Malachi 1:6-7a Devotional Scripture - Are We Bringing God our Leftovers That Cost us Nothing?

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name! “But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’⁷ “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar."

Malachi 1:6-7a

The people and the priests disgraced God and His altar by offering defiled food to Him and animals that were blind, lame, or sick.  God rebuked them for neglecting the worship of Him and failing to live according to His will. Their relationship to God had become inconsequential.  Their worship was no longer from heartfelt adoration; instead it was a burden. By offering defiled and despised sacrifices they were saying, “How far can I get with my relationship with God without having to go all the way?” They wanted to do just enough to make sure their family was safe, their job was secure and a wall of protection was up around them but nothing more. They were obeying God but they really weren’t really obeying him.  What they brought to God was the leftovers that cost them little to nothing.

 If we give God only our leftover time, money, and energy, we repeat the same sin as these worshipers who didn’t want to bring anything valuable to God.  What we give God reflects our true attitude toward him. Our worship reflects what we believe about God.  Our obedience to God shows how much we value our relationship with Him.

We tend to believe that following God is supposed to make life easy and more comfortable but often that is not the case. Often, it takes hard work to live by God’s high standards.  But, if God is who He says He is than serving God is  more important to us that anything else, because we know that what we must give up is of little importance compared to what we gain – eternal life with God.