Is This Good Enough?

In your life, do you find that you give your best to your career, your finances, your stuff, your recreation, only to give God what's left? How did we get the equation so backwards by addressing our spiritual life with what remains? Everything else seems much more important than our spiritual walk. We aren't the first people to struggle with giving God the best. In Malachi 1, the Lord says that the priests despised His name. How? By allowing the people to offer sacrifices to God that were less than their best. Blind animals. Sure, bring them on. Lame animals. Those were fine too. Whatever you had was okay by them. How often do we try to get away with the same and hope God doesn't notice? We give our jobs 110%. We give our recreation 110%. We give our stuff 110%. But when it comes to God, any lesser amount is viewed as acceptable. And our the offering of ourselves is usually done in that order. Job first. Recreation, stuff and family next. God last. Interestingly, this isn't the only place in scripture when the Lord tells them that he will refuse their blemished sacrifices. Over and over the Israelites would try to get away with offering God sub-par sacrifices. And each time, God had the same response, "I will not accept an offering from your hand." (Malachi 1:10b ESV) God isn't looking for just anything. He wants our first and best. Nothing less! Why not turn the formula around the next 7 days by offering yourself to God first, then to the other commitments in your life. I think we would be amazed at what our God can and will do on our behalf when we do. "Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts." (Malachi 3:7 ESV)