Are You Giving God Your Leftovers?

“I will not … sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” – 1 Chronicles 21:24

King David is one of best known, most loved heroes in the Old Testament. He was the only man in the Bible whom God referred to as “a man after My own heart.”

 

But David was far from perfect. At times, this legendary king messed up royally (pardon the pun). Just like you and me, David was a sinner in need of a Savior.

 

David’s sin with Bathsheba was, to us, the most legendary. He seduced a married woman, then got her husband killed in order to cover up his crime. But surprisingly, God was more upset with David when he allowed Satan to tempt him into ordering a census of all his fighting men.

 

What was wrong with that? We can’t be certain, but it appears that David sinned on two levels. First, he DISOBEYED God by skipping the Lord’s instructions. God instructed Moses that whenever a census was taken, each person was to pay an offering to glorify God (Exodus 30:11-16). The second problem was PRIDE. David didn’t take a census to bring glory to God. He took it to bring glory to himself.

 

But when God rebuked David, David immediately humbled himself and cried out to God for forgiveness (v. 8). As David’s act of repentance, God commanded him to build an altar on the threshing floor belonging to a man named Araunah the Jebusite. Araunah offered to give David the threshing floor and all the land around it, but David refused: “I will not take for the LORD what is yours or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing” (v. 24). So he paid Araunah, built the altar, and made his sacrifices there – on what he vowed would be the site of the LORD’s temple (v. 22:1).

 

David knew that if he didn’t pay for the threshing floor and the land around it, his sacrifice would be worthless. The same is true for us today: If it doesn’t cost you something, it’s NOT true worship.

 

Today, you and I need to ask ourselves: What is my worship costing me? Many Christians who think they’re worshiping God aren’t really worshiping Him at all. Their worship is cheap and convenient. Instead of giving God their very best, they’re giving God their leftovers.

 

Ask yourself: When I’m in church, am I giving God my full attention? What is my offering costing me? Am I like the poor widow in Mark 12, giving God my first and my best – or am I just giving Him my leftovers? The same holds true of your time of Communion, and of studying God’s Word. Don’t just go through the motions. Don’t just listen politely.

 

God has called you to support your church with your 3 T’s: Time, Talent and Treasures. True worship ALWAYS involves sacrifice. And so, we sacrifice our time for Jesus. We sacrifice our talents for Jesus. And we sacrifice our treasures for Jesus.

 

As Christians, let’s draw a line in the sand. No more cheap, easy worship. No more giving Jesus our leftovers. We need to worship like David—giving God our VERY best.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services at 9am: at 17746 George Blvd., or at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.