Of Gnats and Camels

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Scripture: Matthew 23:23-24

23 “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. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

 

Meditation:

            In today’s scripture Jesus is really letting the religious leaders of his day have it with both barrels. In the Jewish religion you had to give one tenth of everything you had to the priests as an offering. These religious leaders would have been shocked at these words of Jesus. They made him mad enough to have agitate for Jesus’ death.

            Whether or not these words apply exactly to us today is a matter for discussion. However, I do not think that we really pay enough attention to the “weightier matters of the law” in our churches today. We can always do more in the area of justice and mercy ministries. And being faithful in today’s climate is very tough.

            It seems to me that many churches today have a lot of camels in the room that go unnoticed. All the while the people are running around trying to kill gnats. How can we do better?

            We need to focus our attention on the cross. Christians should imitate Paul as he sought to live among the people of his culture; “knowing nothing but Jesus and him crucified”. If we do that we will see the people and groups in our cities that are being treated unjustly. We will see the ones who are in need of our mercy. And we will be faithful to what God wants us to do in the places we live.

            Giving a tithe of our resources is a very important thing to do and Jesus says we should do it in this passage. We just need to learn that Jesus requires 100% of ourselves as we work and minister in today’s needy and broken world. Will you join me?

 

Prayer:

Lord God, we worship you and give you all of our worship because that is what you deserve. Forgive us for making major issues out of minor ones and ignoring the major ones all together. We thank you that you have given us the ability to share some of what we have and all of who we are with our neighbor. Give us the strength and courage to do it. Amen.

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