second best

"A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts." - Malachi 1:6-8

Second best. Those two words sting when it applies to a "special" gift for someone, doesn't it? Think of it. "Well, I baked you a cake, but instead of the good ingredients I used old, stale ones that I found on the floor. You know the leftovers. Enjoy!" Nice. That is no gift. It's an insult, isn't it? I don’t know about you, but my thoughts would definitely be, "Wow. Umm, thanks?" I read today in my devotions of the indictment God spoke through Malachi to the priests of his day. God said, "O preists that despise my name…you offer polluted bread upon mine altar" and then you ask "Where have we despised thy name?...Where have we polluted thee?" They were offering second-best animals--the blind lame or sick ones to God in sacrifice. God then goes on to say, in effect, you wouldn’t give that to another man you respected, would you? Your governor would reject that kind of an offer. Why do you give it to Me?

Why do we give second best to our God? In our obedience or service to God, why do we treat ourselves to what we want or feel like and ignore what God desires? Our time and talents we give to God seem to fall into a certain ranking order behind what we want and feel like. If it doesn’t fit into what we already have going, it just gets second best. The first thing to get cut is the opportunity to fellowship at church or the discipleship Bible Study. When our schedules get tight, we skimp on the stuff that doesn’t “scream” at us, like our devotions and prayer. Why do we give God what’s left of our day after we have done what we want to do? Why is it that when it comes to an opportunity at church, it has to fit into what we have going on? I guess we just do what we want to do, don’t we? We do what is easiest, what is comfortable, and what feels good. God demands the best, our everything. He is worth it, yes, but most importantly, He demands it. What are you giving God? A polluted offering of what is left of your time and energy or your best? Give Him your best in your life, your heart, and in your time. It is time to start doing what we know is best, even if its hard or uncomfortable, because God demands it. Search this truth out for yourself: In your difficulty and sacrifice to give God the best, joy and satisfaction in God speaks loudest.