Read Luke 11:42
God, Don’t Ask Me!
Jesus says woe to the Pharisees because they give a tenth of their garden herbs, yet they neglect Justice and the love of God to others. Is it important to give money to the Lord? Yes! Is it important to tithe money to the church? Yes! But if our focus is just on giving money so as to fulfill the expectation of giving, but we neglect those in need and who are hurting, then we missed God’s call to love and invest into the lives of others.
I don’t say this disrespectfully, so hear me out. God calls us to a life of investing into others which means, in doing so, it can be very time consuming, difficult, sacrificing, and even take us outside our comfort zone. But for whatever reason, some people find it easier to give money but then neglect the investment of love into the lives of others.
I remember at a different church years ago, we planned an outreach in the community and people were happy to give money to the cause. But it was hard to get people to help with the outreach. It was like they were saying, “Here, I can give you $20 but don’t ask me to serve.” I’m willing to give to the church. I’m willing to go to church. But don’t ask me to serve and invest into the lives of others who sit alone at work or school. Don’t ask me to love my neighbor or my enemy. Don’t ask me to forgive those who have sinned against me. Don’t ask me to make sacrifices so others can have needs met. Don’t ask me to go outside of my comfort zone. Don’t ask me to give up sin. Don’t ask me to make sacrifices so I end up missing my favorite show on TV, or not be able to sleep in on a given day.
God give me your heart for the hurting and those in need! And forgive me when I fail you, because I do fail you!
