Leftovers - Giving God Our Table Scraps

So here is the scene:  You're on the brink of winning a huge contract for your company.  It's potentially the biggest contract the company has ever seen and you're in the running for the raise of a lifetime.  Your boss tells you he'd like you to invite the CEO of the potential customer company to dinner at your home and of course you smile and say, "I'd love to."  


You send the invitation and receive an RSVP for both the CEO and his lovely wife.  You clean the house, set the table, and then you look into the fridge and grab that stuff in the Tupperware at the back corner of the second shelf, the half eaten tuna sandwich wrapped in cellophane, and the left over burrito you couldn't finish last Friday.  Hmmm? Dessert?  Ah ha! Apple Jacks!  I love Apple Jacks!  So you put out a couple cereal bowls and check the date on the milk.  Just a 2 weeks past the "best used by" date so you open the top and take a whiff.  A little stiff but certainly not enough to make anyone sick.  You set the table put out the leftovers and the doorbell rings.  It's going to be a good night!  NOT!


I know the example is a bit over the top but maybe not so far off when we compare it to our relationship with God.  It's interesting how little of our good stuff we really give to God.  Many of us spend our money all week long on frivolous things and then put a few bucks in the collection basket on Sunday.  We talk to our friends, watch TV, chat on Facebook, then give God a 2 minute prayer at bedtime.  We use our talents at work, on the golf course, and in our hobbies but volunteer our time a couple times a year.  Now I know that many of you are giving God your best stuff so keep it up but the rest of us need some help.


Giving God your best stuff has an origin from the very beginning of man.  In Genesis the story of Cain and Able revealed that God wasn't please with the leftovers.  In Malachi God reminds us that everything we have comes from him and when we withhold our best stuff from him we are "robbing" him. There is a concept of "First Fruits" that I'd like to share as well. The first crops that God's people would collect from their fields and give to God were called the first fruits. This was a sign that everything the land produced belong to God (Deuteronomy 26:1-15)


Now this is not a guilt trip but a wake up call.  You see God doesn't need our stuff but he does desire us and our hearts.  He knows what is best for us and when we short change God with our time and our stuff we are really hurting ourselves.  But there is something else that is equally important.  When we give God our "first fruits"others benefit.  People may benefit from our financial giving, our talents, our love, and maybe just our time. I won't belabor the point but take a few minutes and survey a normal week of your life and see how you're spending your money, your time, and your gifts.  How you spend things reveals a lot about your priorities.  If you are desiring an evening with the God of all creation you might want to leave the old tuna sandwich in the fridge.




Peace,  David