from Dining with Jesus

 “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might say.  Luke 11:52-54

“Pastor, I just want to be sure I understand this. I have tithed faithfully throughout my adult life. Many years, my wife and I have given beyond the tithe. We’ve also been setting aside some funds for our later years, and I’m thinking since I’ve already tithed on that money one time, do I have to tithe on it again in retirement?”

The purpose of tithing is to remind us that everything we have comes from God and belongs to God. The question should not center around what part we have to give to remain in right standing with God. Our standing with God is on the basis of our relationship with Jesus. Only His righteousness is sufficient, and He offers it on the basis of the grace we receive through faith. So, how is faith displayed?

Jesus speaks of taking up our cross daily. Every day, we should be writing God a blank check. This includes what He wants us to do; what He wants us to say; how He wants us to spend our time; how much money or other possessions He wants us to give and to whom. We are only sharing what God has entrusted to us. It’s really not ours; it’s His.

This is what Jesus is talking about when He rebukes the Pharisees. They aren’t living to please God; they’re living to get ahead of the next guy. They aren’t seeking God’s glory; they’re seeking their own glory and their own personal security. They want to be sure that they only give God His part. If you live like that, you’re a Pharisee.

These are real questions I have been asked as a pastor: “Do I have to tithe on the gross or just the net? Do I tithe before taxes or after taxes?” This is what people want to know. A lot of preachers answer: “It doesn’t matter if you give 10% or whether you do it on the gross or the net income. The important thing is just that you’re trying. If 10% seems like too much, start with 3%, okay? Work your way up.” That’s a standard answer, and many of them learned it in Seminary.

Seriously, can you picture Jesus answering this way? “And for any of you who feel up to it, we’re going to have a group that’ll be taking up our crosses. Now, we realize some of you may not feel ready to take up your cross, but we have crosses with wheels, and we have crosses in several different sizes and made of different kinds of wood. Or, maybe you can just wear a cross lapel pin. I don’t want you to feel pressured to take up your cross and follow Me, okay? I don’t want to turn you away. The important thing is that you be identified with Me somehow, whatever that means to you.”

We don’t want to offend anybody; we don’t want to turn anybody away. We don’t want to make anybody feel uncomfortable. We want everybody to feel at home. I just want to scream, “This is nuts,” but it’s rampant in the American church today.

Whose house is it anyway? Jesus comes into the temple and says, “Get out!” He turns over tables and frees the animals. He creates a mess. He uses a whip.

Some of us want to correct Jesus: “You acted very angry. I’m sure it was motivated by zeal, but there were people who just didn’t understand. I mean, you’re going to have to accept that those moneychangers and folks with the birdcages and the others have been a part of what we do here at the temple for a long time. And, is it true that you personally braided that whip out of cords?”

John 2 records the detail of Jesus braiding the whip out of cords because, in fact, He did braid the whip in a premeditated fashion. It wasn’t a momentary angry outburst. Jesus deliberately did what the Father told Him to do. This was His Father’s house. He came into His Father’s world.

God owns everything. We need to remember this. You and I and everyone else and everything else belong to God. We owe Him everything. Let me urge you again to get on your knees and consider what the Lord has done for you. Then, write Him a blank check.