Thursday, May 6, 2010

Tithe justice, mercy, and faithfulness

Tithe justice, mercy, and faithfulness
S - Matt 23:23 (NASB)
23"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
O - I know Jesus was talking to the pharisee's here, but even I feel convicted by his words, that though I am a growing and faithful Christian who has learned the joy of tithing 10% of my income to the Lord, but do I often neglect the offering of justice, mercy, and faithfulness? I think I know the answer is yes, that I must offer up these things as well, and often act and feel that these are mine to hold on to and give as I choose, rather than seeing them from God's perspective, and realizing I must be willing to tithe them to the Lord for his use.

A- The application for me seems a little mechanical and calculated but that only appeals to the engineer in me. I need to set aside 10 % of myself that I allow God to use for whatever and wherever he wants to apply justice, mercy, and faithfulness, regardless of my feelings or inclinations. Practically I will do this by listening/seeking he voice throughout the day. Here is how it might look in each of the areas:

Justice - I might see someone at church doing an unjust act to someone else (gossip, mistreatment, harsh words, unloving acts, etc) and I must listen for God's voice on when to speak up on his behalf, even when unpopular. Much like Nathan, had the courage to speak truth and justice to David, after he had Bathsheba's husband unjustly killed in a battle, I must have the courage to carry out justice, even if it is to authority above me.

Mercy - Juxtaposing that I must seek the Lord's will to apply mercy and grace over a situation or a person, especially when an injustice may have been done against me and my flesh wishes to seek justice, I must be sure to be willing to submit my rights to the Lord as a tithe, and allow His mercy to flow through my words and actions.

Faithfulness - This one is all on me, I must be willing to be faithful to the Lord even when I don't feel like it. I know I get discouraged when I feel I have done my part and things don't work out, especially in ministry, but the Lord is asking me to be faithful in these times, because it is easy to be faithful in times of abundance and wealth, but neglect faithfulness in times of trial and scarcity. I must be willing to be faithful especially in these times.

P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your word, and your lesson today, may it be sealed to my heart. Lord I pray you would help me more faithfully apply and live a life of faithfull tithing of justice, mercy and faithfulness. I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.

No comments:

Post a Comment