Offering sacrificing to God has always been a part of spiritual service. While under the Law of Moses the people were to offer to God animal sacrifices, today our sacrifices are spiritual in nature (1 Peter 2:5). Regardless of the type of sacrifice offered, God has always demanded that those offering give their best. “Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock. ‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect…” (Leviticus 1:1-4). Offering a male without defect or blemish pointed to them giving the best of the herd or flock. This is what God deserves and demands. Sadly, God’s people don’t always do this. When the Jews came back from captivity they began to offer lame and blind animals to God in sacrifice. In response God said to them, “ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name…” (Malachi 1:6). To give God less than our best is to disrespect Him in such a way that He does not deserve, not only because of His greatness, but because in giving to us, He gave His best (John 3:16).
When we read of Israel offering God blind animals, our self-righteousness raises its ugly head and we immediately condemn them for their ungodly behavior. However, we should all pause and examine our own lives. Do we always give God our best? When it comes to our worship, do we give one hundred percent at every service? Do we sing with all our heart every time we sing? Do we pray with total focus every time we are led in prayer? Do we give to the extent that we show our love for Christ and His cause by our giving? If we are ever guilty of not doing these things, we are offering to God lame and blind sacrifices. What about our evangelistic efforts? Are we giving our absolute best? If we give our all in other areas of life but not to our service to God, we are failing to give him honor. When we work hard at work or give one hundred percent when it comes to school but coast when it comes to the offering up of our spiritual sacrifices, we are disrespecting God. Let’s realize how important it is to God that we serve Him with all our hearts. It is interesting that when Solomon married foreign women and allowed them to influence him to the extent that he was guilty of idolatry, the stated reason for God’s anger was that the heart of Solomon was turned away from God (1 Kings 11:9). He stopped giving God his best. Have we stopped giving God our best? Let it never be so.
~Via Don Wright
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