Malachi 1:11 “My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD Almighty.

It is interesting that the NIV puts this in the future tense – will be – when the Japanese emphatically puts it in the present tense. That said, it is even more interesting that this is in the middle of a passage where the Lord is taking the priests to task for offering Him less than the best. Chapter 3 is well known as a passage on tithing, aimed at the whole population, but here the focus is on the priests, who were charged with setting the tone for the nation by daily ministry in the temple. If the priests don’t treat God as holy, why would the people do so? In this verse, the Lord is essentially saying, “People do better at honoring My name in other countries than they do here.” When Christians, and specifically ministers, fail to honor God with their lifestyles, it is no wonder God’s Name is taken in vain as much or more than it is used in honor. My stomach turns at people who beg for money “for the Lord” while living lavish lifestyles. God doesn’t require that His servants live in poverty, but as Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:3-10, making finances your goal gets everything wrong. God doesn’t need anything material that we could give Him. After all, it all came from Him in the first place! However, for the sake of our spiritual priorities and alignment, He tells us to give our best to Him

I was greatly blessed to have this as a consistent example as I was growing up. I was taught to tithe from the point I first started receiving an allowance, and I am grateful. However, things didn’t stay in such sharp focus in areas other than the financial. Even after being in ministry, I sometimes gave my best efforts to other things and gave the Lord whatever was left over. That doesn’t work! I’ve been bi-vocational for the past 32 years, but that’s no excuse to fail to give the Lord my first and my best in everything. God is my supply, and the minute I forget that, things get out of line. He is worthy of far better than I could ever give Him, so the least I can do is give Him my best. There is a hymn with exactly that theme, titled “Our Best,” that I really didn’t care very much for as a child because it smacked of legalism to me, but the point is that if I really love God, then I will want to give Him my very best.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You are the judge of how well I abide by this right now. I pray that I would love You more and more, down to the core of my being, so that I would hold nothing back from You but would be totally available to You at all times, for You to do in and through me what You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!