What’s More Important

WHAT’S MORE IMPORTANT

a prayer to open

Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

May your Kingdom come, may your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

Jesus cares about what’s in our hearts. In his day, the Pharisees held themselves in high regard because of their compliance with the minutiae of the Jewish law, even giving a tenth of their mint, dill, and cumin to the Temple as part of their tithe. But Jesus could see that despite their compliance with the technical parts of the law, they were not acting in love, the most important aspect of the law; they were not acting justly, with mercy, or in faith.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself sitting in a favorite, familiar spot. Get comfortable there, listening for sounds, seeing what is around you. Then imagine Jesus next to you or across from you, looking into your eyes and then saying these words: “Do not neglect the most important things: to extend justice and mercy and exercise faith!”

• What would you do today if you allowed Jesus’ words to guide you? What would you stop doing today if you allowed his words to guide you?
• What doubts arise in you as you think about your ability to extend justice and mercy and to exercise faith as Jesus is calling you? What fears or worries arise in you when you consider his words applying to you?
• What aspects of extending justice and mercy are difficult for you? Take a few moments to ask God to show you if there are ways in which you need to grow in extending justice and mercy and exercising faith in him.

Father, I want my heart and actions to align. I can sit silently in the face of injustice at times because of fear or complacency. I can fail to extend mercy because of busyness or a simple lack of compassion. I need your help and your heart. Give me opportunities to speak out for justice, and the courage to act as you call me. May my eyes be on the lookout for people who need mercy, and may my hands be ready to serve. May I focus on the most important things. Amen.