"Those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed."
Passiveness toward wrong doing, like a snake, is sure to come around and bite us. Eli the priest was responsible for keeping sacred the things that are sacred, but his sons, the writer says, "were worthless men; they did not know the LORD...the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men despised the offering of the LORD," (I Samuel 2:12). Incredibly, they were committing sacrilege with the sacrifices and adultery with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And though Eli knew of all of this, and spoke to them about it, he didn't react with holy fire; probably because he himself was enjoying way too much of the sacrificial meat that was being taken for personal gain. Chapter 4, verse 18, describes him as heavy. God sent "a man of God" to him who brought the real issue to the forefront with these words from God: "Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel? (2:29). Some of us are way too heavy into ourselves. The truth of the matter is, God has given to each of us sacred trusts and expects us to manage these with utmost care, whether it be the way we raise our children, the way we spend our time, the way we treat our neighbor, the way we handle our world, the way we employ our abilities, the way we do our jobs, or the way we use our money. All are sacred trusts and demand the special care required of anything that comes to us from the hand of God into our lives. And let's learn something else: God is actively and aggressively involved in this world as One who is Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent. Those are big words, but He's a big God who refuses to distance Himself from His creation. He does not leave us unnoticed nor unattended. He reacts to us. He's alive with passion. The person who lives in the reality of the Unseen One is leagues ahead of those who pass through life as if it's nobodies' business. We are His business! We matter too much to Him to not make us His business. He is not passive toward our activities, and He nails this truth to the wall of our souls with "those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed." Aren't you glad for a God like this? This is a great principle and a great promise! God knows what is going on and He will deal with it accordingly. We can rest in that truth. And to those who honor Him, God responds with tremendous regard and reward. Yes, reward! That's not why we honor Him, but It just goes without saying that it pays to walk with Him. We have no idea! Just wait and see.
Passiveness toward wrong doing, like a snake, is sure to come around and bite us. Eli the priest was responsible for keeping sacred the things that are sacred, but his sons, the writer says, "were worthless men; they did not know the LORD...the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men despised the offering of the LORD," (I Samuel 2:12). Incredibly, they were committing sacrilege with the sacrifices and adultery with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And though Eli knew of all of this, and spoke to them about it, he didn't react with holy fire; probably because he himself was enjoying way too much of the sacrificial meat that was being taken for personal gain. Chapter 4, verse 18, describes him as heavy. God sent "a man of God" to him who brought the real issue to the forefront with these words from God: "Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel? (2:29). Some of us are way too heavy into ourselves. The truth of the matter is, God has given to each of us sacred trusts and expects us to manage these with utmost care, whether it be the way we raise our children, the way we spend our time, the way we treat our neighbor, the way we handle our world, the way we employ our abilities, the way we do our jobs, or the way we use our money. All are sacred trusts and demand the special care required of anything that comes to us from the hand of God into our lives. And let's learn something else: God is actively and aggressively involved in this world as One who is Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent. Those are big words, but He's a big God who refuses to distance Himself from His creation. He does not leave us unnoticed nor unattended. He reacts to us. He's alive with passion. The person who lives in the reality of the Unseen One is leagues ahead of those who pass through life as if it's nobodies' business. We are His business! We matter too much to Him to not make us His business. He is not passive toward our activities, and He nails this truth to the wall of our souls with "those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed." Aren't you glad for a God like this? This is a great principle and a great promise! God knows what is going on and He will deal with it accordingly. We can rest in that truth. And to those who honor Him, God responds with tremendous regard and reward. Yes, reward! That's not why we honor Him, but It just goes without saying that it pays to walk with Him. We have no idea! Just wait and see.
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