Leftovers
A few years ago I met a friend for lunch at the original Tony Packo’s in Toledo, Ohio, which was made famous by Klinger on TV’s "Mash". Their specialty is Hungarian hot dogs, of which I had two, plus a helping of "to die for" German potato salad.
My wife loves German potato salad, so before I finished my lunch, I asked for a box to take the leftovers home. I’m thinking she will love it. After all, I’m being very thoughtful. Maybe I’ll even earn some brownie points for being so thoughtful. NOT! She looked at it and said with great disdain, "Leftovers!"
That reaction pretty much sums up how God felt about the Israelites bringing their leftovers to Him for sacrifices. Malachi describes it as "defiled food" when the Israelites brought blind, crippled or diseased animals. They had learned to cut corners.
What does any of this have to do with you and me? After all, we don’t offer sacrifices today. I find that for me, when my response to something like this is that I don’t see how it applies to me, most times there is a blind spot in my life. How then does this apply to us today?
Let me ask you this: How do you use your time, talent and treasures? Do you give God the leftovers? Or is He front and center in your decision making? You might think, "God didn’t call me to be a missionary in Africa". Or, "I’m just ordinary. How could God use my talents?" Or, "My small gift won’t make a difference".
God said in Malachi 2:16b, "Guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith". He is specifically talking about divorce here but it applies to all areas of our lives. Guard your spirit. Don’t let blind spots sneak in. Don’t give your leftovers to God or He might react like my wife did.
God gave us the perfect sacrifice through His son Jesus. Let’s not cut corners by giving Him our leftovers. Let’s give Him our best.
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