April 12, 2022

Leviticus 22: 20 (NIV)

“Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.”

God’s great promises deserve our best effort!*

Some of the “benefactors” of our church’s former food pantry clearly had never heard of the concept of giving God your best. From expired food to products that were unidentifiable because their packaging was in a foreign language, to bags that included roaches along with the food, many items went straight to the trash can. Frequently, the shelves included borscht (what is it, anyway?), sauerkraut, and pickled beets; and always, after the holiday season, there was a nice supply of canned pumpkin pie filling and cranberry sauce – not necessarily bad things but not one’s first choice for feeding a hungry family.

When God required his people to offer their best, it was a sacrifice in more than one way. I can imagine the temptation to bring their defective animals to the temple instead. What difference could it make if the deformed or the diseased animals were culled from the herd to be burned on the altar? It wasn’t as if God was going to eat the meat – it was all merely symbolic, wasn’t it?

Well, yes, the sacrifices and the rituals were symbolic but they were instituted to remind God’s people of his place in their lives.* And apparently, we need to be reminded that God deserves our best. Whether it’s in how we use our time or talents, or how generously we give to the poor, we demonstrate our level of appreciation to the one who has given us everything we have.

God gives liberally; man divides it badly.*