SPIRITUAL LEFTOVERS

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© GOD’S BREATH PUBLICATIONS

 

 

Before I go any further, I would like to ask you to go to your refrigerator. Don’t argue. Go to your refrigerator right now. Open the door and I want you to find some leftovers. I want you to make sure you check all the nooks and crannies of your refrigerator. Yes, those corners where fungus is growing on those carrots you forgot to use in the stew. Don’t forget that pot roast that was leftover from Thanksgiving that now has a green metallic sheen to it with some sort of white‑looking growths. Notice how the eggnog has curdled a bit and you don’t dare crack the opening of the container to smell if it is good. And by all means, don’t forget that can of peaches trapped in the back behind the milk and now has a beautiful orange and green mold flowering on top of it.

 

 

Now I know I have described the worst of leftovers. Those inedible items that even our dogs wouldn’t touch. But even the other leftovers are not really the best of what we should eat. That two‑day‑old pizza that has become a hard platter is okay warmed up, but not as good as it was fresh. That salad that has gone limp and can barely be choked down. While it is more nutritious than a candy bar, it for sure is not as good as when it was crisp and green. Don’t forget that chili you made last Friday and were unable to finish. It sits now in the back of the refrigerator waiting to be rediscovered and reheated, but not possessing the same flavor as it did as last Friday.

 

I go through this horrible description, of what is very likely inside your refrigerator and mine, to make a point. Would you serve these items to your friends? You might serve them to relatives, but not your friends. If Jesus came to your house and asked if He could have something to eat for a meal, would you serve him the spoiled pot roast with the can of peaches? Of course not you say! Well would you feed him the week‑old chili? No, you say.

 

But don’t you and I give Him leftovers every day? Don’t we offer Him spiritual leftovers that dishonor Him? Spiritual leftovers might be serving in your local church only when it is convenient or easy. Spiritual leftovers might be tithing only when you have a major surplus of money. Spiritual leftovers could be praying only when you feel like it or only when you can fit it into your schedule. Spiritual leftovers could be helping others when it makes you feel good.

 

Spiritual leftovers, just like leftovers in your refrigerator, can be of two types. They can be worthless offerings of service that have no lasting value or worth in God’s eyes. They can be selfish and self‑serving things you do to draw attention to yourself. They can be acts that might appear to be somewhat ministry related, but in reality are only for self‑benefit. There is also the other category of spiritual leftovers that are really not that bad. The problem is they really aren’t that good either. They are ministries we do, which we know we should, or could do better, but don’t. They are acts of kindness that we do because they are easy and convenient and don’t require any personal sacrifice. They are actions we perform where our best is required, but we give as little as we can get away with.

 

 

I confess I am as guilty as you are in this area. Sometimes, just like you I fail to give God quality time in my life. I seem to be too busy to fit in the time I need to pray and build my relationship with my Savior. I must admit that I often give my Lord spiritual leftovers. How about you? Do you give God your best, your quality time and efforts, or do you give Him leftovers? Do you spend time with Him before you spend time in your leisure hobbies? Do you give Him the best of yourself or what is left over at the end of a hard day? Do you withhold your talents and gifts from Him and thus the local Church Body suffers from your selfishness? I hope and pray you and I can strive to be better in our commitment to our Lord. I pray that we can give Him the best we have and not leftovers. Let us offer Him spiritual sacrifices that are pleasing and acceptable to Him. As it says in 1 Peter 2:2‑5;

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone‑‑ rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him‑‑you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”