Are you only doing part of what God desires from you? Are you tithing as God has stated we should do? Is your love for him a deep, true love? Or is your love superficial and more talk than action? How much of your life are you giving to God?
We all set priorities. For some of us, the top priority is to climb the corporate ladder. For others of us, the top priority is to own our own house. For still others of us, the top priority is to have a lasting marriage with children. All of these are the wrong top priority.
Our American culture tells us all those priorities are good number on priorities. Unfortunately, they are contrary to what we are taught in the Bible. They are counter to God’s desires and his will for us. Make no mistake about it, there is nothing wrong with climbing the corporate ladder, owning our own house, or having a lasting marriage. However, God demands to be first in our lives in all aspects and phases of our life.
Some of us will tithe and think we are done. Again, we are wrong. Take a look at the “woe” Jesus states to the Pharisees in today’s passage. We are expected to tithe AND love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We are to follow his commands in serving others. We are to be committed to God with our entire life—all we have and all we are.
Tithing can be difficult to do. We may have bills that keep us from giving ten percent today. But that doesn’t mean we can’t work toward it over time. If we have a hard time giving up our money, how much harder it is to give up our possessions and time! We can barely spare a few moments with our family, let alone spending hours to serve the homeless. We can’t possibly give up any of our clothing, it might come back in style in ten years. What are we thinking? It will disappear one day.
I pray we all determine to tithe to God. I pray we determine to give of our possessions. I pray each one of us will decide to give our time to our families and to God as servants of his. Set your priorities carefully. Make God your number one priority. Follow God’s commands. Love God with all you are and all you have.
Luke 11:42 “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.”
Marty Pressey 