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&In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths&

“Leftovers”

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I used to think that I was the only one that didn't like leftovers. When I was growing up, we were very poor and it seemed that all we ever had to eat was leftovers or all that we had to wear were what we called hand-me-downs. I was at the very bottom of a family of nine, with me being the youngest of five boys. Anyway, when it came meal time it seemed that we could always count on the meal consisting of what we had had yesterday and quite possibly the day before. We had leftovers so often that I often wondered who it was that got to eat the first meal. We always used to say that it didn't really matter if you didn't like a particular food, because if you didn't eat it, you would see it again at the next meal. So we didn't necessarily eat it because we liked it, but to get rid of it. Well, the Lord has helped me to see that He doesn't like leftovers either.

In the Book of Malachi, God's Word tells us in verses 6-7, "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a Father, where is mine honour? and if I be a Master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?" Verse 6. And in verse 7 He says, "Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible."

Now God wasn't very happy with these people in their so-called worship and He was trying to tell them that He didn't like leftovers. He went on to say in verse 8, "And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts."

These people were going out among their herds and they would see a young bull that was blind and say, "Now there is a poor little bull that is blind." Then they would say, "We will never be able to see him, so I know what, we will take him to church and offer him to the Lord." Or they would see another young bull that was limping and they would say, "There's a poor little bull that can't walk good, we can't sell him either, so let's take him to church too." The Lord wasn't happy with this at all.

He told them that if that was what they called worship, He would just as soon they didn't even pretend to worship Him at all. He told them to take that blind and lame stuff and to offer it to their governor and see what he thought about it. Can you imagine those people going to their governor and saying, "Now gov. we really do love you and just to show you how much we love and appreciate all you've done for us, we've brought you these little blind and lame bulls." Now, that probably wouldn't sit too well with the governor and in fact, they would probably get in trouble with the government. Their taxes would have probably been perpetually audited. No, God doesn't like leftovers.

Are we today, as God's chosen people much better in our worship? Are we really? What are the determining factors of our worship of Him to Whom we owe everything? Do we check the schedule to see when the kickoff is to determine if we can go to church today? Do we say, "Good, the kickoff isn't until 1:00, I believe I can go to church and worship my Lord and be back before it starts." Do we check first to see what time the race starts to see if it would be possible to go to church today? Now, I bet that most people, if they received a special invitation by governor Beasley to attend a special gathering where only the elite would be in attendance, would not say, "Now wait a minute gov., let me check to see what's on television first." No, most people would jump at the chance to attend such a meeting. Why? Because that would put them in the lime light, so to speak.

Do we consider what kind of program is offered to see whether we will go and worship the King? Now, let's see who's going to be singing today. I would venture to say that if it were announced that the Cathedrals or some other big name singing group were going to perform, the House of God would be packed to overflowing. Does it really matter, the elegance or the fervor with which the message is presented? Have you ever heard someone say something like, "Well, you know, I didn't really get much out of that service today."? Worship is not something that God does for us. It is what we do for Him. It's not what we get out of it that matters, but what we put into it. We are not to be entertained for we are the entertainer. God is the audience. It really doesn't matter whether or not we get a charge or a really good feeling out of worship. What matters is whether or not it makes God feel good.

All these before mentioned things pertain to church attendance which is a place where we go to publicly worship the One to Whom we owe our all. But our worship involves much more than just church attendance. When it comes to our Bible reading and study, do we make it a priority in our daily schedule or is it determined by what's on television or whether or not the fish are biting or whether we can find some other something more interesting?

When we go off to our quiet place to be alone with Him in prayer, is it determined by whether or not the rent is coming due and we fear we won't have the money to pay it or that some other catastrophe has arisen that we see that we won't be able to handle?

Do we check our bank account to see how much praise we should give Him today? Or do we ever say something like, "Well, you know I was up really late last night watching a really good program on television and I'm just too tired to worship like I should."?

Have we really got any idea what an undertaking it is to cause that sun to come up over that horizon in the morning? Think about it. What if God came to you today and called your name and said, "I was up until about four c'clock this morning saving men's souls, so today is your day to be in charge of the sun." Just think of how many people you would kill and one of them would be you. One of them would be me. I don't know about you, but I would rather have my bank account empty or even overdrawn than to have you in charge of the sun today.

When we have a friend come to us and say, "I need you.", and we feel that we are doing something more important, do we say, "I will be glad to help you just as soon as it is convenient?". Yes, this too is a form of worship and if we can't give the friends that He has given us our very best, then we are giving Him, through them, leftovers.

1 Chronicles 16:27-29 says, "Glory and honour are in His presence; strength and gladness are in His place. Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name: bring an offering, and come before Him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Who are His kindred? Well, if you know Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, you are. Again, Psalms 29:2 says, "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name: worship the Lord in beauty and holiness." And again in Psalms 96:9 the Word of God says, "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him, all the earth."

Let us all consider what we are giving Him Who saved us. Are we giving Him our first fruits or are we giving Him our leftovers? God is a truly wonderful God, much better than any governor or any president or any football game or any race or any other thing I could imagine or mention. Let us consider His desires above our own. While we consider these things, let us also consider what His Word says in John 4:23. "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him." Think about that my friend. God doesn't like Leftovers.