A business man once asked, "Pastor, is my 10 percent tithe off of the gross or net?" The pastor replied, "When you actually tithe 10 percent, we will talk again."
I share this story when people ask about the effectiveness of loving your neighbour, especially when I find that person cannot even tell me the name of their neighbour. I was at point in life when I did not know my neighbours' names, nor did I know anything about them. It seems mysterious, but it is clear that the question about 'gross' or 'net' becomes irrelevant after tithing 10 percent. Actually, those questions will probably dissipate much earlier for the business man.
The point is we will never understand the effectiveness of loving neighbours if we simply ask questions about effectiveness in lieu of loving a neighbour.
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