A farmer who was known for his frugality owned a cow that gave birth to two calves. He said to his wife, “I’m going to dedicate one of these calves to the Lord.” Knowing his miserly ways, she was very surprised and asked which one he was planning to give to the Lord.
“I haven’t decided yet, but I’ll let you know,” he said.
A few days went by, and again she asked which calf he was giving to the Lord. “I’m still thinking about it,” he told her.
Then one day, one of the calves got sick. It grew worse and worse until one night the farmer walked up onto the porch with the calf draped over his arms. He said to his wife, “Honey, I have bad news. The Lord’s calf just died.”
Similarly, many of us tend to give God that which we don’t really want ourselves. Think about a typical day. What place do we give to the things of God? Maybe we utter a quick prayer as we roll out of bed or offer some hurried words of thanks over breakfast. Then we rush off to our responsibilities. At the end of the day, we say, “Oh, right. I’ll give God these last four minutes as I’m dozing off.”
If God is important, then why do we give Him our leftovers? God certainly doesn’t want our leftovers. He makes that quite clear in Scripture. God said to Israel, “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king . . . and my name is feared among the nations!” (Malachi 1:14).
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33).
One of the most important steps of spiritual growth is making sure that our priorities are in order. In the busyness of daily life, it’s easy to convince ourselves that pressing work responsibilities or family commitments should take precedence over our time with the Lord. But that kind of focus makes us lose sight of the interconnectedness of our responsibilities.
God rewards time spent with Him. When we give Him the choicest part of our day, He blesses the remainder. When we quiet ourselves before Him, pour out our praise, thanksgiving, and requests in prayer, and spend quality time in His Word, we are better prepared to face the challenges and responsibilities of the day.
The psalmist asked, “What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me?” (Psalm 116:12). If we let that question guide our thoughts, actions, and priorities, we will discover what it means to serve God—and to be abundantly blessed by Him in return.
God gave us His best. Let’s give Him ours.
