WHY DO WE GIVE GOD WHAT WE WOULD NEVER GIVE TO A HUMAN BEING?

One of the most uncomfortable questions in the book of Malachi is not about how much we give.

It is about WHAT we are willing to give to God.

God said to Israel:

“When ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and when ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person?”

Malachi 1:8

Think about that.

God was essentially saying:

“If you would not give this to your governor, why are you bringing it to Me?”

That question exposes something deeper than a bad sacrifice.

It exposes the condition of the heart.

THEY WERE GIVING GOD WHAT THEY WOULD NOT GIVE TO A HUMAN RULER.

Imagine taking a damaged animal to an important government official as a gift.

Would you do it?

Probably not.

You would carefully select something valuable.

You would choose something presentable.

You would give something that communicates honor.

But when it came to God, they were bringing what was blind, lame, sick, and defective.

Why?

Because they had forgotten who God was.

THE PROBLEM WAS NOT THE ANIMAL.

THE PROBLEM WAS THE HEART BEHIND THE OFFERING.

They had developed a mentality that said:

“God will accept anything.”

But God challenged that mentality.

God does not merely look at what enters His house.

He looks at the heart that brings it.

This is why Malachi is so powerful for us today.

Because although we may not be bringing animals to an altar, we can still make the same mistake.

We can give God our leftovers.

We give our best time to everything else and give God whatever remains.

We can spend hours scrolling through our phones but struggle to spend minutes in prayer.

We can give our attention to entertainment but become distracted when it is time to study God’s Word.

We can plan our careers carefully, build businesses carefully, manage our finances carefully, and organize our schedules carefully, yet treat our relationship with God casually.

And then we wonder why our spiritual lives become weak.

THE QUESTION IS NOT ONLY, “AM I GIVING GOD SOMETHING?”

THE QUESTION IS, “AM I GIVING GOD MY BEST?”

There is a difference.

You can give something to God without truly honoring God with it.

The Israelites were offering sacrifices, but God was not pleased with their sacrifices.

Why?

Because their offering revealed their attitude toward Him.

They were willing to give God what they considered unworthy.

God said:

“Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it!”

Malachi 1:13

They had reached a point where serving God had become a burden.

Their worship had become routine.

Their sacrifices had become careless.

Their hearts had become distant.

And this is the danger of religious activity without genuine honor.

YOU CAN BE ACTIVE IN RELIGION AND STILL BE CARELESS WITH GOD.

You can sing and not honor Him.

You can preach and not honor Him.

You can give and not honor Him.

You can attend church and not honor Him.

You can pray and still have a heart that treats God as an afterthought.

God was teaching Israel something profound:

WHAT YOU GIVE TO GOD REVEALS WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT GOD.

If God is truly first in your heart, He should not constantly receive what is left over.

Your time matters.

Your attention matters.

Your obedience matters.

Your worship matters.

Your resources matter.

Your service matters.

And your heart matters most of all.

This does not mean God is impressed by expensive gifts or outward appearance.

It means that God is not looking merely at the VALUE of the gift.

He is looking at the HONOR behind the gift.

David understood this principle when he said:

“Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing.”

2 Samuel 24:24

David understood that true honor involves sacrifice.

So ask yourself today:

Am I giving God my best, or merely what remains?

Does God receive the first part of my attention, or only the leftovers?

Do I give Him my strength, or only the moments when I have nothing else to do?

Do I serve Him because I love Him, or only because I need something from Him?

And if God were to examine my daily life, would He see genuine honor or religious routine?

MALACHI’S MESSAGE IS STILL RELEVANT:

DON’T GIVE GOD WHAT YOU WOULD BE ASHAMED TO GIVE A HUMAN BEING.

If you would carefully prepare something for a human ruler but casually approach the King of kings, something is wrong.

God deserves more than our leftovers.

Not because He needs our gifts.

But because He deserves our honor.

The greatest offering God wants is not merely something in your hand.

It is a heart that truly recognizes who He is.

Malachi 1 teaches us that God is not impressed simply because we give something. He examines the heart, attitude, and honor behind what we give. The Israelites were offering defective sacrifices because their worship had become careless. The lesson for believers today is simple: God should not continually receive the leftovers of our time, attention, obedience, worship, and resources. If He is truly Lord of our lives, our relationship with Him should reflect genuine honor.

The question is not:

“Am I giving God something?”

The deeper question is:

“AM I GIVING GOD MY BEST?”

WHAT YOU GIVE TO GOD REVEALS WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT GOD‼️