This morning I was reading in Malachi, chapter 1. The Lord was addressing Israel and confronting them because they were showing contempt toward the Lord (vv 6-14). They were doing this by offering defiled sacrifices to God. Instead of offering God their first fruit, their best offerings, they were giving God the left overs, the crippled, blind and diseased animals:

7 You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’ “You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. 8 When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Malachi 1:7-8

They were giving God easy sacrifices…easy offerings….and they stunk in God’s sight. He even says, “Look, try giving to the local governor what you’re bringing to me and see how he likes it!” That’s when I began to ask myself, “Do my offerings stink to God?”

How often have I given Him the leftovers, the second best when the God of Heaven, my Jesus, deserves my very best. My prayer today is that I would give God my best offering…in how I love Him, in how I love my family, the people I work and serve with, in how I do my job.