Giving God My Best Not Leftovers

Try to remember a time when you tried to do something special for your parents for their birthday or Christmas? Do you remember what you did? Did you buy something? Or make something? Or just do something last minute? Or totally forgot all together? I remember once that I bought my mom a mother’s day card and it turned out to be the same one that I had bought her the year before (Whoops!). Try to think about the attitude you had in trying to give a gift.

Now Read Genesis 4

Here we see that Cain was a gardener and Abel was a shepherd tending the sheep. Back then, people would bring sacrifices to God to show their love for Him. One time Cain gave God a gift, or a sacrifice, of the fruit he grew. Abel gave God one of the very best of his flock. God was very happy with Abel’s gift but he wasn’t very pleased with Cain’s gift.

You may be wondering why did God like Abel’s gift more than Cain’s gift. Read again Genesis 4:3-5 - 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Cain brought some of the fruits he grew whenever he thought of it while Abel brought the fat portions of the firstborn of his flock. This means Cain just did it without much thought while Abel brought the best (the fat off the best and most favorite sheep he had). God was so pleased with Abel’s gift as it showed that Abel realizes that everything he has comes from God and Abel wanted to give God his very best. Cain on the other hand didn’t see the importance of showing God that God was first in His life. So God told Abel that He was pleased with his offering and truly delighted in it. All that made Cain very jealous and angry. So one day out in the field, he killed Abel.

Remember the introduction, try to picture this. It is your dad’s birthday and you have two sons. One brought you a gift with every penny of his allowance to show you his love and the other gave you an apple from the refrigerator that you actually purchased. Though you love both, aren’t you more pleased with the sacrifice of the first son.

Think about the ways you treat God. Do you just give Him the leftovers of your life? Do you give him all the stuff that is left after you do all the things that are truly important or mean the most to you in your life? Or are you giving God your best? In all the things you do, are you giving and sacrificing the best for Him? Think about the time you spend with him – is it with an attitude that God is first or is it with an attitude of duty and obligation. Take some time to just reflect and think about what are ways you want to give God your best and not the leftovers.