Giving God Our Best

Giving God our leftovers is not acceptable. We need to be giving God our best time, talents, and treasures.

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master … where is My honor? … where is My respect? … You say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ You are presenting defiled food upon My altar … Offer it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you?’”—Malachi 1:6–8 NASB

These priests couldn’t understand why God was upset with them. From their point of view, they had done everything right—making regular sacrifices and fulfilling the Law’s requirements. But in the sight of God, they had fallen short. In fact, they had “despised” His name.

This must have surprised them. But the reason was they had not given God their best.

God had told them that their actions would demonstrate the true feelings of their hearts. They were not to present anything that was deformed or used, but only things of purity and value. However, the priests in Malachi’s time had forgotten this principle, and they regularly sacrificed defective animals. Instead of honoring God, they kept the best for themselves.

Though they wouldn’t dare treat their political leaders with such disrespect, they felt fine about showing disrespect for God Almighty! As a result, they were cheating and offending Him.

God wants us to give Him our best in everything we do—at work or at home, in our church or community, with friends or neighbors. Our tithes and offerings should have value to us and not be our crumbs or leftovers. We should spend quality time in prayer and Bible study, not just a few minutes when it might be convenient.

Remember that God is looking at your heart. Make Him your highest priority and give Him your best in everything you do.

Reflection Question: Are you really giving God the best of everything you have?