Ever heard about a kid who covertly fed vegetables from his dinner plate to the family pet, or perhaps snuck them into a pot to “feed” a houseplant? As adults, we might hide receipts from the extra trip to the fast-food drive-through, or a bunch of candy wrappers, so that someone else in the house doesn’t catch us cheating on our diet. We have this idea that if someone doesn’t catch us, we can get away with it. It’s the difference between being sorry that you did something wrong, and being sorry that you got caught!
Taking a closer look at a verse from the passage in the previous article (Malachi 1:6-9), it’s amusing to me in verse 8, where God points out that no human leaders would accept the kinds of sacrifices that the priests were offering. It’s as if the priests thought that God wouldn’t notice, or maybe that He wouldn’t care.
When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.
Malachi 1:8 NIV
Sometimes, I think that since God isn’t corporeal (at least, since Jesus returned to Heaven), we can start to think of Him as not being around, or not paying attention. Even if we’re not offering animal sacrifices to pay for our sins (since Jesus’ voluntary sacrifice took care of our sins once and for all), consider what modern behavior this same attitude – this willful blindness to God that priests in Malachi’s day showed – might create today:
- Maybe we use some sleight of hand to give the cashier less money than we owe, or put foreign coins (worth less than we owe) into the bucket at the toll booth. The same could be said about having a friend let us into the side door of the theater (without paying for a ticket).
- Maybe we slack off when the boss isn’t looking, and surf the Internet instead of doing our job.
- Maybe we “ignore” some of our income when it comes to paying our taxes.
- Maybe we share a secret that a friend told us in confidence, hoping that the leak will never get back to them.
- Maybe we re-gift an appliance to another friend, hoping that they won’t notice that we took it out of the box and used it for a while, before putting it back and wrapping it back up. (Passing along something you don’t need to another person who can use it is often a great way to bless them, of course. Just don’t lie and pretend that you bought it new for them if that’s not the truth.)
I’m not saying that I’ve never done anything like this, but when we do so, there’s a sense of getting caught, and a feeling that if the other person found out, we’d be in trouble.
If someone – including you or me – wouldn’t be able to sneak an inferior payment or gift past a fellow human being, how could the priests think that God wouldn’t notice a sacrifice that was flawed? Did they tell themselves that since they were sacrificing something, anything would be good enough, allowing them to “check the box” of offering a daily sacrifice while disposing of animals that weren’t worth as much for other purposes?
If I had never had the same attitude towards God, I might be able to judge them. However, when I look at the judgment of God through Malachi here, I must admit that I have done the same kinds of things, like:
- Giving only after I make sure that I have enough left over.
- Allocating time for God on Sunday morning, but not always my attention.
- Choosing myself and my own selfish desires over God’s will.
- Making God part of my life, but not the first priority.
If we want blessings on ourselves, our families, our communities, our church, our nation, and our world, though, I think that part of that is trusting God with how we use the blessings He has given us.
I don’t want to suggest that “we get more if we give more”. To me, trying to “buy God’s favor” is as pointless as the actions of priests who went through the motions without actually trying to honor God. Instead, I see this as putting God first in our lives, seeking what He wants us to do with our time, our treasure, and our talents (as I’ve heard pastors put it), and then trusting Him enough to follow His direction, rather than holding back (and holding on to our own plans) until we understand what’s in it for us.
As a commentary said [Hahlen & Ham, p.566-567 footnote], “…the one who trusts [God] with the tithe is also able to trust [God] for provision.” Let’s live in a way that shows God is not only first in our lives, but also the source of both past and future blessings.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for August 18, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, August, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Minor Prophets Vol. 2 Nahum-Malachi, by Mark Allen Hahlen and Clay Alan Ham. © 2006 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 