Leftovers – ChurchEdge

When teenage boys come in the door from school, they have only one thing on their mind – “What’s for dinner?” Of course, they have been building up to this moment since shortly after lunch that day. Certain answers will, of course, make them happier than others. For me, I dreaded hearing my mother say, “Casserole”. I’m not sure why, but casseroles just didn’t do it for me. But for our boys – and for many boys and girls, of all ages, all over the world, there is an answer that no one wants to hear when they ask, “What’s for dinner?” Answer – “Leftovers.”

Well, I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about “Leftovers.”

It’s true – no one gets very excited about leftovers. Including God. Unfortunately, that’s what many of us give Him.

Listen to our word for today from the Word of God in Numbers 18:29. Even though it was written to God’s ancient people about their tabernacle sacrifices, the principle of what God expects from His children has never changed. God says, “You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.” Now, I’m sure the temptation was to give God an animal that wasn’t worth too much and to keep the best for yourself. You know, the unblemished animal. And listen, that was the one you could get the highest price for, but doing that’s a big mistake. They tried it then – and we try it now.

In the Book of Malachi – just before God basically stops sending His messengers to His people for 400 years, we find them wondering why things aren’t going well in their relationship with God. He says, “When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? … Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar!” God’s basically saying, “Stop going to church. Shut the doors. Give up those ceremonies. I am not pleased with you … and I will accept no offerings from your hands.”

Obviously, God is not interested in your leftovers. He’s interested in “the best and holiest part of everything” He’s given to you. You’ve probably got a very busy life. Is the Lord getting prime time in your schedule – or whatever you have left over? Does He get you when you can “squeeze Him in ” or is your time with Him, your time for Him, non-negotiable? Is the Lord getting the ragged leftovers of your energy – is most of your energy spent on your agenda instead of His? Jesus gave us a priority check that we should probably consult each new day – “Seek first the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). Are you? Or are you seeking first your own kingdom?

God tends to get marginalized in a full and busy life. Like His Old Testament people, we try to meet our responsibility to Him by surrendering to Him things that really aren’t a sacrifice – while hanging onto the really good stuff for ourselves. “God, here’s what doesn’t matter too much to me anyway … I’m just going to hang onto what’s really valuable.”

God isn’t interested in your leftovers. And if that’s what He’s been getting, this would be a great time to turn that around. Why? Because God gave His holiest and His best for you … His dear Son. He deserves more than your leftovers.

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(A similar commentary…)

A Word With You by Ron Hutchcraft #3786, July 16, 2001.

If you’ve ever had a teenage son, you’ll know this answer. When a teenage boy gets home from school, what’s the first question he asks? “What’s for dinner?” Now one of our boys’ unfavorite answers to that question was that dreaded “L” word – leftovers! That was especially scary after Thanksgiving, when we found it seemed like that turkey would never end. Now, leftovers aren’t too many people’s first choice for a meal. Right? And the longer they’ve been left over, the more unsatisfying that choice becomes. I know I’ve never been to a restaurant that offered an item called “leftovers” on today’s specials, or anywhere on the menu for that matter. Let’s face it. They’re second best – at best.

Well, I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about “Repulsive Leftovers.”

No one gets very excited about leftovers – including God. But when God asks many of us, “What are you giving Me?” our most honest answer would be, “Leftovers.” In our word for today from the Word of God, God is telling His ancient people that they are showing contempt for Him, and these are people who are doing a lot of religious things! He says they are disrespecting Him by bringing Him defiled offerings. He explains it in Malachi 1:8. Remember, God called for the sacrifice of only an unblemished, perfect animal.

Here’s what He says: “When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? … With such offerings from your hands, will God accept you? … Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on your altar! I am not pleased with you, says the Lord Almighty, and I will accept no offerings from your hands.”

Imagine God saying, “Forget all your church meetings! All your Christian activities are useless. Close the church! Keep your offerings! You’re wasting your time – I’m not accepting what you’re giving.” Man! Now that’s God’s reaction when His children offer Him the leftovers of their lives. His people in Malachi’s day said, “Giving God this perfect animal is such a waste. I can get good money for an animal like that. I’ll just give the Lord this blind one or this crippled one – I don’t need them. I can’t do much with those.” And God says, “I’d rather have nothing than what you don’t really need anyway – your leftovers.”

Remember the day the religious leaders in Jerusalem were throwing their big offerings in the pot with great fanfare? Remember the only gift Jesus said impressed Him? The gift of a poor widow who quietly gave everything she had. It doesn’t matter to Jesus how much you give – it seems to be how much you have left that matters to Him. One recent study shows that the giving of American Christians – the percentage of their income given to the work of God – has dropped by one-third in the last 30 years! The trend seems to be to spend more on ourselves and to give less to our Lord. I can’t imagine He is any more pleased with us than He was with His children in Malachi’s day.

God calls on His children to give the “first fruits” to Him. To a farmer, that meant real faith giving. Before he knew what kind of harvest he’d ultimately have, he brought to God right off the top. Now it’s interesting to note that many Christian ministries say that one-fourth to one-third of their total income for the year comes in during December, especially since people are thinking about their income tax deductions! Could it be that some of us are waiting until after the harvest to see what we can “afford” to give to the Lord – our “last fruits?” See, it’s the gift of faith that pleases God. A gift that involves little risk and little sacrifice is not a gift that means much to a God who sacrificed His one and only Son for us.

Our spiritual words and activities may not be the best measure of our relationship with God. It’s often the sacrificial giving of our finances that most accurately shows how much we really love Him. Not how much you give, but how much you have left … not leftovers. Because your Lord says, in Numbers 18:29, “You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.”

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