For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.                                               Hosea 6:16

Hosea’s word to Israel was very repetitive, “You’re giving God lip-service.  Your hearts aren’t His, they belong to other gods.”  They maintained many rituals, but they were empty, meaningless rites that afforded them no standing with the Lord of Hosts.  They gave what He didn’t want and withheld what He did.  They were lousy gift-givers.

They offered sacrifices, they gave Him burnt offerings.  But those weren’t what their God was asking for.

My husband is an incredible gift-giver.  He puts a lot of thought into it and usually knows what I want much better than I do.

If my husband only gave me things he had on hand and would never miss, if he only gave me things that were free or thoughtless or that he wanted to give, he probably wouldn’t be considered such a great gift-giver.  Not many people get excited about getting gifts that they don’t want.  And if you’ve asked for something and that gift isn’t given while all these unwanted gifts are, well that makes it even worse!  You give me all these gifts I don’t want and deny me the one gift I do!? You might want to save your gift, it’s not gonna get you much of a genuine thanks.

All this makes sense in the world of gifts in wrapping doesn’t it?

What about the gifts that don’t come in a box?  What about the gifts that we lay on the table of the gods of our days?  What about the gifts you lay at the feet of the God who made you?

What all do I ‘sacrifice’ to the Lord that He doesn’t want?  Do I offer Him hard work, Sunday service, do I give Him every Sunday from ten to twelve?  That’s good sleeping in time!  That’s a perfect hunting moment or reading hour that I gave up for Him.  Surely, surely, that warrants a thank you. Do I offer Him rituals, do I offer Him my presence, my memorization, my service, my time?  What am I really willing to lay at His feet?

Does He want it?

All the gifts I tirelessly offer, does He have any desire of them?

What does He require that I withhold?  Acknowledgment of God.  Is there some part of me that thinks that because I ‘worked’ for it, I kind of earned a little piece of that throne?  Is there something in the way I offered those unwanted gifts that made me feel as though I deserve the right to say no the next day?  Do I, somewhere in me, feel as though my gift bought me something?  Is there a question of who really reigns here?

Say it’s my birthday and I really want and request this one thing.  I’ll even sweeten the pot and tell you that it is the cheapest gift you can buy.  You talk up your gift for weeks before hand.  You give it with the largest grin, your face belies the value you place on it.  But it isn’t what I requested.  It isn’t really even something I want at all.  You’re so offended that, even though I try, you can see I am not falling all over myself over the gift.  Now somehow I’m a bad person for not being more thankful, you’re the saint who just gets mistreated so terribly after all your hard work and tireless effort.  (In the immortal words of Dolly Parton, “Get down off the cross, Honey, somebody needs the wood!”)

This is an unlikely extreme on your birthday.  It is an every day occurrence (or at least every Sunday) in the Kingdom.

God doesn’t want my lip-service.  He never asked me to show up every Sunday and never miss a service.  He couldn’t care less whether or not I can quote the Lord’s Prayer or a single catechism.  He does want my heart though.  He does want me to get my rear end off His throne and let Him rule.  He does want me to quit wasting my efforts offering Him trinkets when what He wants is of infinite value.  He does want mercy, love, selflessness, and acknowledgment of just Who it is that rightfully rules here.

I never want to stake my claim to eternal reward on gifts that weren’t joyfully received.  I don’t want to spend my life laying trinket after costly trinket on the altar of a misunderstood God only to find that I was a lousy gift-giver all the while.

What do I sacrifice, what do I offer that He does not desire?

And what do I withholding that He does?