BOTH/AND
Erin Kranz
Today's Scripture: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” Matthew 23:23, ESV
Theme: Jesus confirmed tithing is necessary while reminding us not to neglect upholding justice, mercy and faithfulness.
NEGLECTING LOVE
My testimony is similar to my husband Will’s – I prayed to ask Jesus into my heart in second grade and grew up in the church my whole life. I won the Bible challenge in Sunday school at church every summer, went to Christian school through seventh grade, and even got the award for “best Christian” in my class in third grade (yes, this was a thing at our school).
I thought I was a “good Christian” because I knew the right answers and could follow the “rules,” but you know what I struggled with? Loving others and showing grace.
It’s a hurdle I sometimes still struggle to overcome and a heart condition many have struggled with over time. Jesus gives us a glimpse into our attitudes here when he ate at a Pharisee’s house and the “sinful woman” poured her perfume on his feet. Sensing the Pharisee’s disgust, Jesus told this parable: “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly…. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much,” (Luke 7:41-43, 47 ESV).
NEGLECTING THE TITHE
On the flip side, we also see a tendency for our culture to profess love and acceptance without leading people back to the truth. Jesus was of course the perfect example for us of balancing this, such as when he saved the woman caught in adultery from being stoned but ended their conversation telling her “… go, and from now on sin no more,” (John 8:11b, ESV).
In today’s Scripture, Jesus tells the Pharisees that they should have continued their tithe AND lived with “justice and mercy and faithfulness.” Tithing began as a gift of the heart (Genesis 28:22) before it was even mandated in the Law (Leviticus 27:30). If we are to truly submit to Him as the Lord of our lives, our actions, attitudes, and finances must all be placed before Him.
Make It Personal: Which do you find easier – to be zealous for the “laws” of Christianity or to serve people with love and grace? Let’s turn to God and ask Him to change our hearts so that we can love people and guide them to the Truth the way He does.
Pray: Father, You are a good and righteous God. Thank You that, even though You are the Almighty, You still love us and came to meet us where we are. Help me to remember Your power, supremacy and might while also showing love to the people You’ve placed around me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Read: Genesis 28:20-22; Leviticus 27:30; Luke 7:36-50
Weekly Memory Verse: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” Malachi 3:10, ESV