Title
Both
Scripture
Woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
(Luke 11:42)
Devotional
While the Pharisees strictly observed the law, they neglected justice and mercy. I am more than a little convinced that doing one without the other will eventually equate to doing neither. There is a manifold chastising of the Lord in our text: the first being the Pharisees tithing of some of the most trifling products of the earth. (1) The Lord, disclosing what they considered a tithe, revealed their conniving to meet the most minute requirements of the law. They missed the complete grace issue of the tithe. Secondly, He chastised them for missing the greatest commandment, "’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"(2)
The Pharisees loved little because they gave little. Our hearts will always follow our treasures. Jesus also said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."(3)