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Published Friday, October 29, 2010 in Religion

Pastor's Corner: Serving leftovers to God

By DANIEL AUSBUN, First Baptist Church, Moreland

daniel@fbcmoreland.org

Nothing should concern you more than your relationship with God.

He is not someone who can be tacked onto your life. You might believe you have as much of God as you want right now -- a reasonable portion of Him among all the other things in your life.

We disgust God when we weigh and compare Him against the other things in this world. We must compare ourselves to God and His standards. He measures our lives by how we love.

Jesus told a parable about a sower. A farmer scattered some seed. Some fell on the path, some fell on the rocks, some fell in the thorns, and some fell on good soil (Matt. 13:3-8). The seed that fell on good soil is the only true option for believers. The other soil types are not true alternatives. Don't assume you're on good soil. Jesus wants all or nothing. The thought of being a Christian and not being completely committed to Christ is ... non-Christian.

If you're honest, you might admit that you're only willing to make changes in your life if it affects your salvation. These are wrong questions to ask God: "Can I divorce my wife and still go to heaven?" "Do I have to be baptized to be saved?" "Am I a Christian even though I'm having sex with my boyfriend?" "If I'm embarrassed of being a Christian, will Jesus deny knowing me?"

All four of these questions reveal the condition of our heart. They demonstrate that we're more concerned about going to heaven than loving Jesus Christ. John 14:15 says, "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

Serving leftovers to God is believing you can give Him a "bare minimum" and still go to heaven. God wants our best, deserves our best, and demands our best. The Bible makes clear that some offerings are acceptable and others are not (Gen. 4:4-5).

I have given leftovers to God when I take my eyes off Scripture and compare myself to others. The bones I threw at God had more meat on them than the bones others threw, so I figured I was doing fine. Hosea 13:6 says, "When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me." Scripture warns us of forgetting about God.

Forgetting about God is when your prayer life is mumbling a two-minute prayer when you're half asleep. It's when you give God a scrap or two, only because you feel guilty giving Him nothing -- throwing a $20 bill at Him -- thinking He's Lord over your finances. Go fetch, God.

Malachi 1:8 says, "When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong?" The priests during Malachi's day had spotless animals, but they kept them for themselves and gave their less desirable animals to God. They assumed God was pleased because they sacrificed something. God looked at those leftover offerings, and said they were evil.

Leftovers are not merely inadequate, they're evil. You might call it a "busy schedule," "bills," or "forgetfulness," but God calls it evil.

Last week a lady told me she fully intends on coming to church every Sunday but she always forgets to set her alarm and oversleeps. Who are we kidding? We're talking about a Being who decides if I take another breath. God demands our excellence -- the very best you have.

You really need to examine your time, money, and commitment to Christ. If it's less than your best -- God calls it evil and will shut the doors in your life and reject your offerings (Mal. 1:10).