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A Royal Priesthood

           But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (I Peter 2:9)

 

 “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?’

“By offering defiled food on my altar.

“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. 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. (Malachi 1:6-8)

 

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

 

We must begin with the understanding that every Christian is a member of a royal priesthood. In other words, the words from Malachi apply to us. So, we have questions we need to ask ourselves. Are we showing contempt for His name by giving defiled sacrifices and offerings? Is what we are giving to God top quality stuff, or leftovers and rejects from thrift shops? Is the manner in which we are giving it an expression of our love for Him, or is it a means of seeking power for ourselves?

The passage says that we defile Him by saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. Do we treat our fellow Christians – who are living sacrifices - with contempt? Do we reject them because they’re “hypocrites” who don’t live up to our standards at the same time that we don’t live up the standards of Scripture? Do we refuse to have anything to do with them, and therefore reject what is currently called “The Lord’s Table” – communion?

In Malachi, God goes on to ask whether the governor would be pleased with your sacrifice. If you showed up at your job with the regularity that you attend church, would you still have a job? This brings to mind a question that is sometimes asked. If Christianity were a crime (as it may become) would there be enough evidence to convict you?

          Do you pay attention in church? Or are you thinking about lunch, or how someone else is dressed or behaving? I know I struggle to pay attention at times. That’s one of the reasons I take my computer with me. I’m hoping to take notes. It baffles me why people don’t take notes. Sometimes, there are no notes to take. And other times, I admit, my mind goes off on a tangent that I take notes about more than I do the sermon. But at least I’m prepared to take notes if the chance arises.

          How do you dress for church? It seems as if few people think God is worth putting forth effort in dress. Yes, we’re trying to be inclusive, so that someone who can’t afford to dress well, or doesn’t understand that dressing well is appropriate doesn’t feel excluded – and in a way, that’s commendable. But when we do this, are we making the feelings of the other person more important than our respect for and treatment of God?

          I’m not saying these things to attack anyone. But this is a matter of basics. Are we treating God the way God should be treated? Are we doing it because we love Him, or so that we look good?

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