42 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.”
Ever smugly tithed thinking that we were flat “it on a stick” for being ever so pious in our own estimation? Jesus has one word for us – “Woe”! Not to take away from tithing at all, as Jesus tells us we are not to leave that undone, we are also not to neglect justice and the love of God. In many respects writing a check is a much simpler thing. Scripture tells us: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 6:8 (NIV)
I love what the Bible Knowledge Commentary states about the above verse: “Micah then told the nation (O man means any person in Israel) exactly what God did desire from them. God did not want them to be related to Him in only a ritualistic way. God wanted them to be related inwardly—to obey Him because they desired to, not because it was a burden on them. That relationship, which is good (beneficial), involves three things: that individuals (a) act justly (be fair in their dealings with others), (b) love mercy (µese¼, “loyal love”; i.e., carry through on their commitments to meet others needs), and (c) walk humbly with... God (fellowship with Him in modesty, without arrogance). “Humbly” translates the verb ƒ¹na± (which occurs only here in the OT); it means to be modest. (The adjective ƒ¹nûa± occurs only once, in Prov. 11:2.)” God is not into a ritualistic religion. He is relational and desires that our obedience to Him flows from our love for Him. The way to love Him more is to know Him better. The more that we know Him, the more we will love Him and the more that we love Him the more we will be obedient to His commands. As we walk with Him we will find Him trustworthy and faithful knowing His decrees are always for our good and never for our harm. “When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings. Rick Warren Deuteronomy states:12 And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? Deut 10:12-13 (NIV)
We all want things to go well for us do we not? While we live in a fallen, sinful world and difficulties do abound, I would like for those difficulties to be the only ones that abound not those that are caused by my own poor choosing. We can prevent some things by the choices we make. For instance, when we flagrantly disregard God’s revealed will (His written word – The Bible) we can expect consequences for our actions – that is, of course, if we are His child! Hebrews 12 tells us to expect discipline: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Heb 12:5-8 (NIV)
Just as sure as there are blessings in obedience, there are consequences to sin. If we are glaringly living in opposition to God’s revealed will and have suffered no consequences we should consider if we are indeed His child. This is what Scripture teaches us. “Discipline is a proof of our sonship.” Erwin Lutzer “All true knowledge of God is born out of obedience.” John Calvin