2 Thessalonians 1:3b the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;

Ever heard the expression “Charity begins at home.”? I used to hear it all the time. I heard it every week when I wrote a check for tithing. It was a weak plea not to tithe. This came from someone who did not understand that a tithe is not charity.

Properly rendered this verse should say that the love of every one of you all towards each other abounds. The essence of charity is love not money. While the easiest expression of loving support seems to be financial, may I suggest that it isn’t the most loving.

Which is more loving in your mind, to give a gift card to a restaurant or to take a friend to a restaurant and pick up the check? Money has no attachment, no emotional connection. It is there and then it is gone. A look, a conversation, a moment spent in developing relations is far more giving of self than offering money.

I do not want to minimize the importance of charitable giving. For some endeavors financial support is needed more than personal commitment. I just want us to lose sight of all the ways we can be charitable without using money. Time well spent is as much a part of being a good steward as finances.

Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

May I suggest that part of this verse might better read as; “and have omitted the weightier matters of the heart.”

Matthew 5:44 Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

I was wondering this morning what radical Christianity would look like. When I opened my bible app to read the Word, this was the verse of the day. I was about to look up the verse about being hated for His name’s sake, but this is more appropriate, don’t you think?

A zealot is said to be one who will not change their mind or the subject. I haven’t seen Christianity as being like that. We invest our time in people. We get to know them, build trust, understand their needs and hopefully can show them the love that abides within us. Such is the Christian life.

It is not that way for all Christians. Some live surrounded by a people who hatefully despise them just because they are Christian. This is nothing new. The stories about Christian persecution date back to the first century and Rome. Irony is that Rome is now the seat of the largest Christian religion. The hatred of Rome was conquered by love.

When Christianity was in danger from within its own ranks, it was a zealot that sought to free Christians from the ranks of the persecuted within its own system. Faith always wins out over injustice. In these present times the only thing that really has changed is the ability for people to witness the battle in real time through social media. This instant society expects instant results.

What happens to faith when a people have an expectation of instant results?

Psalm 37:14-15 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

Impatient faith fails to find solace in the truth.