The Careless Worship

This final book of the Old Testament is about the error of forgetting the love of God. Malachi wrote these words to God's people, who had returned to Israel after being in exile for many years.  God told them that He loved them deeply (Malachi 1:2), but the people did not believe it.  The people failed to recognize the hardness of their hearts and their disobedience to the call of God.  The people did not accept the reality of their sin and faithlessness. The people did not understand that captivity was the result of their sin.  They audaciously said, "In what way have You loved us?"  Such an attitude resulted in careless worship.   The Bible tells us that they offered blind and lame animals at the altar. They broke the vows they made.  They brought even stolen animals (Malachi 1:7,8) for sacrifice.  People vowed the healthy male from their flock to the Lord but sacrificed what was blemished!  They went through the motions of offering sacrifices, but their hearts and lives were far from it.  When people forgot God's love, it affected their attitude and actions too! God sent Malachi to rouse the people from their spiritual apathy and return to Him. 

Malachi leaves us in no doubt about the origin of careless worship. It is the failure to understand the awesomeness of God and His love for us. When we go through hard times in our life, we feel as though God has abandoned us.  Instead of remembering the goodness of God in the past and thanking Him, we question God and His love for us. Such an attitude will lead us to careless worship.  When we give God what is broken, useless, and leftover, we communicate that He is not worth much.  King David said, "… I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God, which cost me nothing ( 2 Samuel 24:24)."  David purchased the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver, and God was pleased with David.  God is saying that He worthy of our worship. Worship is how we bring glory to God with all of our lives, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week! 

My friend, always remember that the Lord loves us and sent His Son just for us.  Let us surrender our lives entirely to Him who deserves our worship. May the Lord open our eyes to His greatness, and may He forbid that we offer Him the leftovers of our lives!

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