| Malachi 1:2, 6 ...Wherein hast thou loved us?... And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
This is mean to say, but let's face it, absent-minded people are fun to watch. Maybe you've known a friend who was so absent-minded that he could walk right off the end of a pier and not even know what hit him. I can be absent-minded myself. Some time ago I was driving down to Florida, and I was so wrapped up in what I was thinking about that I missed my exit by about 50 miles. It's a hard life for absent-minded people! But at the end of the day, an absent-minded person does have a mind. It's just that it's not present. It is unfocused.
When you read the book of Malachi you can't help but get the impression that the people to whom God is speaking, His own precious people, were absent-minded. They didn't know what was going on. The reason for this was because they were self-absorbed. They were so intent on themselves, their own desires, problems, and disappointments, that they totally missed the larger picture and great blessings that God had given them.
First of all, these self-absorbed people didn't see how God had blessed them. In Malachi 1:2, God professes His love for Israel, and they respond by saying, "Wherein hast thou loved us?" They seemed to doubt the word of God that He loved them. They were so absorbed in their own world that they didn't see how God had blessed them. This blindness that defined a people can also define an individual.
So many times I'm so absorbed with my problems that I totally miss the ways in which God has blessed me, taken care of me, and provided for me. At such times I'm walking through life blind, short-sighted, and not seeing what could be.
Secondly, self-absorbed people do not see how they're ignoring God. In verse 6 they asked God, "Wherein have we despised thy name?" God had addressed the priests in particular, and pointed out how they had treated God lightly. They had lightly esteemed Him, given their second best, and certainly not given Him their hearts.
Do I fail to see how I may be lightly esteeming God? Do I fail to see how God has greatly blessed me? Am I more absorbed with how impressive I look or how comfortable I feel than I am about what God would think about me? If I'm going to honor God, I need to recognize Who He is, be mindful of how He has blessed me, and be conscious of how I esteem Him.
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