He Deserves “The Best,” Not “Your Best!”

He Deserves “The Best,” Not “Your Best!”

You say, ‘Oh, it’s too difficult to serve the Lord and do what he asks.’ And you turn up your noses at the rules he has given you to obey. Think of it! Stolen animals, lame and sick – as offerings to God! Should I accept such offerings as these? asks the Lord. Cursed is that man who promises a fine ram from his flock and substitutes a sick one to sacrifice to God. For I am a Great King, says the Lord Almighty, and my name is to be mightily revered among the Gentiles (Malachi 1:13-14 TLB).
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God doesn’t just deserve “your best,” He deserves “the best.” In fact, He demands it, and He’ll accept nothing less. Anytime you give God the best of what you have, you activate a Biblical principle and you’re blessed for your action of faith and trust. This is the reason you must serve God with all your heart and worship Him with everything you have. No offering or sacrifice should be too great for you to give to Him, for you can never out-give God. So give Him the best all the time.

When He gave the Law to the children of Israel, He specifically warned them not to bring anything less than the best before His altar as offering: “And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 15:21). If they did, they would come under a curse. And this was their sin against the Lord many years later as read in our opening passage above. But Proverbs 3:9-10 lets us know that when we honour the Lord with our substance, and give Him the best that He deserves we reap an overwhelmingly great harvest. Now, this isn’t just restricted to the giving of your material substance to God but also in the area of your service to Him as well.

You must serve Him with wholehearted devotion, not lagging in zeal, but fuelled and aflame in your spirit as you do His work (Romans 12:11). To be otherwise means you’re lukewarm, thus offering Him service that is defective: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).

Remember, when we needed a Saviour, God didn’t send an angel, He gave His Son Jesus – His very best – to die for our sins. When we needed a teacher, He sent us His Holy Spirit to live in us, teach us all things, and bring us into all truth. God doesn’t consider anything too good for you. Thus, you should serve Him and be dedicated to Him with reckless abandon! You're to give Him your ALL – the very best of who you are and what you have – your time, resources, energy, and your life; for He deserves the best.

Prayer
Dear Father, I reaffirm today that all I am, and all I have are yours forever; and I’ll always worship you with the very best of my substance as a token of my love and gratitude to you for your amazing grace, tender mercies and loving kindness towards me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.


Further Study
Proverbs 3:9-10
Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Deuteronomy 10:12
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

2 Samuel 24:24
And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Matthew 8:28-9:17
Reading plan Genesis 27-28

2 Year Bible Matthew 5:21-30
Reading Plan Genesis 11