"You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.
Malachi 1:7-8
How true it is that we sometimes give God less than our best because we think he won't mind that much. We plan to make it up later. We say 'God will understand'.
When I read this verse I am challenged especially about how much time I give to things. If I have an essay due and am also teaching Sunday School I will give much more time to my essay and hardly do any preparation on my lesson. I am concerned about the immediate response that my essay will get, and feel that the response to my lesson is so far away. My perspective is so limited, instead of being eternal.
I forget that if others will not be pleased with what I have done/not done, then how can I expect that God will think differently? God deserves the best of me, not my left overs.
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1 comment:
You're right. Very good thoughts. Maybe that could be part of the rationale for having a devotional time at the beginning of the day - giving God the firstfruits, the best of our day, so to speak.
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