The Two Not-So-Great Commandments - Part 1

Note: this set of blogs is about a subject that has been on my mind for probably ten years. The empty shells of blogs (titles, but no content) have been around for at least a year. Finally I'm getting around to writing them.

In this document, ESV refers to the English Standard Version of the Bible (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025)). Hebrew and Greek text also contain references to Strong's numbers, enclosed in <>

There was a time when Jesus summarized the law with two commandments which are often called "The Great Commandments." We'll get to those later. For now, I'm thinking about what comes across as the primary commandments in many churches:

1. You must pay your tithe to the church
2. You must go to church on Sundays link here.

I find it interesting sometimes that when I read the Bible and compare scripture the practices of the church, I find the church teaching things that aren't necessarily wrong, but seem to differ from what I've read in the Bible. Sometimes, I wonder of I'm heretical, but then I find others who have also noticed the same things. So it is with these two "commandments" of many churches. I will address them in separate blogs so as to keep them a bit shorter.

Commandment #1: You must pay your tithe to the church.

I remember going to a church back in the 1980's and the pastor said that according to 1 Cornithians 16:2, we should bring our tithe to the church on Sunday.The verse reads: Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. Note that to the audience, the first day of the week would have been Sunday.

This sent up red flags for me almost instantly. Paul is not talking about tithing here. He is not even talking about giving for the local church. In fact he is not talking about bringing money to church at all. Paul is talking about something we might call budgeting: putting aside money each week for those Christians in need in Judea. Paul would then collect these funds at some unspecified time in the future. This reminds me of the Love Loaves that World Vision used to pass out. They were bread-loaf shaped banks with a coin slot on top where people could put change. After a number of weeks they would be collected to use in world relief  projects.

Tithing has been taught in the churches for a long time. Back after I finished university I got a job and joined a church. Each week when I got paid, I wrote out a check to the church for ten percent of the amount of my paycheck. Ever since then, I've tried to faithfully give to the Lord's work. So, where does this tithing thing come from?

The word tithe comes from the Hebrew מַעֲשֵׂר (maʿaśēr <H4643>), which simply means tenth.

Tithing before Old Testament Law

The first mention of giving a tenth in the Bible comes from the story of Abraham. In Genesis 14, we read how a group of kings got together and attacked the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela. They were successful in their battle and ended up taking a bunch of people captive along with lots of spoil. Included was Abraham's nephew, Lot and family. Abraham heard about this and with a mere 318 people, he was able to rescue the captives. God was obviously with him.

After it was all over, Abraham encounters someone introduced as the King of Salem, Melchizedek. Melchizedek blesses Abraham. Abraham recognizes this person as having been sent by God, and he gives him "a tenth of everything," seeming to imply a tenth of the spoil. (Genesis 14:20) There is no command for Abraham to do such a thing, so it seems like this must have been a customary gift to give to a royal.

We next encounter the giving of a tenth in the story of Jacob. Jacob is fleeing his brother and is going to his father's relatives in Haran to find a wife. Along the way, he has dream in which God blesses him. The next morning he makes a vow: “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” (Genesis 28:20–22, ESV).

(Interesting, but I don't see any record of Jacob actually fulfilling this vow. Genesis 35:7-14 records Jacob making an offering at that location, but it does not state that he offered 10 percent.)

Tithing in the Old Testament Law

But neither of the two instances above have to do with the command to tithe in the Old Testament. The first mention of a command to tithe is found in Leviticus 27:30-33:

³⁰ “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s; it is holy to the LORD. ³¹ If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. ³² And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the LORD. ³³ One shall not differentiate between good or bad, neither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.” (Leviticus 27:30-33, ESV)

These verses specify that the tithe is holy to the Lord and that it belongs to the Lord, but they do not say what to do with said tithe.

Later, in Numbers 18:21-26, we read that this tithe is for the Levite, who has no inheritance (i.e., no right to own land) and that it is to be presented to the Lord. And the Levite was to present a tithe of the tithe they received to the priest.

²¹ “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, ²² so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. ²³ But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance ²⁴ For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.”

²⁵ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the LORD, a tithe of the tithe. ²⁷ And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress. ²⁸ So you shall also present a contribution to the LORD from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the LORD’s contribution to Aaron the priest. (Numbers 18:21-28, ESV)

So far it all seems straightforward, but there is more explanation yet to come. Because Deuteronomy 12, 14 and 26 add that this tithe was to be eaten by the one offering it while sharing it with the Levites, except for every third year, called the year of the tithe. in which years it was to be brought to the storehouses for the Levites, sojourners, fatherless, and widows.

¹⁷ You may not eat within your towns the tithe of your grain or of your wine or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, or any of your vow offerings that you vow, or your freewill offerings or the contribution that you present, ¹⁸ but you shall eat them before the LORD your God in the place that the LORD your God will choose, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your towns. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all that you undertake. ¹⁹ Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land. (Deuteronomy 12:17-19, ESV)

²² “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. ²³ And before the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
²⁴ And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the LORD your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the LORD your God chooses, to set his name there, ²⁵ then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the LORD your God chooses ²⁶ and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.

²⁷ And you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you. ²⁸ “At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. ²⁹ And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do. (Deuteronomy 14:22-29, ESV)

This differs a little from the passage in Leviticus. In Leviticus 27:32, a tithe from the flock was every 10th animals that passed under the shepherds flock, here it is the firstborn of the herd or flock.

¹² “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, ¹³ then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. ¹⁴ I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. ¹⁵ Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ (Deuteronomy 26:12-15, ESV)

So the sense I get, reading these verses, is that in the non-tithing years you are to bring your tithe to the place that God tells you to (i.e., wherever the temple or tabernacle happen to be), and to eat their tithe in that place. I'm assuming that livestock would be presented to the priests first, who would drain the blood and burn the fat and entrails—those portions usually given to God. Then what is left, you were to eat, sharing with the Levites, foreigners, fatherless and widows. Like a big picnic potluck where no one walks away hungry. (You have to remember, too, that tithing was just one of the many types of offerings the Jews had to make. There were also sin offerings, freewill offerings, offerings associated with vows, and offerings associated with festivals.)(For a full list of scripture about offerings tithes/tenths look here.)

But while this seemed to be what the scripture was saying, I wondered why no one actually taught it that way—it was always "bring your tithe to the church". But looking at the above scriptures, it seemed like the tithe, the portion which wasn't eaten by the one offering, was for the Levite (who had charge of looking after the tabernacle/temple and were the music leaders) as well as the needy people.

Back when we lived in Haiti there was this group called the Haiti Health and Agriculture Fellowship. They would put on a yearly conference for people doing agriculture and medical ministries. As part of the conference, they would get keynote speakers to come. One of the speakers was the late Tony Campolo, who was a professor at Eastern University (an American Baptist affiliated school) at the time. When he talked about the tithe, he saw it in a similar way that I did, but perhaps a bit more radical. He looked at this gathering of people sharing their tithe together and put it this way: the tithe is your party money—the other 90% you have to be really careful with. That's not an exact quote, but it's been a few years since I heard him speak. (I believe it is also in one of his books, perhaps The Kingdom of God is a Party, but I no longer have that book.)

Tithing in the times of the kings and post-exilic period

One reference to tithing is found in the book of Amos, though it not a good one. Amos writes about illicit tithing—tithing that was made at Bethel in the Northern Kingdom, not Jerusalem, to the false God's they worshipped there. Amos writes sarcastically:

Come to Bethel, and transgress;
    to Gilgal, and multiply transgression;
bring your sacrifices every morning,
 your tithes every three days; (Amos 4:4, ESV)

The remaining references to the tithe in the Old Testament refer to situations where Israel has not tithed in a long time. As a result, the Levites have not received there portion and have had to work for a living outside of their Levitical work at the tabernacle/temple. Because of this, the emphasis is on bringing the tithe to the storehouse for the Levite as in the Year of the Tithe, not the potluck celebration. The first of these is during the reign of Hezekiah.

⁴ And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the Law of the LORD. ⁵ As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. ⁶ And the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of the dedicated things that had been dedicated to the LORD their God, and laid them in heaps. (2 Chronicles 31:4-6, ESV)

The last time we see tithing mentioned in the Old Testament is after the return of the exiles. Nehemiah is trying to help get the temple worship and activities re-established. The tithe was important because the Levites were having to work, and if the people tithed, it would free them up to do their ministry. We read in Nehemiah 10 and 12:

³⁵ We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the LORD; ³⁶ also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; ³⁷ and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor. ³⁸ And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse. ³⁹ For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, as well as the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.” (Nehemiah 10:35-39, ESV)

⁴⁴ On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. (Nehemiah 12:44, ESV)

Nehemiah had to leave Jerusalem for a while, and when he came back, he found that the Israelites had quit tithing again.

¹⁰ I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. ¹¹ So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. ¹² Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. ¹³ And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. (Nehemiah 13:10-13, ESV)

It is in this context that one of the most quoted verses about tithing occurs—not from the actual regulations about tithing. It's a passage directed not at the Christian church but instead it is written to a bunch of disobedient Jews.

⁸ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. ⁹ You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. ¹⁰ Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. ¹¹ I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts. ¹² Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:8-12, ESV)

The storeshouses were empty. The food that was to feed the Levites, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow was not there. Instead the rich were oppressing the poor, a practice that continues to this day.

I know churches that say they practice storehouse tithing based on this passage. But does it really apply to us today? Is tithing a law of the church? What does the New Testament have to say.

Tithing in the New Testament

The New Testament contains very few references to tithing. One instance is in a message Jesus gave to "the crowds and the disciples," but he was narrowing his focus on the religious leaders: scribes and Pharisees. In a series of "woe to you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites" statements, Jesus brings up the subject of tithing. The passage below is from Matthew, but there is also a parallal passage in Luke 11:42.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! (Matthew 23:23–24, ESV)

The religious leaders prided themselves on how well they kept the law—at least the parts of the law that they felt were important. Jesus' comments about that here seem a bit facetious. He notes their meticulousness about tithing even things like cumin, which is not something terribly significant, while neglecting the significant teachings of the law regarding justice, mercy and faithfulness. You get the sense that in tithing these religious leaders were giving as little as they had to. (Legalism is often used as an excuse to see how much we can get away with.) They were careful to obey the law in insignificant matters, yet they ignored the law regarding more important matters. Part of the rules about tithing were helping the poor and needy, yet, apparently the religious leaders were oppressing people and not showing mercy at the same time they were tithing.

Does this verse teach that the Christian is to tithe? Jesus is addressing Jews, not Christians. Jews were people who tried to make themselves righteous by following the law. And these weren't just any Jews. These were the religious leaders who boasted about how they kept the law better than others. But in keeping the law, they missed the point.

I am not Jewish. (I may be 25% Jewish, but I was not raised in the Jewish culture or religion). I am not operating in a system where I am trying to earn my righteousness. This directive to the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day doesn't necessarily apply to me—unless there would be some other scripture that would imply otherwise.

The only other reference we find to Jesus mentioning tithing is in a parable we find in Luke 18:

⁹ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14 (ESV)

In this parable we find a Pharisee, boasting about how he is more righteous than others. One way in which he sees himself as more righteous is that he gives tithes of all he gets. But he is not the one who is justified in this story—rather it is the sinner who repents who is justified.

That is all there is for Jesus' references to tithing. The only other reference to tithing in the New Testament is in Hebrews 7:1-10, where the writer is talking about the encounter between Abraham and Melchizedek referenced earlier. But the whole point of the larger passage of Hebrews 7 is to show how Jesus can be a priest of God even if He isn't of the line of Aaron, and that the sarifice of Jesus is greater than the sacrifice of the Aaronic priests.

But there is no teaching anywhere in the New Testament where the Gentile (non-Jewish) Christian is taught to tithe. If it was so important, you think it would have come up in the book of Acts, or perhaps Paul, Peter, James or John would have mentioned it.

Does that mean we're not supposed to give? On the contrary--generosity is taught everywhere.

So what does the New Testament say about giving? A lot! Here's just a sampling.

New Testament Teaching About Giving

Do not give as a way of boasting

Matthew 6:1-4 (ESV)
¹ “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. ² “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

In this passage Jesus is talking about giving to the needy, not giving to the "church".

Not 10% but 100%

Mark 12:41–44
⁴¹ And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. ⁴³ And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. ⁴⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Here Jesus commends not the one who gives ten percent, but the one who gives 100%!

Giving as evidence of faith and love - caring for those who have needs

Acts 2:44–46
⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

1 John 3:16–18
¹⁶ By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷ But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

James 2:14–17
¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? ¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

If we give we will receive

Luke 6:38 (ESV)
³⁸ give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

In this verse we see a similarity to Malachi 3:10.

More blessed to give than to receive

Acts 20:35 (ESV)
³⁵ In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Special Offerings for the needy

Perhaps some of the more often quoted verses about giving are from Paul's letters to the church at Cornith. But in these passages Paul is not writing about giving to your local church. He is writing about a special offering he is taking to help the Christians who are in need in Judea.

1 Corinthians 16:1-4 (ESV)
¹ Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. ² On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. ³ And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴ If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

2 Corinthians 8:1-7 (ESV)
¹ We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, ² for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³ For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, ⁴ begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— ⁵ and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. ⁶ Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. ⁷ But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (ESV)
⁶ The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷ Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” ¹⁰ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. ¹² For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. ¹³ By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, ¹⁴ while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

Giving to support elders in the church

1 Timothy 5:17-18 (ESV)
¹⁷ Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

In Summary

The New Testament teaches we should be generous. It suggests sacrificial giving—the kind of giving where you have to give up something in order to help those with less. Most of the giving advice in the New Testament has to do with helping those in need, not giving to "the church." Though scripture does remind us to see that our church leaders are looked after.

The churches of that day did not have buildings to pay for. (Prior to AD 70, some Jewish giving might have gone to caring for the temple building.) But often more of our church budgets are directed to care for property and programs rather than to care for people and if we're not careful we can end up like the Jewish leaders who keep to the letter of the law while missing the point of it.

Jesus summarized the "law and the prophets" (this would include the rules about tithing) with two great commandments.  The two great commandments remind us to love God and to love our neighbor as ourself. (Matthew 22:37-40) And in the parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus reminds us that how we treat the "least of these" is how we treat Him. (Matthew 25:31-46) We can't keep the two Great Commandments without sharing our resources with those in need.

We read in Psalm 50:

For every beast of the forest is mine,
    the cattle on a thousand hills.
(Psalm 50:10–11, ESV.)

If you were to stumble across a cow while wandering through the hills, and you asked around, you would probably find someone who would claim, "that's my cow." This supposed owner might even point out some brand or ear tags as evidence of ownership. But God says that's His cow. Who's right?

Whose cattle?

Everthing on earth belongs to God, the scripture says:

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,
    the world and those who dwell therein,
(Psalm 24:1, ESV)

We humans are granted temporary stewardship of the things on this earth. Adam's job in the Garden of Eden was not to take ownership of the garden, but to take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)

We are accountable to God for how well we care for all the things on earth that belong to Him. Our posessions are not ours, they belong to God. Our money is not ours, it belongs to God. Maybe Tony Campolo wasn't so far off. Maybe the ten percent is our party money and the other ninety percent is to be invested in loving God and loving our neighbor.


For the second Not-so Great Commandment, click here.