"The observance of the tithe might easily produce a tight-lipped self-righteousness such as Jesus attributed to the praying Pharisee in his parable. But to think of the tithe as an act of self-denial was to miss the whole point of it. It was intended to be a most almighty beano, a party to celebrate the Lord's generosity. I like that. A joyful, generous faith.Year by year you shall set aside a tithe of all the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the land. You shall eat it in the presence of the Lord your God... When the journey (to Jerusalem) is too great for you to be able to carry your tithe, then you may exchange it for silver. You shall tie up the silver and take it with you to the place which the Lord your God will choose. There you shall spend it as you will, on cattle or sheep, wine or strong drink, or whatever you desire; you shall consume it there with rejoicing, both you and your family in the presence of the Lord your God. You must not neglect the Levites who live in your settlements (Deuteronomy 14:22-27).
A spending-spree, whisky and all, to make our commercial Christmas look like a Lenten fast! That was their way of saying thank you to God. Such sponateous, lavish celebration is the absolute opposite of the greedy spirit of grasping, hoarding, exploiting and turning everything back into greater profits. And this generosity to oneself goes hand in hand with generosity to those who are less fortunate or less secure.At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce for that year, and leave it in your settlements so that the Levites, who have no holding or patrimony among you, and the aliens, orphans, and widows in your settlements, may come and eat their fill. If you do this, the Lord your God will bless you in everything to which you set your hand (Deuteronomy 14:28-29)."
from enough is enough, by john v taylor
No comments:
Post a Comment