prioritize things that matter most: Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness?
* One interesting thing about justice... it has many meanings: being fair, addressing wrongs that have been committed, living in a way that does not take advantage of others, rescuing those who are disadvantaged, etc. It is closely tied to living in right relationships. Proverbs 2 says that it is only through our knowledge of God's character that we can know how to live justly in every situation. It says we have to actively seek God in order to understand justice.
No comments:
Post a Comment