God Motivation and My Recycling

“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?’ 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. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts.
(Malachi 1:6-8)

Round 2 of Q&A.  Round 2 of some of the cluelessness that we need to identify with.  Often we're better at knowing how to treat fellow humans in places of authority than we are at knowing how to treat God.  That was the issue with Israel.  They were able to look at father/son relationships and servant/master dynamics and realize where honor ought to be given and reverent fear needed to take place.  They would then, as part of their culture call God "Father" and give Him the title of "Master."  But God's question to them was, "Are you really fearing and honoring Me in the way that servants and sons are called to do so?"  I can identify with the people of that time.  How often it is that I call God the right things, even in prayer to Him, without giving Him the according respect and servitude that I ought.  Worse yet, how many times have I taught or preached about the Lord and used the right words only to turn around and act in opposite ways--failing to trust Him when I've spoken of faith, being loose with my words after talking about guarding our speech, etc.  When it comes to "God wording" with my lips I often do OK; when it comes to God motivation with my heart I often stink.

In all of these inconsistencies God's argument was that they, specifically the priests, were despising His name.  "What?!  How?!"  Again, God points out their according actions.  They were giving to Him, on the alter, the kinds of gifts that they wouldn't even dream of giving to their governors!  There were specific instructions for the kinds of animal sacrifices that were to be made.  Essentially, they were to be perfect in function and appearance; flaws were unacceptable.  But these guys were giving to God the equivalent of the kinds of stuff you can't get rid of at a garage sale, try to take to Goodwill afterward, and end up finding out that they don't want it either.  Apparently the people were looking through their flocks, finding what they found to no longer be useful, and using the alter as their recycling bin.  Not only was this ridiculously disobedient to God, but it did a terrible job of preparing people for the Messiah, Jesus, would would be the perfect sacrifice, the one and only Son of God, untarnished to the end, who would spill out His blood to cover the sin of multitudes.  Their flippancy was a big deal because the Father is a big deal, because Jesus is a big deal, and because the plan of redemption They designed is a crazy big deal.  What will I give to God today in the presentation of myself and all my activities as that living sacrifice I'm called to be?  My cast-offs?  My recycling?  May better things come...by God's grace at work in me, may better things come.