Not a time for leftovers

With the week after Thanksgiving already over it is doubtful that anyone has leftovers from the holiday left. For us the Thanksgiving meal usually ends up providing for one to two more meals afterwards and even some lunch making material for the week to follow. Leftovers are always a good way to stretch the food budget and enjoy a good meal a second time. So when are leftovers not a good thing?

We in our lives today are more busier than our parents were and likely our kids will be more busier as time goes on. There is far more to distract us and keep us occupied than ever before. Almost the entirety of our world and focus can now be found on a small device we keep in our pocket. Job, family, friends, and fun all take time from us in one way or another. Sometimes our priorities also get mixed up because of commitments, desires, and stress. So who gets what is left?

Often we may find that God gets our leftovers, and for some it isn’t all that much. If we are not careful life and our distractions can carry us away from him to the point we do not know him anymore, or at least the way we used to. In recent times I have had to have deep conversations with people having marriage troubles. One person told me that they were sick of getting their spouses left over attention after everything else. The spouse puts too many things on higher priority in their lives that in this case there was nothing left for the other person at the end of the day. There is a developing anger and hurt between them. The only way they could fix this is to re prioritize their relationship the right way. That takes a commitment and an action away from the pattern they already have. Marriage is a physical representation of the relationship you are supposed for have with God. If it is suffering, then likely the one you have with God is also suffering. Seeing their condition makes me wonder if God feels the same way about getting our leftovers.

God often gets peoples leftovers. The occasional quick prayer when it’s needed, the occasional visit to church, the rare occasions of checking our moral compass. Remaining in sinful behavior when we know it is sin. All of these are leftovers offered to God.

Based on the 10 commandments Jesus himself told us that there is more that must be obeyed. He gave us himself 2 commandments that were closest to Him in the way He feels about us: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. ‘ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ‘There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31).

The Love of God is not about leftovers. It is about Him being at the center of our lives in every detail. We love those around us more when he truly is. The one builds up the other and in turn builds up our lives as Christians. Christ also says seek first the Kingdom and all things will be added to you. These can include the things that are distractions and pursuits put in their proper place.

So the next time you go to get last night’s dinner for lunch (or for some breakfast) remember God does not want your leftovers. He wants all of you first. They leftovers come from that to other things in our lives.

Your Brother in Christ,

Steve Koenig