How to Strain a Gnat and Eat a Camel

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel."  Matthew 23:23-24

Last night, I asked for a few volunteers, and the three teens that came up got to show everyone what Cheddar Cheese flavored Larvae tasted like. (I got them from Earthbound Trading Company if anyone is interested in trying some for yourself!)  Then I asked for another volunteer and that one got to eat a blueberry flavored succer with a real dried scorpion inside. (Don't worry, the pincher on the tail was removed and the venom was drained out...or so I've been told)  It was to lead us into this scripture where Jesus pointed out to the Teachers and Pharisees that they spent so much time consumed by the minute details of trying to live perfectly for God, that they overlooked the bigger picture; justice, mercy, and being faithful.  You see, in their time eating of certain animals was considered unclean and sinful, so these religious leaders would go as far as straining a bowl of soup to make sure they wouldn't accidentaly swallow tiny insects, like gnats.  Because they spent so much of their time concentrating on these tinier details, Jesus was saying they wouldn't even notice if the meat someone had preparred for them was from a larger "unclean" animal, like a camel.

How often do I get so caught up in thinking God is looming over me with a checkbox, marking off every tiny mistake I've made and every "i" that I haven't dotted, that actually living naturally for Him goes out the window?  We can be so afraid of not looking good in God's eyes that we forget there are others in this same journey, and we can help each other with encouragement and support.  I am an image of Jesus, but I am not Jesus.  Thankfully, the only one that has lived in complete perfection as a human is the one that chose to give His life for me, so that I could recieve eternity in the Kingdom of His Father, and all I'm asked to do is have a relationship with Him and be a part of His Family!

While in that Family, choosing to give tithe on even the tiniest blessing I recieve is a great way to show God He even matters in the smallest areas of my life, but I cannot let that get in the way of bigger picture by letting the "rules" of Christianity become the god that I serve.  The Creator of the Universe is so much bigger than that.