Contemplative Bible Reading

Luke 11:42 (New International Version)

“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.

The poor Pharisees. They meant so well and they did much good for some people. Here they are giving a tenth of everything they have as God asked. Note, they give a tenth of all their garden herbs. Can you imagine going through your kitchen and giving away a tenth of each spice you have in those little spice jars? How about giving away a tenth of your coffee and Cremora? The Pharisees would have done that. Jesus commends them for their attention to detail by telling them not to leave that undone.

Then, however, there are the tasks they neglect: justice to their fellow man and the love of God. For today, I will focus on justice.

In both the Old and New Testaments, God mentions justice often. I get the impression that justice is important to God. We can cheat one another. It isn’t hard to do; it is easy to do it without “being caught” by anyone else. God, however, sees us cheating one another; God sees us neglecting justice.

God gives each one of us plenty. God gives each one of us more than we can use and much more than we deserve. And then God watches us cheat one another by taking a little more from someone else. I can hear God sighing, “Don’t you have enough? Didn’t I give you enough?”

Yes, God has given each of us enough. He has given each of us enough

• money
• food
• clothing
• shelter
• health
• care
• humor
• love

I think the more important items are towards the bottom of this list. It is these that are the easiest to steal and be unjust with one another. Who is going to notice if I don’t love someone as much as I should if I am to be just with them? God will notice and He will wince and sigh. It is amazing how He will still forgive me and yet expect me to do better. And He will expect everyone else to deal more justly with me.

Justice – this is one of those things that if we all do as God asks we will all have a better life now and eternally.