Why do churches have secondhand pianos? ∙

Why do churches have secondhand pianos? ∙

Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, “How have we robbed You?” – Malachi 3:8

Malachi 1:11-14

 11 But my name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. Around the world, they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

 12 “But you dishonor my name with your actions. You say it’s right to defile the Lord’s table by bringing contemptible food.

 13 You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the LORD,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the LORD.

 14 “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!

Nearly everyone at one time or another may have taken some office supplies from their workplace. Generally speaking, it is not considered a big deal and dismissed as insignificant. It’s like the “little white lie” of stealing. However, a new study called “The Slippery Slope: How Small Ethical Transgressions Pave the Way for Larger Future Transgressions” suggests that pilfering a pen from work could potentially open the door to substantial corporate fraud. The study found that individuals who committed such minor infractions gradually found it easier to rationalize larger acts of theft.

Consider Johnny Cash’s song, “One Piece at a Time.” Johnnie sings about his experience working on a GM Cadillac assembly line in Detroit, where he gradually stole Cadillac parts over 25 years. Finally, he cobbles it together into a Franken-car. His lengthy spree of theft started with the first stolen piece.

“People rationalize their behavior to justify it,” Ordóñez, one of the study’s authors, said. “They might think, ‘No one got hurt,’ or ‘Everyone does it.’ The next time, they feel fine about doing something a little bit worse the next time and then commit more severe unethical actions.” The study refers to Bernie Madoff, who was handed a 150-year prison sentence for masterminding the biggest Ponzi scheme in history. “Well, you know what happens is, it starts out with you taking a little bit, maybe a few hundred, a few thousand. You get comfortable with that, and before you know it, it snowballs into something big” (Emily Cohn, The Huffington Post).

C. Kerry Fields, a professor of business law and ethics at the University of Southern California, observes, “I think everyone is doing this to some degree. You can only take the ethical theory of relativism so far until it hits you: this is wrong” (Matt Villano, The New York Times).

It’s disheartening to think about people stealing from God. How can this even happen? The Father doesn’t leave things unattended for us to take. We rob God not by physically taking something but by failing to give what we’ve been instructed to provide.  “Since God made and owns everything, He doesn’t need anything that we can bring Him (Acts 17:25)” (Wiersbe).

The Mosaic law is the constitution of the Nation of Israel. Under the Mosaic law, the Father made commitments to the nation of Israel. At the same time, He clearly stipulated what His expectations were for them.  The entire system of sacrifice was a practical method to support the priesthood in their daily temple duties. Serving in the temple was their “occupation.” They earned their living through portions of the sacrificial offerings (Numbers 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).

As a result, they deprived the temple of the necessary resources for its operation. “When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, the temple storerooms were empty of produce, and many of the priests and Levites had abandoned their service to go back home and work their fields in order to care for their families (Nehemiah 13:10). The people had vowed to bring their tithes (Nehemiah 10:34-39), but they hadn’t kept their vow” (Wiersbe).

Malachi 3:8 “Should people rob God? Yet you have robbed me! But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.”

REFLECT & PRAY

“Don’t bring God something leftover that you do not want . . .. He deserves our best” (Stanley).

Father assist me in keeping my commitment to You. I recognize that part of me, my sinful nature, often leads me to offer You less than my best, take shortcuts, and get by.

INSIGHT

The Father wants our best. Rather than give Him what He wants and deserves, we decide what to give to Him instead. It is often a paltry substitute.

Malachi’s message was primarily aimed at the priests (Malachi 1:6, 2:1, 7-8). They had solemn responsibilities as the Father’s representatives. They were to teach the law and mediate between the Father and His people. The Lord asked why they were not honoring Him as sons honor a father. The priests were supposed to honor God’s name but were disgracing it instead. Further, they were called to be God’s servants. He was their master, yet they displayed no regard for their Divine Master. When confronted by Malachi, their response was one of arrogance. Asked, “In what way have we despised Your name?” (Malachi 1:6, NKJV), so he told them (Wiersbe).

Malachi 1:6-14

 6 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name! “But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’”

 7 “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’ You defile them by saying the altar of the LORD deserves no respect.”

 8 “When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

 10 “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings.”

 11 “But my name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. Around the world, they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

 12 “But you dishonor my name with your actions. By bringing contemptible food, you are saying it’s all right to defile the Lord’s table.”

 13 “You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the LORD,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the LORD.

 14 “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!”

Do you recognize yourself as you reflect on the behavior of the priests and their response to Malachi’s confrontation? I certainly do. The Old Testament contains stories that expose the worst aspects of human nature and sinfulness. These tales are meant to serve as cautionary lessons for all children of the King. The hope is we can do better than they did.

Romans 15:4 states that such instances were documented in the Scriptures long ago for our instruction.

We are guilty of similar attitudes and actions. Do we offer the Father our absolute best? Or do we present Him with something less than that, perhaps second-best, third-best, or even worse?

Perhaps that is why churches have secondhand pianos. The people who donated them bought a new piano for personal use and gave what was left over to the Father.

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© Dr. H 2024