Offering Leftovers

In Malachi 1:6-7, the prophet relays the words of God to the children of Israel, condemning them for their shameful sacrifices:

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor?

And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name.

Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’

“You offer defiled food on My altar, but say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘the table of the Lord is contemptible.’”

The altar of God was defiled because the Israelites were not offering their best. Instead, they were “sacrificing” the blind and the lame of their flocks. They were trying to get by with the bare minimum. They were going through the motions. Rather than offering God their first fruits, they gave him their leftovers.

You need not be religious to appreciate the importance of this passage. We all are tempted at times to hold back, to “mail it in,” as the saying goes. Athletes talk about “leaving in all on the field” to describe the process and mindset of fully engaging and giving it your all. Delivering 100% effort, your absolute best. I believe this attitude should apply to life.

Your world is full of people who are just checking a box and going through the motions. They do not even know what their best looks like because they have never asked it of themselves. Instead, they ask, “what is the bare minimum I can do to get by?” Their best is a foreign land in which they have never stepped foot. And even if they have, it has been so long since they’ve visited that they do not remember how to get there.

It must not be this way for you. Offer a worthy sacrifice. Your family, your career, your friends, your faith, they are all too important for minimal or even mediocre effort. Only your first fruits will do. No leftovers.

Comments

Toxic Humility

We have all seen false humility: the guy who tries to hide his arrogance with feigned modesty. It’s usually pretty obvious and always obnoxious. But there is also another variation of false humility out there: toxic humility. This is often displayed in self-deprecating talk and a lack of self-confidence, belittling or undermining one’s own talents and abilities. The danger in this kind of behavior is twofold: it is too often accepted as true humility and like a virus, it spreads doubt and disbelief. To clarify, it is not that the bearer of this toxic humility isn’t honest about his view of himself. That is the very issue: he absolutely believes he has little value or utility. He thinks downplaying his own worth is humility but I disagree. CS Lewis said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.” His point being, true humility is not an ever-present raincloud of self-doubt that follows you around. It’s a focus on

Primed for Progress

Just as some pumps need to be primed to work effectively, our lives need to be “primed” to flow efficiently. Good mornings and productive days don’t happen by accident, and by “priming” your day, you can set yourself up for better results. Does it mean you won’t have bad days? Of course not, but it’s making your day happen instead of just waiting for what happens. Once again, it’s a choice of being proactive rather than reactive. You will still have challenges and difficulties, but how you face those hurdles and respond to the struggles will be different with a primed mindset. I am sure there are many ways to prime your day and set the tone for the hours ahead, and what works for one won’t necessarily work for all. However, the process of creating a plan or a model of how things should unfold is a great place for anyone to start. Also, as I have mentioned before, how you actually start the morning is critical - the battle with the alarm clock is your first chance at victory for

Flower Among Thorns

About six or seven years ago, my wife was around three months pregnant as we eagerly anticipated the birth of another child. One night, as I lay sleeping, I had a dream that our baby was born. It was a beautiful little girl with thin, wispy hair and large, bright eyes punctuating her beautiful face. I held her proudly in my arms and stared down at this precious little creation. I carefully handed her off to her older brother, who was just a toddler himself, as he sat on the coach, arms outstretched, anxiously awaiting the chance to hold his baby sister. I helped him prop up a pillow underneath his little arms to help support my daughter and then stepped back to take in the amazing sight as he gazed down at her with both pride and amazement in his eyes. As I stood there watching them, the dream quickly faded. When I woke up, my eyes met the tearful glance of my wife. “I’m bleeding,” she said as she fought back the emotions, “I think I am miscarrying.” Those words sunk deeply i

Mindset Matters

Search This Blog