the more important things

"Then the Lord said to him, 'You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and wickedness! Fools! Didn't God make the inside as well as the outside? So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over. What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things." Luke 11: 39-42

I do not want to become distracted by my outward appearance to others. I do not want to worry about splitting theological hairs. I do not want the fruit of my life to be greed wickedness. I do not want to be concerned with counting out my pennies or my 100 riel notes to ensure that my tithe is complete.

Justice. Love. Those are the more important things.

I want to be a lover of people. I want to be generous and give gifts for the sake of giving gifts not for the sake of my own benefit or ease conscious. I want to be kind because there are already plenty of people who are not. I want to consider others better than myself. I want to offer people justice and dignity, and I realize that in order to do that it may cost me something, which I have to accept for what it is. It is worth it. It is worth it because it is far more important than a few sprigs of parsley or some dirt under my fingernails...