A Sacrifice Is Nothing, If It Doesn't Cost You Something

2 Samuel 24:24

And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

Here, David was commanded to build an altar to God in the threshingfloor of Araunah, a Jebusite. When David was talking to him, Araunah offered the animals, tools, and materials to David. Then, David tells him no, he will buy it from him, because he will not make a sacrifice that costs him nothing.

So many times, us as believers offer what we think is a sacrifice to God, costing us very little or nothing, and expect God to be pleased. But one thing is missing from the sacrifice...the SACRIFICE! The concept of the word itself means that we are giving up something that is prized, something we value, knowing that it will be worth giving up for something deeper, something better, and more valuable. If you give your "sacrifice", without actually sacrificing something, then the sacrifice is of no effect. We can't fool God into thinking that it's something we greatly desire that we are giving up for Him, because He knows our heart, and the things that are truly important to us.

If I walk by a homeless man, and I'm moved to give him my favorite shirt, straight off my back, because I see him struggling, that gives a completely different feel than when I take some old dirty shirt or jeans that I have no value or care for, and dump it at his feet. That almost gives a feeling as if I'm just throwing it away, and the man happened to be laying there. Now in this instance, the homeless man might be happy for it either way, because he has need of it, but God is not needy for ANYTHING, especially anything that we can "give" Him! In fact, we have it in the first place because He first gave it to us! Giving a worthless sacrifice is just that...worthless, and not sacrificial in nature.

If we are going to sacrifice, let's actually sacrifice. But first, let's do our best to obey, because obedience is better to begin with...