Giving God Our Best (Malachi 1:6-14, 3:6-12)

I. Introduction

A. Illustration: Texting while driving

“Fourteen states already ban texting while driving, though three states, including New York, have passed measures that have yet to take effect. A spate of reports has highlighted the dangers of distracted driving. A study released in late July by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that truck drivers face a risk of a crash or near crash 23 times as much when texting than when not doing so. A study from the University of Utah using a driving simulator found that college students faced a crash risk eight times as much when texting” (New York Times, accessed August 16, 2009).

“David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah, estimates that only 2% of people are able to safely multitask while driving” (TIME Magazine, accessed August 16, 2009).

In order to type a coherent sentence, texting gets the best of your attention, while driving gets whatever attention is leftover. You simply don’t have the capacity to give your best to both.

B. In life, we all have responsibilities (work, school, etc.) and relationships (family, friends, etc.). Like texting while driving, the fact is that we will give our very best to some of these things, and everything else will get whatever time, energy, talent, emotion, etc. we have leftover. Something or someone is getting your best. Something or someone is getting your leftovers.

II. Giving God Our Best (1:6-14)

In v. 6, YHWH issues a scathing rebuke to the people of Israel, and the priests in particular. He is their father, yet they have not shown him honor. He is their master, yet they have not shown him respect. YHWH brings this charge against them: “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.” How do they respond? They play innocent. “How have we shown contempt for your name?” Even the religious leaders of Israel do not fear YHWH.

In vv. 8, 13-14, we see that they are bringing blind, crippled, diseased, and blemished animals to offer as sacrifices. This says something about the posture of their heart towards God. What audacity! They would never think of giving such a gift to their fellow man or to the governor over them. There is no fear of the Lord to be seen here. They are not giving God their best. They are giving him their leftovers.

Do you give God your best, or do you give him your leftovers? Do you live for God halfheartedly, secretly hoping he will not notice? What is the posture of your heart?

III. Giving to God Generously (3:6-12)

Last week, we saw that YHWH says to Israel: “I have loved you.” He then goes on to trace this love all the way back to Jacob. Here in chapter three, YHWH says: “I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendents of Jacob, are not destroyed” (v. 6). It is because of his unchanging love that YHWH spares Israel despite their sin and folly and rebellion. “‘Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty” (v. 7). This is the key verse for the book of Malachi. This is God’s heart for his people.

YHWH levels another charge against Israel: “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me” (v. 8). Once again, Israel plays innocent. “How do we rob you?” He tells them that they are robbing him by not bringing in the whole tithe. They are holding something back. How we relate to God is a serious business. In the book of Malachi, the people of Israel take themselves too seriously, and they take God too lightly.

If only Israel will give generously and bring in the whole tithe, God promises that he will bless them abundantly (vv. 10-12).

God is generous. He gives us life and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25). We are made in the image and likeness of God, so we should be generous too. We should give God our best and give generously of our time, our talent, and our treasure.

IV. Application

A. Time

1. LOVE: We need to give generously of our time to invest in loving relationships. Paul Hiebert, late professor of mission and anthropology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, says: “Alicja Iwanska, a Polish anthropologist, pointed out how difficult [it can be to understand all people as fully human]. In a study of Americans of the Northwest coast, she concluded that they divide their world into three broad categories: ‘scenery,’ such as the mountains, weather, and strange places, which provide the staple for most conversations; ‘machinery,’ such as tractors, cars, books, pencils, and other items used to do a job; and ‘people.’ She found, however, that they tended to see American Indians as ‘scenery’ and transient laborers as ‘machinery.’ Only friends and relatives were really ‘people’” (Hiebert, Cultural Anthropology, 41). Maybe one reason we have such a hard time loving people is that we do not see them as God sees them. We need to repent and give God our best in loving the people he has created.

2. SERVICE: We need to give God our best by cultivating and practicing a servant’s heart. There are opportunities to serve all around, but we must discipline ourselves to take those opportunities. Jesus was a servant (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45), so anyone who claims to be his disciple likewise ought to be a servant.

B. Talent

1. INSIDE THE LOCAL CHURCH: If you are part of a local church family, you should seek out ways to put your gifts, skills, talents, and abilities to good use there. How can you support the life and mission of your church?

2. OUTSIDE THE LOCAL CHURCH: Whatever gifts, skills, talents, and abilities you possess are not yours to keep for building your own kingdom. They are yours to give away in building God’s kingdom. What is your vocation? What might be the intersection of your vocation and the kingdom of God? Are there ways you can be more kingdom-oriented in your day-to-day living?

C. Treasure

1. THE LOCAL CHURCH: If you are part of a local church family, you should give generously of your finances to support the life and mission of the church. You can write a check or set up a monthly electronic funds transfer (EFT). Whatever the case, you should create margin in your budget for both planned giving and spontaneous giving.

2. THE COMMON GOOD: Disciples of Jesus should be the best kind of citizens and contributors to society. Loving our neighbor dictates that we work for the common good. We have incredible resources for giving generously to help the poor and needy, both at home and abroad. Write a check. Sponsor a child. Get involved in micro-finance loans. There are all kinds of ways that you can make your money work for the common good of society.

A report in the journal Science said “a team of economists and psychologists at the University of Oregon said they found that donating money to charity activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure” (Mitchum, “Warm Glow of Giving Isn’t Your Imagination,” source, accessed June 20, 2007). God created you to be generous! Once again, this includes both planned giving and spontaneous giving.

V. Conclusion

Think about it: the times in life when you have felt most fully alive are times when you were giving, not times when you were taking. God created you to be generous! So when you give, you feel his pleasure. Giving is, in many ways, the pathway to human flourishing.

God is generous. He gives us life and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25). We are made in the image and likeness of God, and being generous is part of bearing his image. The story of YHWH and Israel in the book of Malachi reminds us that we should give generously toward God and give God our best.

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