A POLLUTED OFFERING

The prophet Malachi said:

When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts. And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the LORD of hosts. Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. [Malachi 1:6-11, ESV]

The entire Bible takes it as a given that God's people are going to give. In the Old Testament there was no question to whom that offering was to go -- the Temple in Jerusalem was the Israelites' single center of tithes and offerings. God had three essential messages to proclaim through the nation's giving: God is great; God loves those who are in need and cares for them; God requires a blood sacrifice as atonement for mankind's sin.

In the ancient world, the gentile nations were watching the activities of the Temple Mount. I wonder what an Egyptian or a Babylonian thought when he saw lame, blind, and diseased animals being used for the Jewish religious rituals? "Wow, if I tried to pull a stunt like that with Ra or Isis, I'd get creamed. No rain, no crops... I and my family would be finished! Their ancestors built a nice temple, but these Israelites must not be serious about worshiping their god!"

The Christian Church's stewardship of wealth is also part of God's message to unbelievers. What message are we sending them? A recent op-ed from Marvin Olasky says:

How often does God have to rap us over the head before we get it? How often do the Old Testament prophets, in various reiterations, offer the same message: God desires mercy and not burnt offerings? The gospel of Matthew reports Christ saying that not once but twice: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." Mercy is even more important than the Sabbath, Jesus said: He promptly walked the talk by healing a man on the day of rest.

Today, how do our churches spend most of the money they receive in tithes and offerings? Some invest in ornate, cathedral-like buildings, sometimes reasoning that if people are awed by our architecture they will respect Christ more. Some try to build choirs not just to support congregational singing but to put on showtime performances that turn worshippers into audiences. How many churches invest even half of their budgets in mercy and missions? Even one-third?

My church is in the 2nd half of a large building project. I'm on board with it as it will allow us to serve more people in the future. It's big and it's not cheap, but it's not ornate (traditionally Protestants abhor gilded stuff in their places of worship). But I do wonder if it is the best use of our resources. What is the message we're sending out? Is the size of our building truly a blessing to those around us? I believe our congregation's heart is in the right place and that we do want to use the room to serve others. I know awesome things will happen and lives will be changed for the better. However many sections of our culture are completely turned off by huge church buildings and massive capital expeditures that only appear to help the well-off side of town.

What would happen if a small subset of the multitude of wealthy Christians diverted their giving away from the west side of town and poured it out instead on East Austin? Of the three messages I referred to earlier, we seem to have no trouble proclaiming God's greatness and the truth of the gospel. It's the care and concern of the Lord for those who are oppressed and shackled by poverty in our own town that we apparently have trouble embracing.

Does my use of God's resources reflect His will? In a good month, I'm giving ten percent to my church. Then a few gifts here and there to missions and to relieve the destitute. Does God see that as giving my best male ram to the temple, or am I trying to pass off a couple of runt, sterile sheep that cost me nearly nothing?

Lord work your character in me and make my gifts reflect your priorities!