Weightier Matters of the Law
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”
Jesus Christ contrasted the measuring of tiny amounts of spices in order to pay God precisely one 10th of it with what He called the “weightier matters of the law.” This example vividly illustrated the hypocrisy of the Pharisees,
Tithing is a part of God’s law that should not be neglected, but when a person is more concerned about counting tiny amounts of spices than being just, merciful and faithful, that person is unbalanced. Both should be done, but we should pay special attention to what God puts priority on.
For more about what the Bible says about tithing, see “Tithing: What Is It?” For more about justice, mercy and faith, see our article “God’s Priorities: The Weightier Matters of the Law” and the sections on “Forgiveness” and “Faith.”
