Skip Church Or Can’t Tithe One Sunday – Is This OK With Jesus?

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(9b) <Jesus> went into their synagogue, (10) and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, <the Pharisees> asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (11) He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? (12) How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”’ (Matthew 12:9b-12)

Now that 2025 is here, my lovely wife and I start thinking about when and where we want to go visit. It is easier to plan now that I’m retired, and we can take more than just the obligatory trips to see our kids. Being here in Southwest Florida, though, it is usually a 5-hour drive from here just to cross the state line (8 hours if one exits the state at Pensacola). It is almost a given that us SW Floridians will be gone for at least one Sunday and more likely two when we travel by car out of the state.

If we are at a location and not on the road, we try to visit a church, especially when we are visiting our son, we go to his church. If we’re on the road, we may try to stream the MBC feed to listen in (Safety Notice: don’t try to watch the service while driving) – but sometimes while driving along that may be hit or miss. Sometimes it’s simply putting the radio on a Christian station and listening to a sermon or their music, but it’s not the same.

There are also those times (fortunately for us just about gone now that the kids are productive adults with secure occupations) when there was more ‘month’ than ‘money’. It never happened that often, but there were those times when we’d get a phone calls from one of our children that they were in financial peril, a forgotten bill that was overdue, or a car repair was more than anticipated. We had to delay our tithe in order to cover our or our children’s shortcomings.

On one occasion, when I worked for a small company many moons ago, my paycheck was delayed for a week and, while the bills were paid and we had enough food until the paycheck was provided, I couldn’t write out a tithe to the church we were attending at that time. In these scenarios, I ensured that the tithe was eventually covered, but for some that may not happen. Does this mean we can simply, on a whim, not attend Sunday services or contribute our tithe to our church?

The Christian should not want to miss congregating with other Christians on the Sabbath (the day the congregation meets, typically Sunday for us).  It is important we come together as a family and worship the Lord, hear a God-inspired message from the Pastor, and take time to fellowship.  Similarly, the tithe should be given to the church as directed in Malachi 3 as a gift back toward benefiting the church and God’s plans within the church.  There are occasions, as Jesus pointed out, when a situation – or an opportunity – comes up that may require your absence from church services for a Sunday or two, or for the tithe to go to someone in desperate need (groceries or rent money to forestall eviction).  This should not happen all the time, or be used as an excuse not to attend services at all or never to tithe.    

In Jesus’ example, if you have livestock and your cow or your sheep falls into a hole on Sunday morning, is saving the life more important than worship?  Actually, the question should be, is saving the life a form of worship?  Think of it this way; in scholastic pursuits, there is ‘theory’ (the learning) and ‘practice’ (the doing).  Both are important as you first must learn what you need to know before you go out and do.  Learning (theory) is important, but if you do not go do and put it into practice, what good is it? 

What Jesus did in Matthew 12, healing the lame man’s arm, is putting into practice what was being preached.  In general, the Gospel is simply conveying the message to others that Jesus came to provide Salvation, and we are to love others by sharing His gift with them.  If you only get the theory (hearing the Gospel) but not put it into practice (conveying the Gospel), you’re not fully engaging in worship.

Leaving the sheep in a hole while you go to church is essentially saying to the sheep, ‘I care more about me than you’.  Helping the sheep out of the hole may end up helping you out; instead of the sheep dying in the pit, the rescued sheep can be shorn to make a wool blanket or later a sheepskin rug and a dinner of rack-of-lamb (that’s a good meal, by the way).  Helping someone in need or going to be with a loved one may pay dividends later should you or someone else needs help. 

An old friend called me and mentioned – being in his mid 50’s – that he earned his bachelor’s degree.   He was mentoring a young boy and told the boy (who was struggling in school) that he would work to get his bachelor’s if the young boy worked to get his grades up, get his high school diploma, and either qualify for a college or vocational scholarship.  The young boy did so as my friend got his degree.  My friend told the young boy he owed him only one thing; to someday mentor another young boy to improve and achieve his goals.  The boy hopefully will put into practice what he learned from my friend. 

Likewise, go put into practice the Gospel message, go and share the love of Christ as He has shared it with you.  Don’t let your ‘sheep’ wallow in a pit, but instead pull it up and set it back on the path of Life; that sheep may be a loved one – a son, a daughter, a spouse, a friend – that needs you to do more than you need more instruction. Just don’t make the exception into a habit.