Justice, Mercy and Faithfulness - 12 July 2006
"Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn't think of lifting a finger to help. Matthew 23:4 The Message
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. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Matthew 23:23-24 NIV
When I presented this subject as a Bible Study in my Small |Group we had quite a discussion about laws and how far we should force ourselves to go in keeping them. Jesus was adamant (Matthew 5:17-19) that there was nothing at all wrong with the laws, as long as they were presented in a just and merciful way. For instance would we enforce a tithe on a person who was poverty stricken? The general consensus of the group was that the church should be supporting that person so that they could give their share with joy. I am sure that like me you can come up with instances of Christian groups who make rules that are impossible to keep and then condemn others when they fail.
Am I sometimes more concerned with keeping the rules or keeping up appearances than I am with justice, mercy and faithfulness? How does that affect the way others view me or the church?
‘Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.’ James 2:12-14 (The Message) | 