MALACHI 1:6-8; 14 – “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ 7 By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised. 8 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. 14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations
THEME OF THE DAY. GIVE HIM OUR BEST. Today’s scripture is an intimate look into the heart of our God. And it is sad. His pleas to His people are probing and revealing, not only of His heart but of His people’s attitude and actions against Him.
If we were to consider the worst possible thing a human being may do to such a loving God as ours, the answer would be to not believe Him. This is what led to the catastrophic event in the Garden of Eden. When the devil tempted Eve, he was drawing her to the sin of unbelief. How did he start his attack? With doubt of God’s Word – Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). The temptation to unbelief led to the sin of unbelief resulting in disobedience. And humans were separated from God and misery entered their existence with all its ugly manifestations – suffering, pain, selfishness, and death. Yes, unbelief is the worst thing a human being does against God, but what about those people who know God? What about His children? What might be the worst thing Christians may do against the God with whom they are reconciled? Unbelief is a good answer as sometimes we do struggle with believing God, but I am not sure that reaches the top of the list. The sin in today’s scripture might be the top thing on the “worst things” Christians do against the God they know.
In reading today’s scripture, we may paraphrase God’s indictment against His people like this – “Why do you give me second best in your allegiance to me? You place high priority on your human relationships, but I am not honored as your highest priority. And when it comes to giving the best of your sacrifices, I get the leftovers.”
Such a look into the heart of God and the actions of His people should cause us to pause and think. What about us? Does God get our second best? When it comes to serving Him, does He get the best of our efforts? And what about our time of seeking Him in His Word and prayer? Does the Lord get pushed off throughout the day for other things leaving only “leftover” time marked by fatigue, sleepiness, and lack of attention at the end of the day? Oh, may it not be so! And it won’t be so if we are gripped with one thing; the cost God paid so we could know Him (John 3:16; 17:1-4).
When tempted to let things in life push time alone with God into “leftover” time, stop and think of the cross of Christ. Let the great sacrifice our Lord made move us to give Him the “best time” of the day in seeking His face. After all, He gave the best of Himself for us. Is it not only right to do likewise of ourselves to Him?
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I give You ‘leftover time’, not the best of my time each day of my life.”
QUOTE: “When we rightly understand who God is, He will get the best of us, in all things including our time.”