Malachi 1:6, 8, 14 NIV “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty. “It is you priests who show contempt for my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty. “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.”

God’s indictment in Malachi is not against pagans or rebels—it is against priests. Against men who claimed His name, handled His worship, and represented Him to others, yet treated Him with casual contempt.

The charge is devastatingly simple: they gave God their leftovers.

Blind animals. Lame sacrifices. Blemished offerings. What no governor would accept, they laid on the altar of the Almighty and still expected His favor. God exposes the hypocrisy with a piercing question: “Try offering them to your governor!” (Mal. 1:8). In other words, You honor men more than Me.

Under the New Covenant, God has not lowered His standard. He has expanded the priesthood.

Scripture declares that God’s people are now a kingdom of priests, entrusted with glorifying His Name in the world. The work of a priest has always been the same: make God known to men and bring men to God for reconciliation and restoration.

When sin multiplies in society, when obedience erodes, when God’s influence diminishes in homes and communities, the problem is not first “out there.” According to Malachi, the problem begins at the altar.

The Church has been commanded to make disciples—teaching obedience to everything Jesus commanded. Our widespread failure to obey Christ explains the poverty of character among God’s people and the weakness of our witness in the world.

Why Are We Failing?

Not because we lack information.
Not because we lack resources.
But because we lack wholehearted devotion.

We give God what’s left over:

• Leftover time after work and entertainment

• Leftover talent after personal ambition

• Leftover treasure after comfort and security

We would be fired from our jobs for giving this level of effort—yet we expect God to bless it.

Malachi’s language still fits: contempt for His Name.

We dabble in the things of God instead of living on mission for God. We talk about discipleship while refusing the cost of it. And the result? No real growth—neither in breadth (more people coming to Christ) nor in depth (people actually obeying Christ).

Biblical discipleship is not vague spirituality. It is concrete obedience.

Jesus defined it plainly: deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. He lived among men with perfect character, perfect obedience, and unbroken mission focus. That is not merely inspiration—it is the direction the Holy Spirit is actively working to form in us.

God does not accept blemished sacrifices anymore—not because standards have changed, but because He Himself provided the perfect sacrifice in Jesus. And now He calls for men who respond with lives laid down in return.

“For I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.”
— Malachi 1:14 NIV

Kings are not honored with leftovers. And Jesus is not Lord where He is not obeyed.

Run Today’s Play: Audit your altar.
Ask yourself—honestly:

• What does God get first in my life… and what does He get last?

• Where am I offering Him what costs me little?

• What area of obedience have I delayed, negotiated, or ignored?

Then act.
Choose one concrete step of costly obedience today:

• Block immovable time with God before anything else

• Initiate spiritual leadership in your home

• Repent of a half-hearted pattern and replace it with disciplined faithfulness

Don’t promise God a spotless offering and then give Him what’s convenient.

Honor Him as Father.
Submit to Him as King.
Live as a priest on mission.

Because a great King deserves more than leftovers.