In studying Malachi 1 it hit me that we should listen to what God told Malachi. Today we are more possessed to satisfy people and impress others rather than to give our best to God. Yes, God gets our second, third, or worse effort and then in front of others call ourselves Christian.
We talk the game but do not live the game of life to serve God. As you read the first chapter of Malachi, God addresses the leaders that they offer burnt offerings of blind calves, lame and diseased animals and God only wants the best of what God has blessed us.
Today we do not offer the same sacrifices because of the one sacrifice of God's son. That still does not give us an excuse to not give our best to the Lord out of love and not requirement. Instead we ourselves build ourselves up and try to just impress others with our stuff.
I believe God looks down and just shakes His head in that He gives us everything and our life reflects the sadness of caring less about God until we have a crisis. Then we cry out to Him to fix it.
I am not saying that if you give God your best that you will not have crisis but in developing a relationship that gives the best thing you have to offer. The Lord will get you through the crisis even better than before the crisis. Remember it is Satan that wants to inflict pain. (Read the Book of Job and see Satan's conversations with God).
YOUR TIME in a relationship with the Lord is what He is asking you to do, instead of just saying "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep." Giving our best is in time with Him with sincere words, loving others, and giving a small portion of what God has blessed us all.
Read the short book of Malachi in a modern version and you will see what happens to churches and nations when they do not give their best. But God makes one promise to each one of us and God does not ever break a promise. Read Malachi 3: 6-12
Then you will see what God promises when we give him our Best!