All in All

"Are you listening, dear people? I'm getting ready to speak;
Israel, I'm about ready to bring you to trial.
This is God, your God,
speaking to you.
I don't find fault with your acts of worship,
the frequent burnt sacrifices you offer.
But why should I want your blue-ribbon bull,
or more and more goats from your herds?
Every creature in the forest is mine,
the wild animals on all the mountains.
I know every mountain bird by name;
the scampering field mice are my friends.
If I get hungry, do you think I'd tell you?
All creation and its bounty are mine.
Do you think I feast on venison?
or drink draughts of goats' blood?
Spread for me a banquet of praise,
serve High God a feast of kept promises,
And call for help when you're in trouble—
I'll help you, and you'll honor me."
Psalms 50:7-15

When are we going to stop trying to honor God with our offerings of burnt sacrifices? We don't literally burn a sacrifice today, but we do constantly try to push things in front of God to earn His blessings. "All creation and its bounty are His". One version says, "I own the cattle on a thousand hills." What can we give God that He doesn't already have an abundance of? As the verse says, there isn't anything wrong with the offerings. It isn't bad to give something to the Lord in order to please Him. It becomes negative when we try to replace praise and adoration with offerings because we don't want to take the time to do so. If we try to hold His attention with the things we place in front of Him, such as an hour of time served or an extra check in the offering plate, we won't be able to fool God. Sometimes we forget that God knows our true hearts.

Both of those acts are good and wonderful things that God can and will use for His glory, but more than that, He desires to be close to us. He desires for us to show Him praise, to talk to Him, to ask him about our problems. He wants to be a part of our everyday lives just as much as our spouse or our children are. He wants to be the first person we talk to in the mornings and the last person we talk to in the evenings. He wants our thoughts and our actions to point to Him. He wants these things more than He wants a sacrifice from time to time. Give God your all and He will become your "All in All".