Dishonoring God in Worship Malachi 1:6–14

Dishonoring God in Worship Malachi 1:6–14
In this passage of scripture, God confronts the priests, the spiritual leaders who should have been
guiding the people in righteousness and honor. “A son honors his father, and a servant his master,
where is the honor due me?”
God is not being honored, but why?
The priests respond defensively again: “How have we shown contempt for your name?”
God answers plainly: by offering defiled sacrifices. Under the law, sacrifices were to be without
blemish (see Leviticus 22). Instead, the priests were offering:
 Blind animals
 Lame animals
 Sick animals
These were not accidents—they were deliberate compromises. The people kept the best for
themselves and gave God what was left over. God exposes their sin with a piercing question:
“Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? In other words, they
showed more respect to human authority than to God.
Worship that costs nothing and demands nothing ultimately honors neither God nor the
worshiper. It is a tainted attempt to get by with as little as possible. God does not honor this type
of worship. It is pure selfishness, aka sin.
In all that we do, we must honor God. He must be first in all of our decisions, evident by our
actions and lifestyle choices. I have found that giving God our best produces the best in us.
Stay faithful, my friends. I hope to see you on Sunday.
Pastor Steve