23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
Sometimes it is easier to simply write a check is it not? Give God our “tenth” and mark it off the list. In all our busyness and worldliness surely that is all the Lord must requires of us? Really...we are so important are we not? We must get on with our all-consuming lives - keeping our sights, perspectives and energies focused on our goals and work and accomplishments. Seriously, we desperately need to get over ourselves. Jesus here sets the record straight.
In our verses for today, the Lord tells us that to give our perfunctory tithe - a tenth of the “mint, dill and cummmin” - without much if any regard for the justice, mercy and faithfulness also required of us – as these pious religious leaders of His day - our actions will be weighed on the scales and still found wanting. Both the small and great works are necessary in God’s economy of scale and we are not to neglect either. Both are evidence of a changed heart, both demonstrate a Spirit led and empowered life. Furthermore, Jesus places greater importance on the latter – the justice, mercy and faithfulness required. The wording He chooses - “should have” - are translated from the Greek word “Dei”, a weighty word meaning an “unavoidable, urgent, compulsory necessity; a must, necessary by the nature of things.” (Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible – New Testament Lexical Aids). I am reminded of the words penned by the Prophet Micah:
6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:6-8 (NIV)
"A perfect man would never act from sense of duty...Duty is only a substitute for love." C.S. Lewis
God does not want us to be related to Him in only a ritualistic, perfunctory way – simply fulfilling our duties. Rather, He desires for us to relate to Him inwardly - from the heart. To obey Him because we love Him, because we know He has our best interest at heart, because we believe Him.
"Something happens when we come to God for His grace and mercy--something that is so radical and so amazing that it can only be described as death to our old selves. It is the overwhelming desire to please the One who has loved us with such amazing and unconditional love...I may not get better overnight; I may not be the fine, upstanding, and wonderful Christian I thought I was, but I now have a desire to please the One who loved me (and gave Himself for me). That desire is the soil in which goodness grows--not perfectly, by any means, but it does grow." Steve Brown
All the things of God’s law are important but the most important are those that express the inward holiness of heart – justice and mercy toward men and faithfulness toward God. He longs for devoted and loyal hearts from His children who remain merciful and just to others. This obedience is better in God’s estimation than sacrifice or tithe. Hosea also tells us that mercy trumps sacrifice:
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6 (NIV)
Samuel gives King Saul similar words which we can take to heart as well. Note the stinging critical comparisons presented against the rebellion and arrogance discovered among God’s people:
22 But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.” 1 Sam 15:22-23 (NIV)
When Jesus was asked by the Pharisees which commandment in the Law was the greatest, He summed them up in two - all should flow freely from these – Love God – Love others:
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matt 22:37-40 (NIV)