Malachi 1:6-7
ESV
The Priests’ Polluted Offerings
6
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ 7 By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised.
This was written for the priests of Israel who were called to bring the sacrifices but here they are rebuked because they began offering defiled food to God. They lost their reverence for God. They became too comfortable that they neglected doing what they knew was what they were supposed to.
We as believers today are a royal priesthood in Christ Jesus (1 Peter 2:9).
God’s name in our lives should be reverenced. God is our Father but also Lord, He is our Lord but also Father. God isn’t just anyone in our lives but special.
We shouldn’t treat God’s presence in our lives as just anything else. No, God is the creator of the universe, our closest companion, our Father and best friend. God is our guide and protector. God is our everything.
How we treat God in our lives reveals how we feel about Him. If we treat God as important, we will make time for God, seek time to pray, seek time to meditate on the word but if we see God as just anything or equal to something else, we won’t be putting effort to spend time with Him.
I’m not talking about when we genuinely are disrupted by unexpected circumstances and weren’t able to read the word, no I’m talking about when we procrastinate, get distracted, watch movies, chat with friends, were on social media yet say how we couldn’t read the word. When we make time for everything but God. When we make time to enjoy that yummy pasta but neglect reading the word.
That shows how much we value God, that we value so many things and priotise them above God in our lives. I want to encourage us to have reverence for God, God is our Lord and our King. He is precious to us. He doesn’t need to listen and help us. He doesn’t even need to take care of us but because of the abundance of His love, He does so. He didn’t have to let you not fall into an accident that day you drove but as the one who cares, He protects you. He didn’t have to wake you up, but as a Father who has a plan for your life, He allowed you to live. He didn’t even have to give you any gifts, but He chose to out of grace.
This God is not just anyone but bigger than anything and we should have reverence, respect and love for our Great God. Waking up and praising God should be our heart of gratitude every morning. We should thank God, thank Him for even breathing, for not being in the hospital but under a good roof. We should thank God that we survived today and before we go to sleep recall His goodness to us. We should communicate with Him and seek His direction.
For God is Lord over our lives.
-etty.