Count The Cost?

‘We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous’ 1 John.3:12.

It was not just about the offering, it was about the behavioral pattern of Cain. God must be honored. You cannot dishonor God in your day-to-day life and expect that you will play to the gallery and God will be impressed. God will not be impressed because your daily decisions may be personal but they are never private. In fact, they will eventually become public one day. You may think that it is personal but guess what, it is not really private. Look at the fig tree; it was boisterous with leaves, putting up a show. Jesus moved closer to the tree and He looked for the fruit and the Bible says that He could not find any and He cursed the tree. God is not impressed with your leaves or my leaves. God moves closer to your life and He looks for the fruit. That is so significant. The quality of your private life determines the value of your public offering. So if your private life is a mess then your public offering will be a mess regardless of the value financially. And God does not want us to be like Cain. The issue with Uzzah that is  the man who tried to steady the Ark and died [2 Samuel 6:6-7]. The issue with Uzzah was beyond just that incidence. When the Philistines returned the Ark, it was in the house of the father of Uzzah. The Ark was kept there all the while and Uzzah did not honor the Ark. He did not respect God. When the Ark was now being transported to the City of David, Uzzah wanted to play to the gallery. He attempted to show boisterous leaves just like the fig tree. It is a dangerous thing when you do not honor God in private and you want to put a show in public. God can kill you. God killed him because He had consistently dishonored God in private. And God is saying ‘not as Cain’. God is God and His is not your servant. When you bring an offering to God, know that you are not offering Him a tip or doing Him a favour. He created and owns everything anyway. It’s the honor that God desires. God must be honored.

Thought: The quality of your private life determines the value of  your public offering.

Prayer [song]: Jesus must be honored, must be honored, must be honored. Jesus must be honored in my life every day. Amen.