I'm currently reading through the Bible and came across something interesting in Genesis 4:3-5. The Bible says, "And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering." Notice how God joins each person to their offering - Abel and his offering . . . Cain and his offering. I've often heard the teaching that the reason God rejected Cain's offering was because it was not an animal sacrifice. I'm not sure this is right. Pastor Robert Morris in The Blessed Life points out that Abel brought of the first of his flock, but Cain brought his offering in the process of time. God received other offerings in the Bible that were not animal (blood) sacrifices, so what's the problem? The problem was Cain's heart, not his offering. And because Cain's heart was not right, he did not revere God highly enough to put him first the way Abel did. This is evident later when Cain kills Abel and has the audacity to say to God, "Am I my brother's keeper?" So God sees our offerings as linked to the condition of our hearts. And we are not just talking about financial offerings, but even our offering of praise that we bring every Sunday. If our hearts are right with God (notice I did not say perfect), then God receives our offerings as worship to Him. If our hearts are not right, then God does not care to receive our offerings because they don't mean anything. I've heard some pastors say, "God wants you to be a cheerful giver - but He'll take it from any old grump." But I say, if it makes you grumpy to give to God (time, talent, treasure) then don't - because from what I can see, He won't accept it anyway. So the next time you offer something to God, you might want to pause and ask yourself, "Is my heart right with God?" Because if it's not, sin might be crouching at the door.CAP
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