The fear of the law of tithing (Part 2)
Verse of the Day: Matthew 6: 24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon"
Mammon is known as the god or spirit of finance and as the world is led by the power of money, Jesus said that we cannot serve God and Mammon. He says we can choose to serve one of the two but we cannot serve both. The bible does not say that money is the root of all evil, but it is the love of money which is the one (1 Tim 6: 10).
If you often read the bible, you can realize that Jesus talked about money more than all the apostles including even Paul. He talked about money in many parables and he did not only talk about it, but he also owned it. He lived from money, he bought food for his disciples with the money he kept in a safe that was kept by Judas Iscariot. He had enough money to live and to help the poor. Jesus even paid the taxes charged by the government (Matt 17: 27). All these verses confirm that Jesus had money and was not poor as some people say.
I know some of you are surprised to hear that Jesus had money wherever he went during his ministry, but it must be proven by the Word: Let's read in John 13: 29 " Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor "
The verse of John 13:29 tells us that Jesus had someone (Judas) to keep his money and he did not only use it to live as we find in the verse, he sometimes organized feasts. The thought of his disciples came out of the things that they were used to see. Jesus was not poor because the poor cannot organize feasts. The same verse reveals that he even supported the poor.
The big question is to know where did the money come from? The answer is found in Luke 8:3 “And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance". Back then, the steward of the king was very rich and Joanna was the wife of Chuza the steward of King Herod. The verse says that she ministered unto Jesus of her substance, not only her but many others did the same. On one hand, God put on Jesus’ road men and women who were wealthy and influential in order to support his ministry and on the other hand, He put the poor around him to assist them in their needs from the money collected from those rich people.
In the third part, we will see what Jesus thinks of the rich regarding heaven.
Chris Ndikumana
